Alexander Volkov enters fray of fighters aiming to fight Jon Jones with subtle dig at 'Bones'
Jon Jones is in the crosshairs of many as the reigning UFC heavyweight champion and a contender coming off of a recent comprehensive win is throwing his name into the proverbial hat for Jones' next opponent.
Jones has been on the shelf for over a year now after winning the heavyweight crown from Ciryl Gane last March but sustained a serious injury before his planned first title defense last November. As November of 2024 looks to possibly mark the return date of the man many see as MMA's GOAT, Alexander Volkov has also indicated an interest in getting the Jon Jones fight.
Volkov is ranked number five per the last rankings update but will likely vault higher as he recently bested the number three ranked contender Sergei Pavlovich. Via his personal Instagram account, Volkov posted a photo of him getting his hair worked on with the caption:
"Blue corner, my office #Nov9"
The dig component from Volkov came from a recent Jones Instagram post which the champion captioned:
"The red corner, my office #Nov9"
Check out Alexander Volkov's callout of Jon Jones below:
Jon Jones' future opponent possibilities
Jon Jones' targeted return, which is Nov. 9 as referenced by Alexander Volkov's aforementioned caption, has the attention of many both in terms of fans and fighters alike. With this Q4 return being focused upon, it would seem like the opponent targeted for 'Bones' last November will be the one who gets the shot in the coming months.
That individual in question is Stipe Miocic who is understandably seen by many as the best heavyweight in UFC history. The former champion looks to return after an even longer period of competitive dormancy than Jones and if the fight does get booked, to reaffirm to people why so many speak so highly of his legacy.
The 36-year-old had at one point heavily intimated he might retire after the Miocic fight but a certain fellow two-division UFC champion seems to be stoking Jones' competitive fires.
'Bones' seems to desire a future contest with former middleweight and current UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. This is a tantalizing fight for many although nothing has been made official as far as booking the fight as of this writing.
The native of New York could also have a future fight lined up with the interim champion of the weight category if we're going off of pure athletic meritocracy for the matchmaking. Tom Aspinall defends his interim belt against number four ranked contender Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 later this month.
The July 27 contest in Manchester would presumably be lined up for a title unification bout. However, Jones seems to not have a pronounced level of interest in taking on the victor of that matchup per how he has addressed the idea on social media in the past. Regardless of who's next, many are excited to see the following chapter in this captivating Jon Jones story unfurl.