What’s the story?
Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and former UFC Middleweight champion Luke Rockhold have long been rumoured to meet in a grappling match at Submission Underground as of late after the former 185-pound champ threw the challenge out on social media, following Jones’ win over Dan Henderson last year.
Jones has been working to perfect his jiu-jitsu game during his time away from the Octagon, and a grappling match against Rockhold would be quite the test for ‘Bones’.
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Jones has had quite the ride in the UFC the past few years, being handed suspension after suspension following a hit-and-run incident in which a pregnant woman’s arm was broken, and testing positive for a banned substance by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) just days prior to his scheduled meeting with Daniel Cormier at UFC 200.
The bout was scrapped and the card was forced to switch its main event to a women’s Bantamweight clash between Amanda Nunes and Miesha Tate.
The heart of the matter
Submission Underground owner and promoter Chael Sonnen revealed on Brendan Schaub’s podcast ‘The Big Brown Breakdown’ (courtesy of LowKickMMA) that the bout between Jones and Rockhold is in the works:
“Jon Jones is working on a deal right now. Jon is likely to return, but his likely opponent is Luke Rockhold. Rockhold can grapple, (Daniel) Cormier wanted that fight too, but Jon Jones said no. He wants to save (Cormier) for his UFC comeback where he can use all his tools. Vinny Magalhaes wanted the fight too, and we really wanted him to take that fight. If he fought Vinny, it would be (Jones’) first fight in ten years that he should lose.”
What’s next?
Rockhold and Jones will likely get done in time for the next Submission Underground event, which has seemed to gain a lot of traction due to Sonnen’s ability to book some of the biggest names in mixed martial arts (MMA) today and stick them in a grappling match.
Sportskeeda’s take
Jones is an athletic specimen, who has submitted the best of Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts such as Vitor Belfort and Lyoto Machida, however, Rockhold is experienced in the art since his youth, after taking home multiple local titles.
Given the fact that Jones has been able to overcome experienced grapplers before, it should be the case once again if he finds himself rolling with Rockhold.
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