Welsh UFC star Mason Jones vows to ‘dismantle’ Conor McGregor’s ex-rival: ‘I’m faster, I’m stronger’

Mason Jones likens going toe-to-toe with Jeremy Stephens to 'standing in front of a barrel of a gun.'

That's why the 30-year-old Welshman plans to showcase a 'clean, crisp' version of himself as he makes his return to UFC action.

Briton Jones makes his promotional return against Stephens in Iowa on Saturday night after nearly three years away.

Stephens, an MMA veteran with 34 UFC fights, ventured into bare-knuckle boxing after leaving the UFC in 2021, and is also making his comeback after almost four years away.

He is eight years Jones' senior, having made his UFC debut in 2007, but 'The Dragon' believes it will be his youth that can be the difference on fight night.

"I'm not going to stand there and brawl with Jeremy Stephens," the Blaenavon native told marvelbet369.com.

"He hits hard. Why would you stand there and do that? I'm faster than him. I'm younger than him. I'm almost ten years his junior.

"I may still be a rookie compared to him, but I'm a veteran in everything I've done.

"So for me, it's just I'm faster, I'm stronger. My wrestling's better. My jiu-jitsu is better. I've actually got a submission game.

"You're going to go out there and see a clean, crisp Mason 'The Dragon' Jones, and you're going to see me dismantle Jeremy Stephens."

Stephens has not competed in MMA since November 2022.

After his 14 years with the UFC, 'Lil Heathen' lost two of his three bouts in the PFL before he explored the world of boxing, with gloves and without.

He drew with MMA legend Jose Aldo in a 2023 bout with the gloves on, before stripping them off to sign with the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC).

BKFC is co-owned by UFC star Conor McGregor, and the Irishman came face-to-face with Stephens after the latter defeated Eddie Alvarez in January.

Stephens has a long-term history with McGregor, and gained international recognition when coming to blows with the Irishman in the UFC.

McGregor went viral in 2016 when he produced a one-line classic in response to Stephens' claim that he was the 'hardest-hitting' featherweight fighter.

Jones, meanwhile, has been struggling to pay off debt since he first left the UFC, but asserts he is living his dream.

"It's disappointing when you're a 29-year-old male, and every single person that you grow up with are buying houses and have families, and all you're doing is accumulating debt," he added.

"It's very, very distracting. Not many people chase dreams. People like to sit in their laurels and stay safe and have a safety net.

"I live a good life. A few of my friends, they dread their Monday to Friday.

"They actually dread it. They hate it, but they have the safety and the platform there.

"I love my Monday through to Sunday. I love every day of my life. The incredible things, even Des Moines.

"Des Moines is such a weird little city, but it's somewhere I would never have gone to.

"Why would you go to Des Moines, Iowa? But we're here, and it's like seeing the world. I get to knock people out for a living.

"For me, it's one of the things where it's just everything's going to work out as long as I focus, as long as I get my head down, as long as I just blink everything out and focus on my one goal, and that is to beat Jeremy Stephens."

Jones suffered a narrow unanimous decision defeat to Ludovit Klein in his last UFC fight in July 2022.

He is aiming to stay busy this year through at least two more fights, before targeting the top 15 UFC lightweight division, which is currently ruled by the likes of Islam Makhachev and Paddy Pimblett.