Jones to headline UFC 145 in Montreal?
Posted January 9, 2012 2:12 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It seems Jon (Bones) Jones is already getting restless.
The UFC light-heavyweight champion, who said he wanted to take up to four months off after his second-round defeat of Lyoto Machida at UFC 140 in Toronto last month, could be in line to headline the next Canadian card on March 24 in Montreal, according to MMAweekly.com.
Jones’ victory at the Air Canada Centre in December capped off a very successful — and very busy — 2011 in which he fought four times (all wins). He said he was longing to take some extended time away from fighting and wanted to treat his parents and family to a cruise.
Just three weeks later, the vacation might already be over.
UFC president Dana White told ESPN radio 1100 in Las Vegas that the 24-year-old is calling for another quick return to action.
“He called up four days ago and said ‘okay, let’s go I’m done with vacation,’” White said. “He said he wanted to take all this time off and then they were calling me four days ago saying he wants to fight as soon as possible. He’s ready to go.”
The UFC 145 card at the Bell Centre already has six fights confirmed but is without a main event. Jones could take on the winner of this month’s UFC on FOX 2 headliner between Rashad Evans and Phil Davis, or perhaps he will meet former Pride and Strikeforce champion Dan Henderson.
Evans has been all but guaranteed the title shot by White if he beats Davis, but the same has never been said of the latter. Meanwhile, Henderson gained traction for a shot at the belt with his epic performance in a five-round battle with Maurcio (Shogun) Rua on Nov. 19.
If Evans loses or doesn’t impress against Davis, or is injured or doesn’t feel the two-month turnaround for a championship bout is enough, the UFC might go ahead and book Jones vs. Henderson.
The bottom line is the UFC has been to Montreal four times and each card was headlined by a title fight. Expect their fifth trip to be no exception, and with most other champions unavailable, having Jones make another trip north of the border would be a fine fit.
