Jones beats hometown hero Stephens on UFC return

Mason Jones made his UFC debut in Abu Dhabi in 2021

Mason Jones made a winning return to UFC, beating hometown favourite Jeremy Stephens in Des Moines, Iowa after a three-year absence.

The 30-year-old Welshman earned a unanimous decision in the lightweight bout at the start of the main card against an opponent who had returned to the competition to fight in front of his home fans.

Jones' win came after four successive triumphs in UK-based promotion Cage Warriors to leave him with ambitions of climbing the rankings in his division.

He told the UFC website: "This is what I work for. I went away, I took four fights, I worked on my trade. I came back and I may still be a rookie in this game, but I'm a veteran in my head, and I showed it.

"I think I was clever, I was smart, and I'm going to be a challenge for anyone in this division."

Jones added: "There's 92 fighters in the lightweight division and I think I can beat anyone on a given day, so let's just have one fight at a time and start climbing."

Jones made his UFC debut in 2021, having won the first 10 MMA fights of his career, but won only one of four fights in the organisation.

He left following defeat by Slovakia's Ludovit Klein in 2022.

Stephens was also making his return to UFC after almost four years away from the promotion, and he and the Welsh fighter traded kicks and blows for two rounds before Jones successfully switched tactics to grappling in the final round.

Before taking on Jones, Stephens fought 34 times in UFC, winning 15 bouts, but he left following a five-fight losing streak, fighting in the PFL in 2022 and winning three Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC).

However, Stephens could not repeat those feats against Jones, who told the UFC website: "My chin wasn't really tested. There was one good shot... I thought, 'oh, that's dangerous', but nothing he really hit me with really caused that much damage. I'm bruised but if you watch my fights, I bruise all the time."

Jones added: "My kicking landed, my striking landed and I kept composed all the way through it."