"This is my favorite kind of homework" - Jon Jones studying tapes of future and past opponents ahead of UFC return

Jon Jones has revealed that he has been studying tapes of future and past opponents ahead of his much-anticipated UFC return later this year.

Jones will be moving up to the UFC heavyweight division after a hugely successful stint in the 205-pound weight class. He dropped his light heavyweight belt after a unanimous decision victory over Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 in February 2020.

'Bones' took to Instagram to stress that he is very excited to find out who his first heavyweight opponent will be. He added that he is doing his favorite kind of homework:

"I spent the last few days locked inside my office studying myself and possible future opponents. I’m excited to figure out my next opponent so I can start focusing in my energy even more. This is my favorite kind of homework," said Jones.

Watch Jon Jones analyze a clip from his July 2019 fight against Thiago Santos below:

Jon Jones has a cumulative 11 successful title defenses in his two stints as the UFC light heavyweight champion. He holds the longest unbeaten streak in the history of the world's biggest MMA promotion at 18 fights.

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Jon Jones is currently ranked No.6 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings despite not fighting for close to two years

Jon Jones is 26-1-1 so far in his professional mixed martial arts career. He held the No.1 position in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings for quite a while before being replaced by former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

However, after Khabib's official retirement in 2021, Jones returned to the top spot for a brief period. Due to inactivity, he has been pushed down to No.6 and doesn't have a specific divisional ranking.

A few months ago, the 34-year-old superstar, who is the youngest fighter to win a UFC championship, expressed his frustration at being ranked below middleweight titleholder Israel Adesanya (No.3):

"When your ranked over Jon Jones on a pound for pound list but know you can’t defend a take down," posted Jones.

Here is Jon Jones' tweet after he fell behind Adesanya in the pound-for-pound rankings:

Champions Kamaru Usman, Alexander Volkanovski, Francis Ngannou and Charles Oliveira are the others above Jones on the list.