Jon Jones was present at the UFC Hall Of Fame induction ceremony. It’s been a while since fans heard from the former light-heavyweight champion himself. ‘Bones’ was asked about many things, including his famous first fight against Alexander Gustafsson in 2013.

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Jones and ‘The Mauler’ clashed at UFC 165 with the 205 lbs belt on the line. Jones managed to earn the decision in a razor-close contest. It is still considered the toughest fight of Jones’s career. Surely he took more damage in that contest more than any other. Gustafsson’s crisp boxing and athleticism really turned out to be a problem for Jones.

It was cool because I got to almost took an L, without actually losing. You know a lot of people say that I had lost that fight and it was great to come so close without actually losing but people say things like you never really become the fighter that you can be until you lose and you learn so much, you only can learn when you lose,” said Jones about the fight.

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In a way, I did lose without actually losing, So I got to learn a lot that night, I was really excited. I also got to figure out where my heart lies and where my resilience lies,” the former light-heavyweight champion added further.

There were many times in that fight when I could have just went through that door of quitting and I refused. I dug deep, and I brought out a little extra out of myself when things got really difficult. So, I was grateful to see that, and yeah it was just a great great fight,” ‘Bones’ concluded.

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Jon Jones expects to be back in action in late 2022

Jones hasn’t competed since his win over Dominick Reyes at UFC 247. He is expected to make his return sometime next year. ‘Bones’ himself said that he will be back in the latter half of 2022.

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HOUSTON, TEXAS – FEBRUARY 08: Jon Jones celebrates his victory over Dominick Reyes in their light heavyweight championship bout during the UFC 247 event at Toyota Center on February 08, 2020 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Jones looks in proper heavyweight shape currently. But he still wants to add a bit more size to his frame to be a proper fit for the division. When the former champion eventually makes his much-anticipated return, remains to be seen.

What do you think? Will Jones be as dominant once he moves up to heavyweight? Let us know in the comments.

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Apratim Banerjee

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Apratim Banerjee is a senior UFC author for EssentiallySports and has been writing professionally for almost a year. Before his current gig, Apratim worked as a UFC writer for Sportskeeda. A long-time MMA fan, Apratim has developed a critical eye for the sport that has helped him transfer his vast knowledge to his copies and give hardcore and casual readers a detailed insight into the fights and fighters. Dan Henderson’s brutal knockout against Michael Bisping at UFC 100 in 2009 is one of his earliest memories of the sport. He has never missed a UFC PPV or a Fight Night since, which speaks volumes about his wealth of MMA knowledge. Israel Adesanya, Jon Jones, Stipe Miocic, Conor McGregor are some of his favorite fighters. Apart from this, Apratim plays soccer in his free time and loves scoring long-distance goals.

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