Jon Jones: Why Brock Lesnar could be the perfect return fight for the troubled UFC star

What do you think of Jon Jones vs Brock Lesner?

Jon Jones now 30 years old could be in a sensational return to the octagon to fight Brock Lesner according to Dana White.

{module Ads Article (MMA)} 

Jones, the former light-heavyweight champion, and for many the best fighter ever, had just beaten his greatest rival Daniel Cormier for the second time. Having beaten any fighters that challenged, there appeared to be no new challengers ahead of him, only repeats of previous fights.

“Brock Lesnar. If you want to know what it feels like to get your ass kicked by somebody who weighs 40 pounds less than you, meet me in the Octagon.” Said Jones who after weeks of social media spats replied to Lesner in the best possible way.

It was a statement designed to thrill fans of unusual spectacle, as well as those who really would like to see a pound-for-pound great test himself against absurd physical odds. But should it be allowed to happen?

One problem is both fighters have been suspended for the use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) and with Jones who was been found with traces of a heavy-duty, old school steroid, Turinabol one only knows how this will play out.

Jon Jones is still regarded as one of sports’ greatest enigmas; capable of high intelligence in and out of the cage, and profound stupidity outside of it too.

There is no doubting his credentials. The UFCs youngest ever champ, his run includes victories over some of the biggest names in MMA, let alone UFC, history – for example, Americans Rashad Evans and Rampage Jackson, or Brazilians Lyoto Machida, Vitor Belfort and Shogun Rua, all former champions, to name a few.

He has rarely looked threatened in the cage – he became the UFCs youngest-ever champion at the age of 24 when he beat Shogun Rua for the belt.

Thereafter, he finished an american MMA legend who had never before been finished, in Rampage Jackson. Then he went on to beat one of the best clinch fighters, Brazilian Texeira, in the clinch. He eventually out-struck an outstanding boxer in Swede Gustafsson, despite notoriously barely having trained for the fight.

In his first meeting with his biggest rival in Cormier, he outwrestled the Olympic-level wrestler. So by Jones’ calculation – and he is an exceptionally calculating guy, in the cage – giving up 40 pounds would at least appear to be his toughest and most defining challenge yet.

This is despite the skill discrepancy; nobody would argue that Lesnar is better at any one aspect of MMA than Jones, aside from wrestling. But Lesnar is a physical freak; ludicrously fast and strong, he would pose an overwhelming threat to Jones whenever Jones allowed him too close.

This was surely the crux of Jones’ challenge though; the dire physical consequences of a single mistake make this match-up a real challenge for someone who has rarely been tested.

But herein lies the rub; both Jones and Lesnar are currently serving bans for PED abuse; with Lesnar it’s hardly surprising – the man looks like he would induce unwarranted hair growth just by standing next to him.

With Jones, the case is less clear-cut in this instance. His results were positive and although they don’t suggest definite intent, this is his third ban.

Two suspensions were for using PEDs, and the other one were for crashing his Bentley into another car, and running away, leaving a pregnant lady at the scene with a broken arm.

The continued promotion of Jon Jones would appear to go against the UFCs apparent attempt to clean up the sport.

Having said that, there cannot be any claims of dishonesty or underhanded cheating in this matchup; both have been caught, and would have served their time.

There is even a slim chance that Jones might be exonerated of full blame based on the nature of his results; Lesnar can have no such turn of fortune, since he failed both an out-of-competition and in-competition test, something rarely heard of in the modern era. But Lesnar is far too big a draw that the UFC wouldn’t allow him to fight if he so chose.

In which case, the case for Jones’ greatness would only grow should he win and beat the villain of the match-up, going up against someone who is already huge, at a minimum of 265lb, and knowingly taking steroids on top of that.

And, admittedly, fighting is a spectacle, and this would be one of the most intriguing spectacles in modern-day MMA, and one of the last true David-vs-Goliath matchups possible in combat sports.

And this fight would allow Jones to cement himself as a modern day David.

WATCH THE FULL PRESS CONFERENCE HERE