Jon Jones at UFC 329: 'Makes me miss the game tremendously'

Jon Jones is in Las Vegas for UFC 329 fight week, and being ringside has stirred the competitive itch.

Jones attended the event to support his mentee, Olympic freestyle wrestling gold medalist Gable Steveson, who makes his UFC debut on the prelims against Elisha Ellison. Steveson has gone 3-0 as a pro, stopping all three opponents in the first round. Jones appeared on the UFC Embedded series looking on as Steveson prepared, and his comments suggested retirement might not sit as easy as he claims.

Jones goes back and forth on UFC return

"It feels so good to be back here," Jones said, per MMA Mania. "It makes me miss the game tremendously, but I had my time."

The longtime heavyweight champion has wavered publicly on whether he will fight again. In recent weeks he said the matchups fans want to see remain possible, but at UFC 329 he sounded more at peace with stepping away. "I feel like to be one of the best fighters you have to be very selfish," he said. "Now it's time for me to learn more about being selfless and so I'm here, Team Steveson giving him the best I've got, giving him my full support all the way to the top."

Jones turned down a reported fifteen million dollar offer to compete on the UFC White House card in June, which suggests any comeback would require a major payday. Steveson fights Ellison, who is 5-2 overall but 0-1 in the UFC after a first-round knockout loss to Brando Pericic, on Saturday night.

Photo: Senate Democrats / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Original reporting:

• mmamania.com — Jones: UFC 329 fight week ‘makes me miss the game tremendously’ | MMA Mania