"It's going to happen" - Jon Jones' coach shoots down notion that the former LHW champion will not return to the UFC
Jon Jones and the UFC have not been able to come to terms at the negotiating table regarding the former light heavyweight champion's highly anticipated return to the octagon.
The excitement regarding Jones' heavyweight debut seems to be dying down as his talks with the UFC for better pay continue to fall through.
But Jon Jones' coach Mike Winkeljohn is confident the former UFC light heavyweight king will make a return to the octagon.
In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Winkeljohn was asked about the likelihood of Jon Jones actually making a comeback in the world's largest MMA promotion. Replying to Kacper Rosolowski, Winkeljohn said:
"I think so. I do. I think so. Both sides know what they are doing. It's to be expected. but it's gonna happen."
Catch Mike Winklejohn's full appearance on Submission Radio below:
Jon Jones has a new 'advisor' for negotiating his fights
Jon Jones recently hired former Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer as his new advisor to continue talks with the UFC regarding his next fight.
In his interview with Submission Radio, Mike Winkeljohn was also asked to weigh in on Jon Jones' new advisor. While Winkeljohn seemingly didn't have any direct interaction with Schaefer, he was glad to have the Swiss promoter on board.
Jon Jones was previously represented by First Round Management, a high-profile agency led by brother tandem Malki and Abe Kawa. But the deal did not seem to work for Jones as he found new representation in Schaefer. Jones recently announced in a Twitter post:
“I have retained Richard Schaefer as my advisor. Richard has been in the combat sports space for over 20 years and has put together some of the biggest pay-per-view events over that period. The likes of [Floyd] Mayweather, [Oscar] De La Hoya, ‘Canelo’ [Alvarez], [Bernard] Hopkins, [Marco Antonio] Barrera and [Juan Manuel] Marquez have headlined exciting events that Richard has promoted and produced. His knowledges and experience of the pay-per-view industry and combat sports are second to none. I am excited to embark on this next chapter of my career as I continue to cement my place in history as one of the greats with Richard as my advisor. I can’t wait to give my fans and the sport the fights they want to see."