Opinion: Stipe Miocic Defeating Jon Jones at UFC 295 Is a Strong Possibility

UFC 295 is just over a month away and we already have some amazing fights on the card. The MSG-headlining fight of the event between heavyweight champion Jon Jones and former champion Stipe Miocic is one of the most anticipated fights of the year. While many people believe that ‘Bones’ could come out on top, there are reasons why fans should not be counting Miocic out.

Many regard Jon Jones as the greatest MMA fighter of all time. He has shown time and time again that he’s always on a level above his opponents. However, we have reasons to believe that it is possible that Stipe Miocic just might defeat the reigning heavyweight champion. Let us see why.

Stipe Miocic has defeated many heavyweight legends

Part-time firefighter and former UFC champion Stipe Miocic has defeated the who’s who of the promotion’s heavyweight division. Since his debut in 2012, he has defeated fighters like Mark Hunt, Junior dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, and one of Jon Jones’s biggest rivals, Daniel Cormier (twice). Furthermore, Stipe Miocic has also defeated a fighter that many people wanted to see ‘Bones’ fight, and that is Francis Ngannou. So, there is no doubt that he is a legitimate force to be reckoned with.

Miocic has not fought since early 2021. Hence, he has been out of action for over two years now. Nevertheless, that may not be a big of an issue. In the last five fights he’s had, the 41-year-old has won three times and lost twice. Moreover, those three wins have come against two of the toughest heavyweight fighters, Cormier and Ngannou. Now let’s look at his title defenses.

All of Miocic’s title defenses

Stipe Miocic is one of the two fighters in the UFC who has won the heavyweight title more than once, the other one being Randy Couture. He won the title twice, earning him the ‘greatest heavyweight of all time’ moniker. That moniker was given to him in light of the caliber of opponents he faced inside the Octagon. After winning the heavyweight title for the first time against Fabricio Werdum at UFC 198, he defended it three times before losing it.

His first title defense took place against Alistair Overeem, whom he knocked out in the very first round. Then, the second defense took place against Junior dos Santos, whom he defeated in a similar fashion to his previous fight. Finally, his third title defense was a unanimous decision win over Francis Ngannou.

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After losing the title to Daniel Cormier at UFC 226, he reclaimed it at UFC 241 and successfully defended it in a trilogy fight against ‘DC’ before losing it to Ngannou in his last UFC fight. Stipe Miocic cemented himself as the UFC fighter with the most heavyweight title defenses in history. Meanwhile, Cormier recently mentioned Miocic’s new physique, which he believes is better than ever.

Daniel Cormier believes Stipe Miocic has never looked better than he does now

In a recent video posted on his YouTube channel, Daniel Cormier weighed in on the upcoming fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. ‘DC’ mentioned that he’d briefly chatted with someone from Miocic’s camp and they said that the former champion was in great shape. Cormier said, “I spoke to someone in the Miocic camp. They told me he’s never looked better. He looks huge, he looks big, and he looks strong.”

Furthermore, Daniel Cormier is asking fans to expect a much bigger Stipe Miocic in comparison to the physique he had after his title run. Not only that, Cormier also believes that the extra weight could come into play during the fight against Jon Jones. “Expect him more bulky now and I believe that the extra weight will help him because when you look at Jones, Jones is a big dude now at heavyweight,” said the Hall of Famer. Now, let’s take another reason why Miocic could emerge victorious at UFC 295. However, this time, it’s about Jon Jones.

Jon Jones has only had a brief showing as a heavyweight

‘Bones’ has fought as a light heavyweight fighter for the majority of his career. Bursting onto the UFC scene as a 21-year-old, Jon Jones became the most dominant fighter in the light heavyweight division, capturing the belt on two separate occasions and even holding the interim title once. However, when it comes to the heavyweight division, he still hasn’t shown us enough of what he has in store.

When he made his heavyweight debut at UFC 285, there was no doubt that most people favored him to win the championship. Moreover, he defeated Ciryl Gane in just under a couple of minutes and lived up to the hype. Regardless of his win, the fight only lasted a few minutes. Hence, it left a lot to be seen. Moreover, Ciryl Gane stylistically was more of a striker and the same cannot be said for Stipe Miocic, who is a well-rounded fighter.

Stipe Miocic’s two-year layoff may not be a drawback against Jones given that the champion also had just one fight since returning after three years. As we approach UFC 295, the anticipation is building up for arguably the biggest fight of the year. Who do you think will come out on top? Drop your comments below.

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