Arguably the biggest MMA star in recent times, Jon Jones is also one of the wealthiest. The heavyweight champion recently made a financial revelation about the promotion, prompting a comment from a UFC welterweight fighter. What was the comment, and what does it indicate? Stay tuned as we are back with another episode of MMA roundup, where we will cusp the latest updates from the last 24 hours in bite-sized pieces.

From the Jon Jones news, we will move on to Israel Adesanya, who has been backed by his former rival for his fight against Nassourdine Imavov in UFC Saudi Aradia next year. Then, we will move on to Donald Cerrone, who appears to be back in the UFC testing pool for a potential promotional comeback. Finally, we will complete our segment with information about Leon Edwards, who might make his return to the Octagon sooner than we think. So without further ado, let’s get right into it.

UFC welterweight shares five-word response to Jon Jones confession

Jon Jones has firmly established himself as one of the greatest MMA fighters in the world. Many argue that ‘Bones’ has nothing left to prove in his MMA career, having already achieved everything. However, despite this, the fighter is being pushed to take on Tom Aspinall to validate his legacy further. Nonetheless, if ‘Bones’ were to face the Brit, the promotion would need to loosen its pockets, as he is demanding a hefty fee.

Regardless, in his latest confession to the media, Jon Jones has given us a perspective about his financial status, “[UFC CEO] Dana White, my boss, he told me a long time ago. He was like, ‘Jon, money will never be an issue. I never want you to worry about money. It will never be your issue. It will always come to you for the rest of your life.’ And it seems like the less I think about money, the more it comes to me. It’s just falling into my hands these days. And I’m grateful for it.”

He further added, “I make good money doing really, really silly things. Show up to a party for half an hour for a hundred thousand dollars, you know. Sign a few items for a hundred thousand dollars. I barely leave my house for anything less than a hundred thousand dollars these days. It just comes from left and right and I’m grateful for it.” His comments were later shared on social media and in one of the posts, UFC welterweight fighter Philip Rowe commented, ” @jonnybones I’ll never forget our convo.” The reason for the comment is yet to be ascertained but it could have any internal meaning. For now, let us move on to Israel Adesanya, who might have good news with regard to his next fight.

Israel Adesanya’s former opponent gives good news to him ahead of UFC Saudi Arabia

Arguably the biggest middleweight sensation in recent times, Israel Adesanya is riding a two-fight losing streak at the hands of Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis. After dominating the middleweight division for years, Izzy’s momentum has been shaken and the fighter is looking to get back in the winning column against Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia on February 1st – a must-win battle for him as this might set the precedence for his future under the promotion.

Interestingly, his former opponent, Robert Whittaker has come forward to assert that the Imavov might have an upper hand like Du Plessis to defeat Adesanya but it will be ‘The Last Stylebender’, who will get the victory. While having a conversation with the media, Whittaker stated, “Is Imavov as tanky as Dricus? I think Dricus made a really good blueprint on how to beat Adesanya: Got to make him uncomfortable, come at him, got to go at him, make him stress. Don’t give him space to play.”

He further added, “I think Imavov’s got the skill set to do that, but I’d still lean on Izzy being the favorite. He can fight that counter-style so well, and if you don’t fall into his baits, into his traps, he’ll pick you apart. I don’t know, because Izzy looked so good against Dricus until he didn’t,” Whittaker explained. “I don’t know, I think that Izzy beats Imavov.” February 1st will decide the fate of Israel Adesanya and the question is; will he be able to capitalize on it? Only time will tell. Regardless, let us move on forward to Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, who is back in the testing pool for a potential promotional comeback.

Donald Cerrone breaks silence after getting back to UFC testing pool

Donald Cerrone’s MMA career was a dreamlike journey, filled with both wins and losses. However, the fighter may be looking to make a comeback for a final fight and a final win under his banner, as his name has appeared in the UFC’s drug testing pool, raising anticipation for an exciting return. So, what does the ‘Cowboy’ want? “It’s not a Comeback!! Just a better Ending,” Cerrone said in an Instagram post.

In addition to that, while having a conversation with the media, Cerrone emphasized, “I promised the wife. No matter what happens, no matter the outcome, two more and that’s it. I think it will be 185 [pounds], we’ll see how my weight maintains when I start picking up training.” Cerrone͏ ne͏ver fought at m͏idd͏lew͏eigh͏͏t ͏du͏ri͏ng hi͏s c͏a͏r͏eer͏, ͏having competed͏ a͏t lightwei͏g͏h͏t and we͏lterweig͏ht ͏in͏stead. However, ͏with ͏conside͏rab͏le ͏we͏i͏ght ga͏in ͏fo͏llowing his r͏e͏tire͏ment, a r͏e͏turn to th͏e c͏age ͏͏͏at 1͏85͏ p͏ounds seem͏s like͏ t͏he͏͏ most͏ logi͏cal m͏ove͏.͏͏ Well, now that we know about Cerrone’s comeback, let us move on forward to more news of  a return to fighting, but within the organization.

Leon Edwards’s comeback might be sooner than expected

During the DAZN Boxing broadcast of Sunny Edwards vs. Galal Yafai in late November, Leon Edwards revealed that he will headline UFC London on March 22, 2025. This mere announcement by the former welterweight champion sparked immense interest among the fans as ‘Rocky’ has yet to return to the MMA scene after his loss to Belal Muhammad at UFC 304. Well, he might have announced his return but who will be his rival?

In arguably the deepest division in the UFC, i.e., welterweight, ‘Rocky’ can fight multiple opponents from Ian Garry to Shavkat Rakhmonov. But there’s a new challenger in the welterweight division, who is making immense noise and he is none other than Carlos ‘The Nightmare’ Prates. The surge in interest began when ͏the Instag͏ram acc͏o͏unt ‘I͏fOnlyMMA,’ known for fantasy matchups, ͏posted an image of Prates landing a jab on E͏dwards. Th͏e Brazi͏lian f͏ighter then re-shar͏ed the post to his own In͏stagram, captioning i͏t with a si͏mple͏ but in͏triguing word: “͏Soon.”͏ It must be noted that Edwards has yet to acknowledge the challenge from the Brazilian but it would be interesting to witness his journey.

Regardless, what are your thoughts on the news? Will Jon Jones make it to the title unification bout against Tom Aspinall next year, given his wealth? Will Israel Adesanya find success against Nassourdine Imavov? Who will have a more successful comeback to fight; Donald Cerrone or Leon Edwards? Let us know in the comments down below.