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Lawmaker and ex-MMA fighter Monson plans exhibition bout against Roy Jones Jr.

Earlier the US-born MMA fighter announced that he wrapped up his professional fighting career, but hinted on holding exhibition fights

MOSCOW, October 22. /TASS/. US-born Russian lawmaker and MMA star Jeff Monson told TASS on Tuesday that he plans to hold an exhibition boxing bout next spring in Ufa, the capital of the republic of Bashkortostan, against former undisputed boxing champion and Russian citizen Roy Jones Jr.

"I am planning an exhibition boxing bout against Roy Jones for March 1 [2025]. After that I will finally call it quits," he said.

Jeffrey William Monson, 53, dubbed "The Snowman," hails from the state of Minnesota in the United States. His MMA career boasts a record of 60 wins, 26 defeats and two draws. He is also a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion. Last June he announced that he wrapped up his professional fighting career, but hinted on holding exhibition fights.

Jeff Monson

The US-born MMA fighter was granted Russian citizenship in May 2018 and in September of that year was elected to the Council of Deputies (City Council) in the Krasnogorsk District, Moscow Region, an inner suburb of the neighboring City of Moscow. In September 2023 he was elected as a lawmaker with the State Council of Bashkortostan from the ruling United Russia party.

Monson is known for his love of Russia and its Soviet past. On many occasions, he has appeared in the ring to the strains of the Soviet national anthem. In 2016, he was awarded the title of honorary citizen of Abkhazia; in 2017, he became a citizen of the Lugansk People’s Republic in the Donbass region.

Roy Jones Jr.

In September 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to grant Russian citizenship to Roy Jones Jr. The professional career of the US-born boxer began in 1989 and he has won world titles in four weight classes.

At one point, he was considered the world’s best pound-for-pound boxer. He is also a unique sporting figure in that he is the only fighter to win belts in the middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions.

Jones Jr. had 66 wins over his professional career, including 47 knockouts, and lost nine fights. In 1988, he won a silver medal at the Seoul Olympics.

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