For Jon Jones, winning UFC heavyweight title would leave no doubt about GOAT status

Jon Jones admits that he was having a hard time staying motivated at 205 pounds.

Jones (25-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC), a two-time UFC light heavyweight champion, opted to vacate his title last August in favor of a long-expected move to heavyweight.

Having ran through generations of the light heavyweight division, Jones’ recent wins haven’t been his finest performances. He went the distance back-to-back against Thiago Santos and Dominick Reyes, decisions that many view as controversial.

But with Jones having already beaten the who’s who at 205 pounds, including rivalries with the likes of Daniel Cormier, Rashad Evans and Alexander Gustafsson, he finds himself no longer fired up to take on the next contender in line.

“The light heavyweight division was fun, but I just wasn’t scared of those guys anymore,” Jones told ESPN. “Like, none of them. And I think it showed in some of my performances. Obviously, I still trained hard. But there was no urgency in some of my last fights.

“With these next guys I’m going to be going up against, I respect these guys. These guys are intimidating – they’re intimidating as (expletive). It just gets me up in a whole different way.”

Jones has been working extensively on his strength and conditioning to build himself into a heavyweight frame, going all the way up to 240 pounds. He is yet to be matched up for his heavyweight debut but is no rush, targeting a return in June.

With UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic projected to rematch Francis Ngannou in March, Jones could face the winner. But with the championship fight currently unbooked, it may be a long wait for.

“I go back and forth,” Jones said. “Sometimes I think I should take like a top-10 guy (at heavyweight) and just get my feet wet, figure out what’s happening. And then the other times, I think, ‘(Expletive) it. Let’s just go big or go home.’ I’m trying to get these big-money fights these days. I like taking care of everybody around me.”

Widely considered as one of the greatest fighters of all time, Jones took issue when he was bounced off the top of the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings and replaced by lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

But if he’s able to wrap the heavyweight title around his waist, he thinks there will be no doubt on who the greatest fighter of all time is.

“I just want there to be no debate when I’m done,” Jones said. “I do feel like I’ve had a great light heavyweight career, I’m by far the greatest light heavyweight. And in my heart, I do feel like I’m the best fighter in this sport’s history.

“But I just don’t want there to be any debate. And one way I can do that is by capturing this heavyweight crown, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”