Jon Jones in no rush to move to heavyweight

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has been so dominant in the 205-pound division that many fans want to see how he’d do in the heavyweight division.

As he gears up for a title defense against Thiago Santos at UFC 239, however, Jones admitted that he’s in no rush to move up to heavyweight.

“I am interested in fighting at heavyweight but I’m also aware that there’s a lot of work to be done in the light heavyweight division,” Jon Jones told ESPN over the weekend (transcript via MMA Fighting). “There’s a lot of big fights that people want to see me have in the light heavyweight division so there’s really no need for me to go to heavyweight. I’m doing well where I’m at, I’m making weight really easily and I feel like when the UFC approaches me about a fight they feel will be a megafight and they come with the numbers that would make sense for me to do that, I’ll totally do it. But right now the UFC I think is happy with me being a dominant light heavyweight champion and like we said, there’s a lot of really great new challenges. So there’s a lot of work to be done where I’m at and it’s gonna take that checkbook for me to bounce up to heavyweight.”

If Jon Jones does move up the the heavyweight division, the biggest attraction waiting for him there would be a third fight with his arch rival Daniel Cormier, who currently owns the heavyweight title. Jones doesn’t seem to share the fans’ interest in this fight, having already fought Cormier twice.

“There’s still a lot of interest in me fighting Daniel Cormier for some reason,” he said. “I don’t really know what it is. The first time I won by unanimous decision and the second time I won by knockout so I don’t know why people want to see us fight again so bad but at heavyweight I guess that would add a few different factors. So yeah, if that’s the fight the world wants to see, I know one thing about the UFC, we give the fans what they want.”