...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones suffered a severely dislocated toe last month at UFC 159, nearly tearing it off on the mat during his first round win over Chael Sonnen. However, it wasn't as bad as initially feared, and Jones may not be kept out for very long. His manager, Malki Kawa, gave an update on his situation recently in an appearance on MMA's Great Debate Radio program.
"Everything's good. He's got to be in the boot for about six weeks, about five weeks now left to go and then he gets to take it off and he'll test his foot and we'll see what's next,” Kawa said (transcribed by BleacherReport.com). "For right now, he's just anxious to get that boot off and make sure his toe is good to go. As long as he feels good coming off that boot and when he goes to put pressure on it, he can walk without a boot, and his toe is strong and everything's good there then it shouldn't (delay his return). One thing about Jon is he's not going to take any chances whatsoever. As long as his foot heals properly and he's got no issues with it, it shouldn't delay anything."
"I'll just tell you this, I wouldn't be surprised if Jon fights two more times this year. That's very aggressive and I know that's crazy, but it's something that he discussed with me and we talked about it. I told Superman to relax a little bit, you're injured right now, but he's got an aggressive timeline in his head. Certain goals and accomplishments that he wants and we're looking to get that record."
To get two fights in before the year is out, Jones will have to return by August. That would mean the superfight with Anderson Silva would not be his next fight, but that may be exactly how he wants things to proceed.
"The truth and the fact of the matter is before we can talk any superfight or any move in weight class or anything to that effect, Jon Jones wants to win his next fight at light heavyweight, he wants to break that record, he wants to own that record solely," Kawa said. "He wants to be considered the greatest light heavyweight of all time at this point. I already think he is the greatest light heavyweight of all time, record or no record. That being said, he's got to win that next fight, after that me and Jon will sit down and we'll take the next route and see what the next opportunity is for his career."
As for who that next fight will come against, Kawa says Jones still wants to face off against Alexander Gustafsson, one of the few remaining top fighters whom Jones hasn't yet met in the cage.
"His next fight is at light heavyweight and his next fight will be against somebody that's considered the No. 1 guy," Kawa said. "He'll get that next defense and once he breaks that record, after that all the speculation can happen.
"I think he really wants to fight Alexander Gustafsson next. Alexander called him out and I think Jon has said in numerous interviews that he would like to fight him next. We're just going to wait and see what happens."
Penick's Analysis: If Jones wants to get two fights in, plug him into the Fox Sports 1 debut in Boston, then his fight with Anderson Silva can close out 2013 on the New Year's Eve card. That would be the most realistic scenario to have play out, and could make for a massive second half of the year for the UFC. If it is the FS1 card, Jones-Machida II is more likely, as our own Rich Hansen explained this week, but Jones-Gustafsson could also headline UFC 164 in Milwaukee if need be as well. Regardless, it's not out of the realm of possibility for Jones to get two more fights in this year, provided his toe heals up on schedule.
[Jon Jones art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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