Being released from the largest organization in the sport can often signal the beginning of the end for many fighter's careers at the top level. After a failed UFC stint, fighters often resolve to "knuckle down", "get back to work" and claw their way back to the top table, but only a small few ever follow through on that promise.
Motivation to climb back to the top of the mountain can often be much harder to come by and many fighter's careers have petered out after they've been cut from the UFC, but it seems as though Mason Jones (15-2-1 NC MMA, 1-2-1 NC UFC) has broken that trend.
The Welshman, who fought inside the Octagon 4 times between 2021-2022, confirmed this week that he has re-signed with the UFC. Rumors had been circulating of the former Cage Warriors champion's return, and the 29-year-old verified those claims in a post on his X account.
"Finally leaked that I've signed back with the UFC" Jones tweeted. "Been a steady road since I fought in London & worked on my whole game since then. But we've still got to wait for me to ping on roster watch!"
A Whirlwind Journey For "The Dragon"
Jones won the vacant Cage Warriors lightweight title in 2020 when he knocked out Joe McColgan, and followed that achievement by capturing the welterweight belt later that same year with a 1st-round finish over Adam Proctor.
This secured him a UFC contract, but fortune seemed to desert the Blaenavon native during his first stint in the big leagues. After losing in his Octagon debut to Mike Davis, he looked to be coasting to a victory in his next fight over Alan Patrick before an accidental eye-poke resulted in the bout being declared a 'no contest'.
He finally got his first UFC win against David Onama later that same year but when he lost a close decision against L'udovit Klein in his next outing, he was unceremoniously released by the promotion.
Undettered, Jones returned to the Cage Warriors fold and rattled off 3 succesive finishes against Alexandre Ribeiro, Yann Liasse and Bryce Logan before putting on a striking clinic to beat Michael Pagani in July of last year to reaffirm his status as one of the best fighters in the world outside of the UFC.
No news has been released yet regarding who Jones might face in his second UFC debut.
