What if Stipe Miocic never returns - Chael Sonnen explains how Jon Jones getting "too big for his britches" backfired on his career 

Chael Sonnen recently offered his take on Jon Jones' future in the UFC. He argued that Jones' reluctance to fight and hopes of bagging a heftier paycheck may cost him heavily in his career.

Sonnen, in a video that was recently uploaded to his YouTube channel, discussed Jones' power-play against the UFC in a bid to try to get them to pay him what he feels he is worth. The fighter-turned-pundit asserted that this was a tale as old as time in MMA as fighters often try to pull stunts like this. However, the game continues to flourish with or without their presence inside the octagon.

'The American Gangster' further argued that Jon Jones was running short of worthy opponents in the UFC's heavyweight division with Francis Ngannou out of the picture due to his injuries.

Sonnen went on to admit that Jones would be in a tough situation should Stipe Miocic refuse to return to active contention. He asserted that the UFC might not feel the need to book 'Bones' against relatively easier competition.

"What if [Stipe Miocic] doesn't come back and what if [Francis Ngannou] stays out? What do you do? Do you still book Jonny? Do we find somebody else and we got to just move forward? We got to get on with it. Probably. That would see that would make a level of sense, wouldn't it? But you would have to consider, 'Do I need to bring a guy in who's being very difficult to work with, who didn't draw that great for me the first time?"

Watch Chael Sonnen break down Jon Jones' future in the UFC below:

---

Jon Jones reacts to delay in heavyweight clash prompted by Stipe Miocic

Jon Jones is currently expected to return to active contention in a clash against Stipe Miocic. The fight is expected to take place in September. However, the UFC is yet to confirm any details surrounding his highly anticipated return.

In a previous interaction on CES MMA's broadcast, Jones discussed the delay in their fight that was prompted by Miocic, saying:

“I heard originally it would be July 2. I think when Stipe got that date, he decided that — I heard he’s been doing a lot of weightlifting, not a lot of MMA training — he wanted to put his best foot forward. I respect that. He’s a great champion. He deserves that. I think he asked for September 24 and I’m hoping that’s going to be in Las Vegas.”

Jon Jones has been on the sidelines for over two years. He last featured inside the octagon in a fight against Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 way back in February 2020. He came away with a unanimous decision victory on the night and subsequently vacated the belt.

Jones has been packing on the pounds in preparation for his heavyweight debut ever since.