The strong rumours are true, now former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones has made the move up to heavyweight. We’ve seen the great Daniel Cormier and Alexander Gustafsson make the move up and now it’s time to see the GOAT make the move up.
Jones wants to fight current champion Stipe Miocic to become the second man to hold both the Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight titles simultaneously however, it has been confirmed that next challenger for Stipe will be Francis Ngannou, who has been clearing out the Heavyweight division in his quest to have another shot at the title after failing to beat Miocic at UFC 220 in January 2018.
Miocic is highly unlikely to fight again until next year, so the wait for Jones to fight the winner of Miocic vs Ngannou is going to be a long one. Unless there are any sudden changes, I’d expect Jones to fight for the Heavyweight title in Summer 2021.
Due to this, it’s either Jon fights someone lower in the division such as a Curtis Blaydes or he waits until he’s handed an instant title shot. I want to see how Jon fairs against someone like Curtis Blaydes or Rozenstruik before he faces the likes of Stipe or Francis to see how good he is at Heavyweight, as the Heavyweight division is extremely different to Light Heavyweight.
It seems like the Jones Adesanya superfight is off for now as Style Bender has to currently deal with Paulo Costa at UFC 253 next month, so it seems like Jones is either going to jump right in, or wait to see if he gets an instant title shot.
So, how does Jones do at Heavyweight? To be honest, I think he does just fine. I don’t think he’ll be as dominant as he was at 205 lbs but I think Jones, sort of like current champion Miocic, is a natural Heavyweight. He won’t have to cut weight and he can put on more muscle and have even more power than he has now.
It also cannot be forgotten that Jones is probably the most technically gifted fighter in the UFC and what he may lack in power in comparison to the likes of Francis Ngannou, he gains vastly in his technique. I think Jones in the Heavyweight division will be similar to Israel Adesanya at Middleweight, where his precision and fight IQ will be make up for his lack of power in comparison to his opposition.
So, to put it in simple terms, if Jones fights Ngannou he’s much more likely to win than if he fights Miocic.
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