On Saturday night at UFC 241, Stipe Miocic got his revenge on Danie Cormier by knocking him out in the fourth round to reclaim the heavyweight title. Heading into the event, talk of Cormier defending the title in a trilogy with Jon Jones hung around. But with Miocic dispatching Cormier, what does that mean regarding a potential move to heeavyweight for Jones? Should the UFC push for Jones to challenge Miocic now? MMA Junkie’s Simon Head, Farah Hannoun and Nolan King sound off in this latest edition of Triple Take.
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Simon Head: Actually Jones-Cormier 3 might make even more sense now
A week is a long, long time in sports, and it can be an absolute age in MMA.
During fight week ahead of UFC 241, the underlying topic of discussion was whether we would be seeing a Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier trilogy after “DC’s” heavyweight title rematch with Miocic. That prompted a side discussion over which weight class the pair should compete in and whether Jones would be prepared to step up and face “DC” for the heavyweight title. Jones himself weighed in, virtually daring Cormier to move back down and face him again with some A-grade reverse psychology on social media.
But thanks to Stipe Miocic’s brilliant come-from-behind win in Anaheim, the prospect of Jones-Cormier 3 for the heavyweight title is now off the table. But that doesn’t mean Jones-Cormier 3 is dead in the water. And that is the one big reason why it makes little sense to push Jones to move up to heavyweight at this point.
Sure, Jones challenging Miocic for the heavyweight title is a big fight. But in the grand scheme of things, it probably doesn’t make sense, whether you look at it from the UFC’s point of view or from Jones’.
At 205, Jones is building a legacy as he chases Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson’s record of 11 UFC world title defenses. He’s currently at 8, and if he stays fit and active, could potentially match or surpass Johnson’s mark by the end of 2020. At that point, a move to heavyweight would make sense, but now? With a big fight, but not a blockbuster fight, to move up for, he’d be leaving a different title behind – the title of the most dominant UFC champion of all time.
Jones is big and rangy at 205, and would almost certainly need to add more muscle to his frame to help him deal with the challenges posed by the UFC’s big men. Once he commits himself to the strength and conditioning program to do that, moving back down to 205 will be a big ask.
Had Cormier stayed on top this past weekend, the lure of the biggest trilogy fight in UFC history may have been enough to tempt him. But now, the only feasible way we’ll see Jones and DC back in the cage together is at 205, and that’s just where Jones wanted it all along.
On top of that, there’s another ready-made rematch waiting to be made for the heavyweight title. Francis Ngannou has blasted his way back to the front of the queue and wants a piece of Miocic next. The UFC should book that fight, while continuing Jones’ story at 205.
And if DC decides to keep things rolling for a little while longer and fancies one more dance with “Bones” for the belt at 205, all the better.
Next page – Farah Hannoun: Now is the perfect time for Miocic vs. Jones
Farah Hannoun: Now is the perfect time for Miocic vs. Jones
Stipe Miocic just reclaimed his heavyweight throne, and the talk of him being the greatest heavyweight of all time is back. He avenged his loss to Cormier at UFC 241 with a comeback fourth-round finish to hand Cormier his first loss at heavyweight.
So what’s next for Stipe? Well, why not a fight against arguably the greatest fighter of all time in Jon Jones? Miocic pretty much has cleared out the division, including the current No. 1 contender in Francis Ngannou.
And Jones doesn’t have a clear-cut contender at light heavyweight, either. Theres isn’t that big name luring him into a fight. Even with Cormier no longer at light heavyweight, Jones was constantly asked about a potential trilogy with him.
Now that Miocic took out Cormier, how about Jones fights him next? It will 100 percent garner fan interest in many different ways. For starters, Jones would be taking on a larger man who carries real, big heavyweight power. Just like Cormier does, but they competed 205 pounds. It would definitely be a risky move for Jones to fight Miocic, but one that would earn him massive props, and it’d be another feather in his cap to his controversial legacy.
Not too long ago, Jones seemed open to the idea of fighting Miocic when he challenged him for a showdown in July. Miocic responded right away, saying he’s ready whenever Jones is. But Jones ended up booked against Thiago Santos. So if Jones was down to fight Miocic when he wasn’t champion, surely it would be even better now that not only is he champion again, but he’s coming off a knockout win over his rival, Cormier.
Jones even tweeted that Miocic is the greatest heavyweight of all time. So what are we waiting for? There may be one issue, though, as Jones has recently stated in the media that he’s not that interested in fighting at heavyweight. If Miocic’s performance at UFC 241 doesn’t change his mind, I don’t think anything else will. Now is the perfect time.
Next page – Nolan King: Light heavyweight is just getting too good for Jones to move up
Nolan King: Light heavyweight is just getting too good for Jones to move up
I get it – the sheer thought of Stipe Miocic vs. Jon Jones makes many MMA fans drool. It’s a phenomenal matchup that sells itself. The fighter many believe to be the pound-for-pound “GOAT” taking on the most successful heavyweight in history? The fight definitely has the “it” factor.
However, it’s not the right time.
Light heavyweight has more fresh faces surging up the ladder than it’s had in years. Dominick Reyes, Johnny Walker, Corey Anderson, and Alexander Rakic are all approaching challenger-ship. At heavyweight, there is a consensus next title challenger in Francis Ngannou, who has wiped the floor with most of the division. When a fighter makes a jump with contenders standing in the on deck circle, more times than not both divisions lose out.
I mean, I’m not honestly going to sit here and complain if Jones vs. Miocic gets announced for a 2020 bout. I’d be crazy to hate that fight. At the same time, superfights work best when divisions aren’t flourishing. When Michael Bisping took a fight against Georges St. Pierre, a thriving middleweight division had most of its contenders round-robin eliminate each other out of the picture. When Conor McGregor held up both the featherweight and lightweight divisions, divisional momentum seemed stunted and resulted in a one-off interim title fight that named Tony Ferguson champion.
If Jones wants to vacate the belt and make the jump, that’s fine. But the UFC shouldn’t feel any itch to get this fight as soon as possible. To make matters more complicated, Jones has stated his move to 265 pounds would likely be a permanent one. If Jones feels it’s finally time to move on for good, then so be it. But in recent interviews and tweets, Jones has made it seem like he’s not ready yet.
Let the fans talk and build this fight. Not giving instant gratification will make anticipation grow even more. If the chips fall where they may, book Jones and Miocic. But for now, there are enough intriguing matchups for both men to stay put.
