"I would of told her I worked for NASA" - Demetrious Johnson looks back at popular clip of Jon Jones in an airplane
Demetrious Johnson had a hilarious reaction to the footage of Jon Jones telling somebody he's a professional fighter.
In March 2023, Jones ended a three-year layoff by submitting Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 for the vacant heavyweight title. Heading into his highly-anticipated return, 'Bones' was followed by a camera to capture the buildup to his legacy-extending performance, leading to a wholesome interaction being caught on film.
During his flight to Las Vegas, a woman noticed the cameras following Jones on their plane and asked who he was. The reigning UFC heavyweight champion humbly responded by saying:
"I'm a professional fighter, a cage fighter... I'm going to be fighting at the T-Mobile Arena this Saturday for the heavyweight championship of the world."
The footage of Jones went viral and was recently re-posted by ESPN MMA on Instagram. In the comments section, MMA legend Demetrious Johnson had this to say about what he would've done in the situation:
"I would of told her I worked for NASA"
Watch the wholesome interaction between Jon Jones and a woman on the same plane as him below:
What's next for Jon Jones and Demetrious Johnson in their respective fighting careers?
Jon Jones hasn't fought since defeating Ciryl Gane for the UFC heavyweight strap in March 2023. The 36-year-old was supposed to defend his throne for the first time in late 2023 before suffering a torn pectoral muscle, postponing his legacy matchup against former heavyweight king Stipe Miocic.
Jones is expected to return later this year and reschedule his fight against Miocic. In the meantime, interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall looks to defend his share of the world title on July 27 when he faces Curtis Blaydes in a rematch in the UFC 304 main event, which goes down in Manchester, England.
As for Demetrious Johnson, he last fought in May 2023 when he defended his ONE flyweight MMA world title in a trilogy bout against Adriano Moraes. Leading up to the highly-anticipated matchup, Johnson teased his retirement from mixed martial arts to prioritize other combat sports and business ventures.
'Mighty Mouse' hasn't made an official decision about what's next, so it'll be intriguing to see if he defends his ONE Championship throne later this year.