Jon Jones: When I talk to Ari Emanuel about next fight, I'll figure out return opponent

Jon Jones successfully returned to active competition on Sunday, though he’s not sure what’s next for his MMA career.

“I don’t really have much of an idea of what I want,” Jones, the former light heavyweight champion, told MMAjunkie video partner Champions.co following a submission of Dan Henderson at Submission Underground 2 in Portland, Ore., “I believe I’m in the best in the world, and well, if you say you’re the best, then why not go for what’s yours and go for the title? I really will have to talk with my coaches to see what they feel is best for me.”

Jones (22-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC), No. 2 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA pound-for-pound rankings and No. 1 at light heavyweight, said he approached a submission grappling with would-be UFC 151 opponent Henderson (32-15 MMA, 9-9 UFC) like a fight, going through just about every pre-bout ritual in his arsenal before stepping into a cage on Sunday at the Roseland Theater.

“I did everything but go to a waterfall, which I should have done, because Portland is like, the best place for that,” he said.

Still, he wound up submitting the now-retired Henderson with an arm-triangle. It was a positive note for the ex-champ after so many setbacks outside the cage, the latest of which will keep him from MMA until July.

“I’ll continue to train into July, and when the conversation comes with Ari (Emanuel) who I’ll be fighting, I’ll talk with my coaches and we’ll all see where I’m at, and see if it’s best for me to go for what’s mine,” Jones said.

Emanuel, of course, is a key figure in the UFC’s new management group led by entertainment powerhouse WME-IMG. Following Jones’ scratch from UFC 200, promotion president Dana White said he wasn’t willing to take another risk on the ex-champ for a main event.

If he’s coming back, though, Jones is almost certain to challenge for the belt, which currently belongs to his longtime rival, Daniel Cormier, who fought for and won the title left vacant when Jones was stripped for his involvement in a hit-and-run accident.

For now, the division is moving along – or rather running back – an old matchup. Anthony Johnson (22-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) is expected to be next for Cormier (18-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) after an injury scratched the champ from this past Saturday’s UFC 206.

The challenger advised reporters to forget about Jones for the meantime. But as “Bones” showed this past weekend, he hasn’t gone anywhere.

For more on UFC 200, check out the UFC Events section of MMAjunkie.