Jon Jones Is Already Counting Down to His Heavyweight Debut

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Ever since Jon Jones announced his intended return to the Octagon in October following his UFC suspension and being stripped of his light-heavyweight title, the world has been counting days to see the MMA virtuoso back in action.

When his fender bender in Albuquerque ruled him out of the title defense against Anthony Johnson, the last man Jones defeated, Daniel Cormier, was drafted in for the main event. 'DC' claimed the interim title with a third-round submission over Johnson and has since gone on to defend his strap against Alexander Gustafsson.

There might not be a public brawl to help build the anticipation for their rematch (yet), but the winning trajectory of Cormier as champion has added a new dimension to their second clash. While many saw his first date with Jones as too much of a step up having only faced Pat Cummins and Dan Henderson as a UFC light-heavyweight, his win over Johnson and subsequent defense over the rangy Swede proved that he is deserving of his place at the top of the bracket.

That being said, Cormier has what was rightfully Jones' championship belt and the returning dethroned 205 lbs king appears to have got himself in the best shape of his life to recapture it.

A rumor was doing the rounds that UFC had unofficially slotted the rematch in for what was supposed to be their debut in the Big Apple in April. Although New York is off the table in terms of a location for the contest, yesterday Dana White confirmed that they are still looking to push forward with the bout within the same time frame despite the venue remaining unconfirmed.

"It's probably going to happen in April," he told Fox Sports.

He continued: "I don't have the date yet. I don't have the date or the venue, but April is looking like the month."

Interestingly, just a few days ago during a fan Q and A on Twitter, Jones suggested that he could see himself contesting 'Maybe 3' more fights at light heavyweight before he moves into the UFC's heavyweight division. Directly after he answered the question about his potential move to the heavyweight bracket, Jones claimed that he would like the three fights to be against "DC, Rumble (and) Gus."

Despite Jones' inactivity, he has opened as the favorite for his unconfirmed rematch with Cormier, with the interim champion currently being priced as a +260 underdog. 'Bones' must share the bookmaker's optimism because in the premonitions he revealed during his fan Q and A he is clearly flying in the face of the classic fighter mantra—'Never look past you next opponent.'

Not only is Jones looking past Cormier, but according to his social media post, Jones path to the heavier weight classes would come after two more bouts with Johnson and Gustafsson. We can only speculate that Jones believes he will be victorious in both fights given that there would not be that much interest in the polarizing New Yorker moving up to heavyweight if he wasn't coming off a win.

With Conor McGregor looking to become the first man to hold two UFC belts simultaneously on March 5, you can't help but think Jones could have claimed that slice of history if he had not been forced to the sideline following his public fall from grace.

As champion, Jones had all but cleared out the division. Johnson may have been his last big test at 205 lbs had he been able to fight him at UFC 187. Perhaps a rematch with Gustafsson would have been warranted after Johnson given the closeness of their first meeting in September 2013, but you would have to imagine that Jones would have got around to that inside the eleven months he will have been inactive should the April meeting with Cormier go ahead.

Undoubtedly, Jones will immediately challenge for the heavyweight title should he remain on his winning course. There would be no logic for the Jackson/Winkeljohn product to vacate a title without the chance of winning another being presented to him.

Should he be successful at capturing the crown, it would quite the turnaround in fortune for Jones. Back in April when his life was turned upside down there were whispers that 'Bones' would never return to the sport that he had such a dominant stranglehold on. Becoming one of only two other men (three if McGregor wins on March 5) to raise titles in two UFC divisions would definitely cement Jones as one of the greatest MMA proponents of all time, a status that his skill set has allowed him to court since claiming the belt back in 2011.

But first, we'll have to wait and see how he gets on against his great rival Cormier.