VIDEO | Cain Velasquez confident that he could beat Jon Jones

“Definitely,” Cain Velasquez told TMZ when asked if he would be interested in fighting Jon Jones. “Anyone, you know. That’s why I’m in this sport, to fight the best guys, to be the best out there. To me, it’s just go out there, perform and win and just take on the best guys.

“I think I could [beat him]. I think I’m good enough. Jon Jones, he’s an amazing athlete. I’ve watched him in all of his fights, I know what he’s capable of. Again, every guy poses a great challenge, I think he does as well. I think I could beat him, yeah.”

Once upon a time, Jon Jones vs Cain Velasquez was one of the more talked about potential champion vs champion fights.

Now with both fighters returning or in Jones’ case, having already returned, it creates the possibility of them being matched once again.

Even if it is a little fantastical due to Jones’ disinterest in moving up to heavyweight whether it be for a fight with his rival and current champion, Daniel Cormier, or against Velasquez, it’s still a fun thought to play with.

While Jones has already returned to regain UFC gold, Velasquez faces an uphill battle as this Sunday night he’ll have to get through the heavy-handed ‘Predator’ Francis Ngannou at UFC Phoenix.

On top of that, his good friend and longtime training partner in Cormier is now the champion of his division that he used to rule over back in his heyday.

For Velasquez, this upcoming fight with Ngannou will be his first since July 2016 when he defeated Travis Browne by first-round TKO at UFC 200.

A win over the Cameroonian in Ngannou would get him right back into the thick of things in MMA’s largest division.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 2/12/2019