Jon Jones is one of the greatest fighters in MMA history. If he was to retire today, he would retire with a very secure legacy. He has never been beaten by anyone, with his only career loss coming via a bogus disqualification. Jones has established a legacy of winning, having never lost in title fights.
Jones’ resume is probably the greatest in the modern UFC, but he is looking to add more scalps. ‘Bones’ will be moving up to Heavyweight to challenge the winner of the Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou matchup at UFC 260. The winner will be defending the belt against Jones, and Jon is preparing for the move.
Jon Jones is feeling out his new heavyweight frame 👀 (via @JonnyBones) pic.twitter.com/rqW1z1k2sf
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 26, 2021
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The champion looks heavy but has retained a lot of his crisp movement. One of the hardest challenges while fighting Jones is how he used his length and speed to frustrate opponents and beat them with ease.
While heavyweights are bigger, Jones still has his lanky arms and legs. If he can retain his movement against these slower fighters, dominance may be guaranteed.
Jon Jones: Will he dominate the Heavyweights?
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Jon Jones is probably a lock to be a champion in many people’s eyes. However, the men that may stand in his way are no slouches. While Jones would definitely go into the fight as the favorite, recent history may swing the odds the other way.
Jones is coming off struggles against Dominick Reyes and Thiago Santos in his last few fights. Meanwhile, Stipe Miocic ended the golden run of Jones’ rival Daniel Cormier’s career and sent him to retirement. Meanwhile, Ngannou has knocked out his last 5 opponents within the first 2 minutes of their fights.
While Jones may be able to evade Ngannou’s power punches, could he out-strike or out-wrestle Stipe for a full fight? Even if he can evade Ngannou’s punches, will he be able to eat even a medium hit from someone like him.
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It will be easier to break it down once we know the result of Miocic and Ngannou, but the matchups are already intriguing.