On May 3, the Octagon arrives in Des Moines where a potential fight of the night candidate has several ties to Conor McGregor.
Jeremy Stephens returns to the UFC in a shocking move that will see the 51-fight veteran compete in front of his home town fans in the main card opener.
‘Lil Heathen’ has recently undergone a career rebirth in BKFC where his history with ‘The Notorious’ could’ve led to a clash between Stephens and McGregor.
His opponent on Saturday night will also be a former UFC fighter who is back on the roster following some time away with former lightweight prospect Mason Jones returning at 30-years-old.
Before the Welshman’s initial run in the promotion, he made his name on the European scene by replicating the accomplishments of two of the best fighters that the UK and Ireland has ever produced.
Mason Jones followed in the footsteps of Conor McGregor and Dan Hardy by becoming a champ-champ in Cage Warriors
After going 8-0 in his career, Mason Jones claimed his first title in Cage Warriors by stopping Joe McColgan in the first round to win the lightweight title right as all sport came to a halt in 2020 due to the pandemic.
The exciting striker would then set his sights on a second belt my moving up to welterweight later that year to face Adam Proctor for the vacant title.
At Cage Warriors 116 in September of 2020, he produced his second back-to-back first-round finish to beat Proctor and become a champ-champ in the European promotion.
Immediately after the fight, Jones would call for the UFC where he made his debut the following January, fighting four times before deciding to not renew his contract so that he could go and rack up some more experience.
He brought plenty of hype with him into the Octagon due to his two-weight accomplishment which only two fighters had done in Cage Warriors.
Both Conor McGregor and Dan Hardy held two belts at the same time before they went on to sign with the UFC where ‘The Notorious’ would make history by replicating this feat inside the Octagon.
Whilst ‘The Outlaw’ didn’t wear UFC gold in his career, Hardy did challenge Georges St-Pierre for the welterweight title at UFC 111 in 2010.
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Mason Jones has rebuilt himself by proving that he’s still the best on the European scene
It was a bold decision from Mason Jones to walk away from a UFC contract in 2022 but after a rough run inside the Octagon, ‘The Dragon’ wanted to increase his worth by getting some momentum behind him.
He did just that by returning to Cage Warriors where he produced three consecutive finishes and one fight of the year contender against Michael Pagani before re-signing to the UFC earlier this year.
At 30-years-old, the Welshman still has plenty of time on his hands but it’s now on him to show what he’s truly capable of at the highest level.
Given his exciting style and Jeremy Stephens’ track record, the main card opener on May 3 has fireworks written all over it.