Jon Jones Reveals Surprising Sneaker Preference While Shoe Shopping W/ TMZ Sports

Ever wondered how Jon Jones goes about picking out his kicks?? Well, TMZ Sports actually ran into the former UFC heavyweight champion at the shoe store -- and you'll never guess the style he likes to rock!!

Jones popped up at an L.A. mall after spending some time filming a show in Thailand ... but he decided after living out of a suitcase for a while, it was time to splurge on himself.

To our surprise ... he doesn't opt for any eye-popping pairs -- he enjoys a dad-style look!!

"I just like chill, I like classy," he said. "I'm going with the old-school dad shoes, New Balance. You can't go wrong with New Balance. I'm an old head."

He explained when you are one of the baddest dudes on the planet, you can wear whatever you want.

Can't relate.

Stepping away from the shoe talk for a minute ... we got Jones' side of what went down with Nate Diaz and a competitor on the show, when all hell broke loose and a scrap broke out.

"He tried to wrestle with Nate," he said. "And Nate pushed him away; the joke just went terrible right off the bat, and the two started fighting each other. And Nate left the next day."

Back to the shoes. Unfortunately for him, the first store didn't have his size --- 13 to be exact -- so he hit up another spot in the city.

He finally found the perfect pair ... and if you bet he would buy a pair of Nike C1TY kicks -- you are the winner!