Ben Askren believes Jon Jones could have three to five years of fighting left.
Over the past fifteen years, Jones has arguably separated himself as the greatest fighter of all time. Despite securing financial freedom, ‘Bones’ continues to fight in the Octagon, adding to his legendary career. The question is, when will the UFC heavyweight champion retire?
Jones seems to be nearing retirement ahead of his first heavyweight title defense against Stipe Miocic on November 11. With that said, he’s always been unpredictable throughout his career, making anything possible moving forward
During a recent podcast with Daniel Cormier, Ben Askren detailed how Jones has taken off several years due to injuries, suspensions, and heavyweight preparations. Therefore, Askren believes ‘Bones’ could have several years left if he’s intrigued and motivated.
‘Funky’ had this to say:
“He [Jon Jones] did all of his fighting kinda really close together. It does feel weird because it feels like we’ve been missing him for a really long time for what should have been his prime. Heavyweights have been able to hold up for longer, so I would say if Jon Jones wanted to, he could do whatever the h*ll he wants, he’s probably got three to five good, really good fighting years left.”
Ben Askren details how he would advise Jon Jones in his fighting career
Before focusing on what’s next, Jon Jones is locked in for his upcoming fight against Stipe Miocic in the UFC 295 main event. If Jones emerges victorious, he’ll have an intriguing decision to make for his career.
Jones’ next heavyweight title challenger would likely be rising stars Tom Aspinall or Sergei Pavlovich. Therefore, ‘Bones’ would have to decide if he’s willing to take a high-risk, low-reward matchup in terms of legacy.
During the same podcast episode with Daniel Cormier, Ben Askren offered Jones advice by saying:
“If you’re saying Ben, you get to advise Jon Jones. I’d go to him, and I’d say, Jon, do you really like fighting? And he says yes, I’d say let’s do this, let’s knock out three or four fights a year. One of these guys [Tom Aspinall or Sergei Pavlovich] is gonna help elevate you, and you’re gonna elevate them, and you’re gonna become, you’re already the greatest, but you’re gonna be one of the greatest, most famous of all time.”
‘Funky’ continued:
“If he says, Nah, I like doing other things, I’d say good, go knock out Stipe and then move on because you’re already one of the greatest of all time. I think it’s pretty simple. He just needs to decide.”
Jon Jones has established a professional MMA record of 27-1 (21-1 UFC w/ one no-contest). ‘Bones’ could retire tomorrow and be widely considered the MMA GOAT due to his resume featuring Shogun Rua, Rampage Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Daniel Cormier, and more.
It’ll be intriguing to see how much longer Jones fights and who else he can add to his legendary list of defeated opponents.
