Quote: Miocic & Overeem Would Provide ‘Hard’ Fights For Jon Jones
After once again winning the UFC light heavyweight title with a brilliant third round TKO victory over Daniel Cormier at July 29’s UFC 214, Jon Jones called out former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, and teased a potential jump up in weight.
While Jones called out Lesnar, he has showed less interest in facing off with current heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, which is a sentiment that ex-titleholder and former Jones training partner Frank Mir agrees with:
“The only fight immediately that would make me nervous for Jon would be Stipe,” Mir told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour.
“I think any other heavyweight I can see [Jones] beating,” Mir said. “Stipe is a hard one. And I think Alistair, too, might be a hard one.”
Jones is certainly a large light heavyweight, and if he were to move up in weight, he’d likely still possess a height and reach advantage over most of his opponents, but Mir worries that “Bones” may lack power against some of the larger heavyweights, although he isn’t counting out the 205-pound king:
“I think he’s a dangerous fighter and I would never, ever put him out,” Mir said of Jones. “His upper body is definitely in that world, that realm that he could compete at heavyweight, but it’s his lower body. Heavyweights are still big and pushing around and carrying that weight. I don’t know.”
“Could he do it?” Mir said. “Would I put it past Jon? No. Not at all. I’ve trained with him. I know how good he is. He’s not giving up reach and distance. It would just be that horsepower. Could he eliminate it through his technical wrestling and his angles? He very well may could.”
Jones’ next move is still unclear, but it’s obvious that he’s looking for lucrative fights, which is why Miocic hasn’t appealed to him as a potential opponent. Jones doesn’t necessarily feel as if Miocic is a major draw, and Mir agrees:
“Stipe is a phenomenal champ as far as like he’s a good guy, if you want to point your kids in the right direction, ‘Hey, look at this guy, he’s a good person,’” Mir said. “Family guy, down to Earth, still works a regular job as a firefighter. He’s an asset to the community. But as far as a blockbuster [in] ticket sales, he’s no Conor McGregor. Stipe still, he doesn’t break into that realm of ticket sales and pay-per-view buys that some other heavyweights in the past have that are not as talented as he is. He has everything except for he’s just not that marketing machine that some other people have been.”
Who would you like to see Jones face next?
