Jon Jones inspired by Conor McGregor to go bigger

Jon Jones is already considered by many to be the best mixed martial artist the world has ever seen, but he recently admitted to receiving a bit of inspiration from Conor McGregor to reach even greater heights.

Of course, Jones’ out-of-cage issues marred an otherwise stellar career. Almost no one was able to hold on to Jones in the cage, but outside of it he continually shot himself in the foot.

Jones has been involved in a few legal run-ins and has twice found himself in the middle of a UFC anti-doping policy violation, the latter of which is still being adjudicated. But in the cage he is almost perfect.

Although he has toppled some of the biggest names in the sport – including Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Lyoto Machida, Daniel Cormier, Alexander Gustafsson, Vitor Belfort and many others – Jones aspires to do more.

“Conor McGregor definitely inspired me to go for bigger fights,” Jones said during a recent appearance on Allow Me To Interrupt. “The higher the risk, the higher the reward. That’s my plan, take a page from his book and start challenging myself against some pretty scary guys.

That likely means a move up to heavyweight, something Jones has long teased, but never made the move. He’s defeated most of the best light heavyweights in the world, although there are still challengers out there, but heavyweight is a territory that has a long list of “scary guys” that Jones doesn’t have faced again. Such a move could certainly lead to blockbuster matchups for Jones, who has long wanted to fight Brock Lesnar, who is expected to make his UFC return in 2019.

A heavyweight battle with Jones could also prompt current UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier to retire as planned on his 40th birthday. A heavyweight fight might look more favorable to Cormier after losing twice to Jones at 205 pounds, although the second loss was upgraded to a no-contest due to Jones’ anti-doping rule violation.

TRENDING > Jon Jones weighs in on Daniel Cormier fighting Brock Lesnar; Who wins?

Stipe Miocic is a powerful fighter who could be a good opponent for Jones at the heavier weight classes, as well as Francis Ngannou, who may have lost his mojo after back-to-back losses, but has been a scare. power in his hands.

“I’m a fan of Francis, I follow him on Instagram and everything,” Jones said. “But yeah, I’d totally be up for it.”

No matter who is there if and when Jones moves up to heavyweight, a plethora of new opponents await him.