"You had the opportunity of a lifetime" - Jon Jones roasts Jake Hager for turning down grappling match 'against the GOAT'

Jon Jones has roasted AEW star Jake Hager for allegedly turning down a grappling match with him. 'Bones' claimed that Hager missed out on the opportunity of a lifetime.

The former light heavyweight champion tweeted:

"You can’t gloat about turning down a grappling match with the goat. You had the opportunity of a lifetime, now you’re doing interviews about what you would’ve done"

Jon Jones and Jake Hager were rumored to be competing in a grappling match in December. However, the match never came to fruition.

Hager recently addressed the situation on the AEW Unrestricted podcast, claiming that the fight may now be rescheduled to January 9 and explained why it didn't take place on December 9.

Hager said:

"Yeah, you’re [Jon Jones] the greatest of all time, but you’re not going to take me down. I was very excited about it. It seemed like it was going to go down. He jumped the gun early on tweeting it out before we had any details. As far as I know, it’s still in the works, maybe January 9th now. We’ll see."

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Jon Jones is expected to make his heavyweight debut in 2022

Following his final title defense at 205 lbs against Dominick Reyes at UFC 247, Jon Jones opted to vacate the light heavyweight belt. He subsequently set his sights on the heavyweight division. Ever since, 'Bones' has been packing on quite a bit of size and muscle as he prepares to make the move up.

Speaking to ESPN MMA, Jones shared that he intends to be as big as the current heavyweights in the division. He said:

“I’m 255 [pounds] right now. I’d like to get to 270 and cut down to 265. I just don’t want to feel smaller than any of the other guys [in the heavyweight division]. I want to be more conditioned, more skilled and just as strong, if not the strongest guy.”

Watch Jon Jones’ interview with ESPN MMA below:

With Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane set to lock horns in a title-unification bout at UFC 270 in January, Jones will be eyeing the winner as he looks to make his much-anticipated return to the cage.