‘There Is No Guarantee’ With Jon Jones

It’s been two years since Jon Jones last fought in the Octagon and during that span, he’s managed to remain in the headlines for reasons he surely wouldn’t have preferred.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight champion relinquished his crown following a unanimous decision win over Dominick Reyes with the goal of debuting at Heavyweight. That has yet to come to fruition thanks to negotiation troubles within the weight class along with Jones’ legal battles outside the cage.

In the case that he was ever to be matched with “Bones,” rising Heavyweight contender, Chris Daukaus — a former police officer — would have some reservations agreeing to the fight.

“If they offered me, Jon Jones, it would be an honor to fight Jon Jones as I’d be fighting the Light Heavyweight G.O.A.T. or the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world,” Daukaus told BJPenn.com. “He has his legacy and I’m building mine but I don’t know if his track record and his history are enough to get me to sign on the contract. Yes, I respect Jon Jones as a martial artist and what he has done in the UFC. But, I don’t know if I could give that man 12 weeks of my life and then nothing happens at the end of it [like] if he gets in trouble, and I’m strictly basing that on his track record of what we have seen in the past.

“That’s no dig at him or put him down, but that is me right now. I’m still building who I am as a fighter and continuing with my career,” he continued. “I hope he gets his s—t together, I hope he does come back, but we will see. If I was offered it I probably wouldn’t take it strictly because there is no guarantee. Unless something happens after weigh-ins, I’m not getting paid, I’m not getting paid to fight Jon Jones. If I sign a contract, there is nothing that says I will get paid for wasting 12 weeks of my life when he will go f—k it up. That is why I don’t think he factors in the Heavyweight division until he has a fight.”

Jones’ most recent incident saw him arrested in the morning after his UFC Hall of Fame induction when Las Vegas police were called after a domestic violence altercation with his then-fiance.

As for Daukaus, the No. 9-ranked contender is in action this weekend (Sat., March 26, 2022) in the UFC Columbus main event opposite Curtis Blaydes.

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