Jon Jones returned to Russia and engaged in a humorous grappling trade with UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev.
Whereas Jones is broadly thought to be one of many best MMA fighters of all time, Chimaev has developed a fame as one of the vital succesful fighters immediately. “Bones” and Chimaev had lengthy wished to satisfy one another, so naturally their greeting included a grappling trade.
Khamzat Chimaev groups up with Jon Jones 👀
(through IG/rizvan82) pic.twitter.com/qYeP7BJQQo
— Championship Spherical (@ChampRDS) November 25, 2025
Jones took to his X account to reward Chimaev’s dedication.
“We had a beautiful dinner collectively and he appeared so humble, targeted and motivated,” Jones wrote. “On the finish of dinner, he mentioned he needed to drive 4 hours again to the mountains for coaching.”
Again in 2022, Chimaev expressed his want to coach with Jones on his YouTube channel. He paid tribute to ‘Bones’ legendary run contained in the Octagon.
“Possibly I am going to write a letter to Jon Jones,” Chimaev mentioned. “I mentioned I wished to coach with him. The fighters he beat had been monsters, monsters in his division. He did not get any straightforward fighters, however he made them look straightforward.”
Outstanding combined martial arts journalist Ariel Helwani mentioned the UFC needs Jones to face present UFC mild heavyweight champion Alex Pereira on the White Home card. Helwani additionally denied rumors that Pereira vs. Carlos Ulberg was scheduled for UFC 324.
As for Chimaev, his first UFC middleweight title protection is unknown at the moment. Most throughout the MMA neighborhood imagine that Nasouddin Imavov is more likely to get a title shot subsequent, however nothing has been confirmed at the moment.
Chimaev gained the UFC middleweight title with a dominant efficiency in opposition to Drikas du Plessis at UFC 318. Chimaev had almost 22 minutes of management time in opposition to du Plessis en path to profitable his first profession UFC gold medal.
