UFC star Jon “Bones” Jones still has interest in a fight against former UFC heavyweight champion and current WWE Superstar Brock Lesnar.
Jones told Karisa Maxwell of the Sporting News on Friday about his attempt to make a fight against Lesnar happen in the past and expressed hope that it could still happen (via Daniel Yanofsky of the Sporting News):
“I think fighting Brock Lesnar would have been really cool. Brock isn’t the most technical guy, but he has a massive fanbase. He’s a lot bigger than me. And it would have been one of those really cool David and Goliath situations. It would have been really cool for cross-sport promoting, and I think we both would have done great things for our family and for our team. Financially, that would have been massive.
“… Never say never. Brock, if you’re out there.”
After Jones faced Daniel Cormier at UFC 214 in 2017, he called out Lesnar, saying: “Brock Lesnar, if you want to know what it feels like to get your ass kicked by a guy who weighs 40 pounds less than you, get in the Octagon.”
Per the Associated Press’ Greg Beacham, Lesnar responded by saying, “Be careful what you wish for, young man.”
Two years later, Jones was still at it, saying he would “embarrass” Lesnar in an MMA fight since Lesnar was “way too slow.”
Lesnar broke into MMA in 2007 and made his UFC debut the following year. In only his third UFC fight at UFC 91 in 2008, Lesnar beat the legendary Randy Couture to become heavyweight champion.
After two successful title defenses, Lesnar lost to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 and then fell to Alistair Overeem at UFC 141, effectively ending his stint in UFC.
Lesnar returned to WWE in 2012 and has spent most of the past decade there as a part-time performer, though he did return to UFC for one fight at UFC 200 in 2016. Lesnar beat Mark Hunt by unanimous decision, but it was later ruled a no-contest after Lesnar tested positive for banned substances.
Jones is a two-time UFC light heavyweight champion with a career record of 26-1 with one no-contest. His only loss was a disqualification for illegal elbows against Matt Hamill in 2009.
While Jones has spent most of his career at light heavyweight, he moved up to heavyweight for Saturday’s bout against Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 for the vacant heavyweight title.
Meanwhile, Lesnar remains in WWE, and he is preparing for his WrestleMania match against the 7’3″ Omos at WrestleMania 39 on April 1-2.
PWInsider (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News) reported this week that Lesnar told people goodbye at Monday’s episode of Raw.
It is unclear if that means his WWE contract may be expiring or if he is considering leaving pro wrestling, but if he is no longer attached to WWE in the near future, a Lesnar vs. Jones fight may not be outside the realm of possibility.