Manager: Jon Jones is aiming for April return to UFC

Jon “Bones” Jones has officially been reinstated by the Ultimate Fighting Championship now that his personal business is settled and fans of the sport could not be more happy. “Bones” himself shared how excited he was to make his return to the octagon in a video, and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier was quick to remind him who the real champion was.

Naturally, it looks like these two will be squaring off in the octagon when Jones’ return date is finally revealed. While there is no official date for his trip back into the octagon, his manager Malki Kawa recently revealed on the MMA Hour that he is hoping for it to take place at Madison Square Garden in April.

“Were working that out with UFC right now. Personally, I think in a perfect world, New York gets approved and he comes back April 23 at Madison Square Garden,” Kawa told MMA Fighting. I mean that’s in a perfect world. If the stars align for UFC, the state of New York, and for Jon to come back and win his belt in front of his home crowd. That would be pretty cool.”

Jones was the lone champion of the UFC Light Heavyweight division before his run in with the law took place in April 2015. Jones allegedly caused a three-car accident and fled the scene before turning himself in twenty-four hours later. UFC stripped Jones of his championship and Cormier would go on to beat “Rumble” Johnson for the vacated title at “UFC 187”. Months later, Jones learned he would not be serving jail time and the community service would not only permit him to train, but to fight for the UFC as well.

Now, Jones has his sights set on recapturing the gold he was never beaten for. “I don’t think ‘DC’ has any choice in that at all, to be honest with you,” Kawa said. “Everybody knows who the champion is. And I hate to sound that way, but the reality of it is that this fight is very important for ‘DC.’ If he’s the opponent, whatever day it is, you have to think that he needs this fight just as much as anybody. I see what everybody’s saying and thinks about him. Yes, he beat Gustafsson, Anthony Johnson, and congratulations to him, he’s a phenomenal fighter. But, he still didn’t beat Jon Jones.”

Transcribed by MMA Mania