Jon Jones hails "smooth" Conor McGregor as UFC star ramps up training

08 October 2023 , 15:11

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Jon Jones hails "smooth" Conor McGregor as UFC star ramps up training

Jon Jones has praised fellow UFC legend Conor McGregor for "looking smooth" in new sparring footage ahead of his comeback fight.

McGregor is hoping to make his return against Michael Chandler in the first half of next year having fought since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier in July 2021. The former two-weight world champion recently coached against Chandler on reality TV show The Ultimate Fighter and they were expected to fight at UFC 296 on December 16 but they weren't able to settle on that date.

Jones won the UFC heavyweight title in March by tapping out Ciryl Gane in under two minutes, as the world title win also marked his return following a three-year layoff. Both Jones and McGregor have been extremely complimentary of each other throughout their career and 'Bones' was impressed by the Irishman's boxing skills in a recent training clip.

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"McGregor looking smooth with it," he commented on the video of McGregor sparring. Jones praised McGregor for taking MMA and the UFC to a new level when addressing his superstardom earlier this year, as he told reporters including Mirror Fighting: "There's only one Conor McGregor! I love Conor, I love what he represents.

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"He's big, he has this gigantic brand, some say it's just as big as our sport. It's going to be great when he comes back, he's going to bring a whole new energy. Even more fans, it's great for all of us. It's great for the sponsors, it's great for the UFC. I wish Conor all the best, I love the way he's living his life."

McGregor excited fans by revealing he "submitted his stuff" to get the ball rolling on his fighting return and UFC boss Dana White expects the Irishman to be back in the drug testing pool next week. UFC fighters need to complete six months of mandatory drug testing before they are eligible to compete, meaning McGregor will be ready to fight by April 2024 at the earliest.

"He is not officially in the USADA pool," White said of McGregor. "He has submitted the paperwork so probably by Monday he will be submitted. Again, don't hold me to that but the paperwork is submitted so next week sometime," White told reporters. "I literally have nothing planned with Conor McGregor right now, the paperwork is being submitted."

Harry Davies