UFC light heavyweight Thiago Santos hopes that former rival Jon Jones comes back better than ever, saying “Jones is a legend of the sport.”

Santos and Jones met in the main event of UFC 239 in July 2019. In what was one of the toughest fights of Jones’ UFC light heavyweight title run, he edged out a split decision to get past Santos in what was an incredible fight. Of course, that fight was over two years ago, and so much else has happened in the years since then. Santos is still fighting and just beat Johnny Walker in his last fight, but Jones hasn’t fought since February 2020. Since then, he has mentioned moving up to heavyweight, but that move has since been delayed for numerous issues including Jones’ recent arrest for domestic battery.

Speaking to Sherdog.com in a recent interview, Santos was asked how he thinks Jones will do in his career going forward. Although many people have said that Jones’ career could potentially be over, at least as far as being an elite fighter goes, Santos is a fan of Jones as a fighter and believes he can still turn his career around. After seeing Glover Teixeira win the UFC light heavyweight title recently at age 42, Santos believes that the 34-year-old Jones has plenty left to give in his career, and a successful comeback is very possible.

“Everybody has problems. I´m sure Jones will pass through that hard moment of his life and return stronger than ever, no matter if it’s at heavyweight or light heavyweight. And that´s my hope as a fan and colleague. Jones is a legend of the sport and after seeing a guy like Glover, 42 years old, do what he did, I´m sure Jones, who is only 34 years old, has a lot to give to our sport yet,” Santos said.

Do you agree with Thiago Santos that Jon Jones is still young enough and talented enough to turn his career around?