The UFC light heavyweight division has more viable title contenders than any time in recent years, and that’s keeping UFC champ Jon Jones in the headlines.
Just one week after Dominick Reyes pushed Jones to the brink in a title bout at UFC 247, Jan Blachowicz put himself in the forefront of the conversation with a knockout of Corey Anderson at UFC on ESPN+ 25. There’s a lot of jockeying for position, and also the lingering option of Jones fighting someone from another weight class.
What’s Jones’ best move? That’s the question MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn, Farah Hannoun and Danny Segura attempt to answer in the latest edition of Triple Take.
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Mike Bohn: Jan is the man
The UFC is all about trying to capitalize on momentum and opportunity, and quite honestly, this one fell right into Dana White’s lap. If Blachowicz had won in any less a spectacular manner than he did against Anderson, he would have been a reluctant part of the title conversation, only because of his overall body of work that includes three consecutive wins over Anderson, Ronaldo Souza and Luke Rockhold.
What he pulled off in reality, though, was nothing short of perfection.
Not only did Blachowicz avenge a crucial career loss to Anderson from 2015 with an exclamation point, but he did it with the champ Jones sitting in the front row. The Polish fighter took full advantage of that unique scenario, pointing at Jones through the cage and doing just what he needed to build hype for a potential title fight. Jones played his part, too, by totally immersing himself in the moment and making Blachowicz come off a much bigger star than he’d appear to be otherwise.
Coming into the event, a rematch between Jones and Reyes felt like the most marketable title fight at 205 pounds, but now there is an argument to be made. Jones went backstage after Blachowicz win, as well, and sold his new contender as someone truly deserving of a chance at the gold. That was done for good reason, and it would seem somewhat silly to let that go to waste.
Does Reyes deserve another chance to share the octagon with Jones? Probably. But that fight will be there. He can get the attention again with a solid performance against a fellow contender, making a second fight with Jones even bigger. Blachowicz has the hot hand at the moment, though, and that’s why he the best bet to fight Jones next, especially if the UFC brass are looking for a main event for the rumored June pay-per-view card in Australia.
Next page – Farah Hannoun: Dominick Reyes rematch is the answer
Farah Hannoun: Dominick Reyes rematch is the answer
Reyes took it to Jones early in their UFC 247 fight, and left the champion needing a finish to retain his title. At least that’s what it looked like after three rounds of battle in Houston, where many believed Reyes was likely up three rounds to none.
The judges’ scorecards said otherwise, with one even scoring it 4-1 to Jones, but with UFC president Dana White even saying he had Reyes up 3-2. A rematch needs to happen. Jones is coming off back-to-back closely contested decisions, and a definitive win over Reyes in a rematch would help erase recent any doubt over his last few performances.
Jones’ in-cage legacy is great, and he has nothing left to prove but leaving no doubt by winning comfortably in a rematch, which would silence the naysayers who are claiming that Jones is declining. Jones has struggled to find the right dance partner in terms of build-up and name value, but with the performance Reyes put on at UFC 247, the rematch will certainly be bigger, and draw more eyes.
Blachowicz emerged as a top contender this past weekend with his impressive knockout win over Anderson at UFC Rio Rancho, and certainly has a strong case for a title shot but, I think now is the time for the UFC to capitalize on a different type of chapter in Jones’ career, an immediate rematch against someone who many believed beat him, and a fight that has a ton at stake for Jones and his legacy.
Next page – Danny Segura: Time for a blockbuster fight
Danny Segura: Time for a blockbuster fight
Blachowicz and Reyes undoubtedly deserve a shot at the champ in their own respective manner and either challenger would be worthy opponent for Jones.
However, it’s been sometime since we’ve seen Jones, one of the biggest stars in the UFC, involved in a blockbuster fight, as he’s diligently fought the No. 1 contender, regardless of whether they are well known, time after time.
The last big fight for Jones was his rematch with Daniel Cormier back in 2017. You could make a case that it was Alexander Gustafsson in 2018, but the Swedish fighter entered the bout 3-2 in his last five fights and with a year plus of inactivity. Safe to say the momentum from the first fight, which was an instant classic, had slowed down considerably.
After topping Gustafsson, Anthony Smith, Thiago Santos, Dominick Reyes, I say it’s time to do one of the Jones super fight we’ve long discussed.
There’s never going to be a perfect time to run a champ vs. champ fight, as there will always be a contender with racked-up victories. I know this is not great news for either Blachowicz or Reyes, but the best time for Jones super fight is now. He’s 32 and has been dominant force at 205 pounds for sometime. Let’s see how he looks against talents from other divisions.
If Adesanya gets past Yoel Romero at UFC 248 next month, I think the fight with Jones would be the one to make.
The notion that Jones is too much too soon for Adesanya went out the window after seeing Jones have tough outings with Reyes and Santos, specially in the striking department. The wrestling and size is still in question, but if Adesanya gets past Romero, an Olympic wrestling silver medalist, I think he’d have a good case to beat Jones. And that is far more intriguing than bouts with Reyes or Blachowicz.
