"The dream is absolutely not dead for me."
Mason Jones made that statement shortly after making the bold decision not to re-sign with the UFC in 2022.
He had won just one of his four fights under the UFC banner - losing two with one no-contest - but decided to explore options elsewhere.
The 31-year-old returned to Cage Warriors, where he had previously been a two-weight champion, to resurrect his career - even if it took a toll financially.
"I chose to leave [UFC]. I went back and I rebuilt everything I needed. It cost me a stupid amount of money, put me in debt at my eyeballs," Jones told BBC Wales.
"I said to my partner at the time, 'It's fine, we'll be fine, I've just got to do it this way'. We did it that way and look where I am now."
Jones drew inspiration from his grandfather - a former miner - and his determination to stick to his guns.
"Welsh people are well known to be resilient, we've been through it all," Jones said.
"My grandfather was a miner, all that happened, and everyone has to just pick yourself up by the bootstraps and scrap on.
"That's what I did: I picked myself up, I realised I needed to go back and rebuild."
Jones' decision to regroup has since paid off.
After stringing together four successive victories with Cage Warriors, he returned to the UFC in 2025 and has extended his winning streak to seven.
During his second stint in the UFC, Jones has picked up a Fight of the Night bonus and a Performance of the Night bonus - putting that extra money to good use.
"Well, I bought a house," he said with a massive smile on his face.
"I paid off all the debt I had from leaving the UFC and the two years I spent basically not earning any money.
"I'm starting to get to a place where I can actually earn a salary every year before I fight.
"The goals are there, the mindset is on point, it's just going out there and just putting this guy away."
No ranked opponent yet but title dreams remainJones has picked up eight of his 18 wins by knockout [Getty Images]Jones has firmly established himself in the highly competitive lightweight division, but is yet to secure a ranking.
Prior to beating Axel Sola in London in March, he said the UFC was exploring options for him to fight a top-15 ranked opponent.
He faces another unranked rival in American MarQuel Mederos on Saturday in Sacramento, but is confident a victory will deliver a big-name opponent next time out.
"Time-wise it didn't really work out, they had things in the pipeline for the [other ranked] people so instead they had a top contender in upcoming Axel Sola," Jones said.
"I put Axel Sola to bed and then it was, '100% we're going to offer you a top 15, give us some names you want'.
"I gave the names I wanted, two of them were booked up and the third one was off injured."
On top of trying to break into the higher echelons of the division, Blaenavon native Jones also has grand ambitions.
"I want to be the greatest Welsh fighter there's ever been. I want to be the greatest fighter the UFC's seen, that's always my plan," he said.
"I always wanted to be the UFC lightweight champion. That's been the end goal, since day one.
"For me, these are just steps I got to take, and it is a very steep slope - but I get this next win, then the doors open, my path is paved."
Fighting at his 'home away from home'There is a poetic return for Jones in the final fight of this deal.
Having spent much of his first contract in Sacramento with Team Alpha Male, he will fight at his "home away from home" on this weekend's card.
"The fact that I got offered to finish off my first contract back in the UFC in a place where I did a lot of my training camps, where I've got a lot of friends, a lot of fans and people who supported me over the years, is fantastic," Jones said.
"This whole contract has all been sort of righting a lot of wrongs and it's been full-circle moment and I want to finish this contract in emphatic fashion and get a solid win and hit myself up into the top 15."
Leave a Comment