As the only man to become a two-division champion in Cage Warriors not named Conor McGregor, Mason Jones came into the UFC with a lot of hype behind him.
But the Welshman’s Octagon run didn’t go to plan for a variety of reasons that leave him still feeling like he didn’t get to show his true potential.
In September 2022, Jones made the decision to not re-sign with the UFC in order to try and prove his worth and get some more fights under his belt before coming back to the big stage.
Finding fights hasn’t been easy for “The Dragon,” and that’s led him back to Cage Warriors, where he is proving to still be a cut above the level of talent in Europe right now.
Unfortunately, patience is the name of the game for him right now as he waits to see where 2024 will take him.
Jones Says He Will Stand By His Take On Never Signing For Bellator
In a recent interview with Violent Money TV, Jones spoke about receiving offers from multiple European promotions and two major ones.
Having turned down a spot on the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter, the 28-year old knows that the promotion is still interested in taking him back.
The other major option would likely be signing with the PFL if he wants to go straight back up to a big show, but he hasn’t considered it all that much.
Their acquisition of Bellator means there is one less option for fighters and Jones believes the deal removes PFL as an option for him going forward.
The Team Alpha Male fighter says that he would never make this move due to the reputation and first-hand cases he has seen of fighters taking performance-enhancing drugs while competing in Bellator.
"This is the only way I can answer that question for you. I’ve always said that I would never fight in Bellator. Not because of the Bellator banner but because I know openly that people take steroids in Bellator. PFL is bringing in testing, and they’ve been in the process of bringing in testing for the past 12 months, I personally believe that the advantage of steroids lasts for about two years. So after you take, especially if you’re on the right things, I think the advantage of steroids is two years.
“I wouldn’t be interested in ever signing to Bellator because of that and now obviously where they are at at the moment is a very tricky place to be in so for me, I wouldn’t want to comment on that. All I would like to say is I just need to get one more fight and then we’ll see what roads are open to me.”
Whats the difference between taking it openly and taking it behind closed doors?