Wiser, stronger & scarred - Wales' Jones on UFC return

"Wiser, stronger, scarred."

Those are the three words Mason Jones uses to describe himself before his UFC comeback.

After nearly three years away from the promotion, 'The Dragon' will return on May 3, in Des Moines, Iowa, USA when he faces off against veteran Jeremy Stephens.

An impressive four-fight win streak in Cage Warriors saw Jones earn back his spot with Dana White's promotion after a mixed first spell.

The Blaenavon native admits it was a difficult period in his life as he sought his way back.

"Tribulation is just giving it a title and recognising it for what it is, uncertainty makes you unwell," said Jones.

"It feels like you're drowning sometimes, the water's a bit high and you can't swim.

"I'm 29 years of age and I haven't had a pay cheque through the door in 12 months so it's not been easy."

Jones was quick to thank the support of his partner for not letting his dream end.

"She's been through a lot to be fair," said Jones.

"We've been living off her salary for two years.

"My sponsors dried up. When I wasn't doing so well people couldn't validate giving me money and helping support me so my income dropped 70 per cent.

"It's been hard but she's solid as a rock and it's just more encouragement to go out there and earn a bonus check for her."

The question of when and how Jones would make his return to the promotion was a lot for the Welshman to deal with.

"If someone tells you you're not good enough you can always prove them wrong.

"If someone tells you 'you're good enough but we don't have space for you', or 'we can't quite agree on how we move forwards', you don't really know how you're going to advance."

The lightweight division is arguably the deepest in UFC, with a very large pool of fighters aiming to take the belt held by Islam Makhachev.

"The average numbers in a weight division are 40 or 50. Lightweight, with me currently signed, is 93 people.

"There are too many people in that division, it's too flush and it's overflowing."

The size of talent pool made negotiations difficult for Jones and his management team, following his defeat to Ludovit Klein in London in July 2022.

Ultimately, they stepped away from the negotiating table, having failed to agree terms.

"We decided to take a step back for financial and performance reasons," said Jones.

"I spent my time, worked on everything and got four good wins under the Cage Warriors roster and I'm back."

Back wiser and better

Mason Jones has a professional career record of 15-2-1 (one no-contest)

Upon the announcement of his return to the promotion, Jones admits it was a slightly bittersweet time.

"I actually had a day or two in a bit of a slump, because I had so many people messaging me nice messages but they're the same people I hadn't spoke to since I fought.

"They were the ones talking about how I wasn't good enough.

"They just like when things are going well, and when they're not so well, they're the people that don't care, they don't ring."

Jones says he is wiser and better for the time away.

"I hit another spurt and felt so much stronger in myself and sort of developed and I feel more mature.

"It's about going in there now and proving everything, because everything I say is noise unless I back it up."

Jones is itching to get back in the cage.

"Until I fight and the cage door shuts, nothing is real because this game is all about uncertainties and big u-turns."

Doing his homework

While his bout with Stephens is confirmed, Jones is taking nothing for granted, having previously had multiple opponent changes on short notice.

"When I fought Ludovit Klein he was the sixth opponent I'd accepted. Before David Onama, he was the fourth I was meant to fight.

"Alan Patrick pulled out of our rematch on a week's notice, so you just deal with the hand you're dealt."

In order to combat that possibility, Jones keeps notes on all the potential opponents.

"At one point I literally had files on my computer with everyone's names and notes for each person [in the division] and breaking them down.

"There's no such thing as overstudying. You never know who's going to be offered to you."

Jeremy Stephens fought Mateusz Gamrot of Poland in his last UFC bout in July

His opponent Jeremy Stephens made his UFC debut in 2007, when Jones was just 11-years-old.

The American has not fought in UFC since July 2021, with three fights in PFL before more recently turning his hand to bare-knuckle boxing.

"He's an OG (Original Gangster) for me, I grew up watching his fights and I love his style," said Jones.

"I can't wait to punch him in the face now though."

The passion has never been extinguished, despite the setbacks.

"I don't wake up and have to do a 9 to 5 and think I don't want to be here, or I wish I wasn't, or how many years until I retire?

"I get up and I love every day, I go running, hit the gym two or three times a day, I get to see the world."

Jones is keen to take his experiences in his last four bouts with Cage Warriors into his second spell with UFC.

"Stylistically I've improved so much and the main thing now is to take it into my [second] debut and get the job done.

"All anyone ever remembers is performance, and my last performance in the UFC was poor, my last four Cage Warriors performances have been above average but I'm still great, so I need to show I'm great."

"I know when I perform I can beat anyone in the top 15.

"I'm more than capable of making the most of my opportunities and to show that I'm the number one fighter in the world on any given night, it just needs to be my night."