After Jon Jones defeated Stipe Miocic with a spinning back kick followed by punches, the world of mixed martial arts was reminded of the heavyweight champion’s fearsome power. And let us not forget his aptitude for grappling. It was crystal clear by the way he submitted Ciryl Gane on his heavyweight debut. But is there anyone who can actually defeat Jones?

To find out the answer to that, we asked Open AI’s ChatGPT to name three fighters who have the best chance of defeating Jones in the heavyweight realm. Let’s see what the AI listed out, shall we?

1. Tom Aspinall

Ever since Tom Aspinall defeated Sergei Pavlovich and claimed the interim heavyweight belt, the entire fighting community believed that he would be the next fight for Jones. However, ‘Honey Badger’ was left trying to defend his belt against Curtis Blaydes in a rematch. Well, Aspinall is one of the most well-rounded fighters in the heavyweight division, and the AI thinks so too.

He started perfecting his grappling game from a pretty young age (credit to his father). Add in his agility and striking prowess, Tom Aspinall is an unstoppable force.

AI certainly believes that the interim heavyweight champion could be a unique challenge for the 38-year-old heavyweight champ. The key strategy that Aspinall could deploy is a balanced attack. He would have to counter Jones’ attempt to take him down and control the pace of the fight.

But the British fighter has many more advantages to his name than just his fighting prowess. Aspinall is still young and never stops growing his skills. Just like Jones, the Britisher has an explosive right fist. With his habit of targeting his opponents’ footing, Aspinall has a fair chance against the heavyweight champ.

Top Comment by Mychal Rosser

He’s faced a lot of people with KO power, all of them went nite nite. Stop debating who will win,...more

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Jones has previously stated he would prefer Alex Pereira as an exciting new opponent because facing Aspinall wouldn’t do much for his legacy. But that may not be entirely true. For instance, the Britisher holds these records:

• The shortest fight time average in UFC history at 2:02.
• The shortest bottom position time (0:01) in UFC’s history.
• The highest striking differential in UFC history at 5.18.

2. Sergei Pavlovich

Being a knockout artist with 15 out of 18 wins coming from KOs, Sergei Pavlovich can be considered a strong opponent for Jones. AI gave credit to Pavlovich’s devastating knockout power as well. Before his fight against Tom Aspinall, the Russian heavyweight was on a 6-fight win streak, all of which came from first-round KOs.

On top of that, Pavlovich stands 6’3” tall and has a reach of 84” as a heavyweight. In contrast, Jones is 6’4” tall with an 84.5” reach. This similarity in their size certainly gives the Russian a good chance of surviving against Jones.

Furthermore, the #4 heavyweight contender has the largest ape index in the MMA world (Ape Index: +9.0″). This is indeed a major advantage in Pavlovich’s arsenal. Open AI’s ChatGPT also predicted that if Pavlovich got to go up against ‘Bones’, he would pressure the champion with his aggressive striking. This would indeed prevent Jon Jones from implementing his tactical approach against him.

But the question that remained is: Would Jones ever agree to fight someone like Pavlovich? As per Chael Sonnen, calling out the Russian would further glorify Jones’ courage and competitiveness. It would be a pretty nice addition to his legacy, as well. But will he do it? Well, Jones is nearing the age of 40, and would soon opt for retirement. Instead, he might go up against Aspinall to defend the belt. After all, many MMA fans have been expecting the title unification bout to take place.

3. Curtis Blaydes

According to Open AI’s ChatGPT, Curtis Blaydes, with his elite wrestling and knack for ground-and-pound, has the potential to neutralize Jones’ wrestling. Added with a constantly improving striking game, Blaydes does have the power to defeat the heavyweight champion. Artificial Intelligence also pointed out that ‘Razor’ would deploy his superior wrestling game to take control of the fight. With the fight going to the ground, it would be seemingly easier for Blaydes to claim the win.

Even Blaydes seems to think so. Talking to MMA Fighting in 2023, ‘Razor’ said, “For all those reasons [I’m the toughest matchup]— I have the size, I have the wrestling, I have the athleticism, I have the speed, I have the agility. I have all the things you need to match up with a talent like Jon Jones.”

Blaydes wasn’t oblivious to Jones’ reach advantage. However, he was confident that he could dictate the fight going into a clinch. He said, “I believe once I take anyone down, the odds are in my favor.”

Prior to his rematch against the ‘Honey Badger’ at UFC 304, ‘Razor’ weighed in on Jones as a heavyweight. He said, “I know I’m not the only one who thought he looked a little top-heavy. He doesn’t really have the legs of a heavyweight. I don’t view him as a heavyweight.” And with that additional confidence against Jones, although it’s hard to see, we can expect Blaydes to give tough competition to ‘Bones’ and possibly defeat him.

Do you think any of the aforementioned names can claim a win against Jones? Or does the heavyweight champion have the power to rise victorious above all of them? Drop down to the comments below and let us know what you think.