UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is a man with a target on his back but, like most dominant champions, he’s also a man with options. With his rivalry with Daniel Cormier seemingly now in the rear-view mirror, what’s next for Jones as he looks to kick off 2020 with a bang? MMA Junkie’s Simon Head, Nolan King and Farah Hannoun sound off in the latest edition of Triple Take.
* * * *
Simon Head: Take the Corey Anderson-Johnny Walker winner
Dominick Reyes is a deserving contender, for sure, but the smart play from Jon Jones might be to let that fight marinate for a while and instead take the winner of the UFC 244 clash between Corey Anderson and Johnny Walker.
In the cases of both Reyes and Anderson, you have fighters who would be deserved contenders but, as things stand, neither man would cause a huge spike in box office numbers. However, Walker might. The Brazilian wild man is the current X-factor in the UFC 205-pound division and would pose a unique, spectacular, unpredictable challenge to Jones’ reign. He’s also getting better with every fight, so facing him as early as possible also makes a lot of sense for Jones.
If Anderson gets past Walker, however, Jones will be left with a choice between Anderson and Reyes, and the smart approach might be to take the fight with the lower-perceived risk to tee up the bigger fight later in the summer. Given that Anderson has finished just one opponent since he won “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 19 finale, Jones and his team could view him as the lower-risk option and opt to take that fight first.
If Walker wins, take him while he’s still hot and before he reaches his fighting peak. If Anderson wins, take him and push for Reyes to be booked in the co-main slot of the same card. Big wins for both Jones and Reyes would then tee up the Reyes fight for the summer, possibly during International Fight Week.
Next page – Nolan King: By process of elimination, Dominick Reyes is the right answer
Nolan King: By process of elimination, Dominick Reyes is the right answer
Jon Jones has options, but only one truly makes sense. Let’s walk through this backwards and reach a conclusion by process of elimination.
Let’s begin with a heavyweight matchup. Whether it’s Francis Ngannou, Anthony Johnson, Stipe Miocic, or a trilogy fight against Daniel Cormier, there’s a certain crowd that wants Jones to ascend to heavyweight.
A time will come when Jones rightfully chooses to make the jump up a weight class to try to become “the baddest man on the planet.” However, that time isn’t now. When that time comes, the move will likely be permanent. Jones himself has expressed this sentiment and at the moment, he doesn’t seem particularly interested in the prospective move.
A superfight with middleweight champ Israel Adesanya is maybe the dumbest fight of all the options. The UFC has a draw in Jones and a rising draw in Adesanya. To pair the two up will ruin one of the two auras involved. Why rush this? Sure, it’s a quick cash grab, but think about how much more money the promotion could make if it pursues a slow burn.
Let the rivalry build over time and the conversations continue to flow. Don’t clog up two divisions. If the stars align and both fighters defeat key contenders, then by all means pair them up. Just not now.
Another popular idea is to pair Jones with the winner of Johnny Walker and Corey Anderson. No matter who wins, neither fighter has the best case on paper to be next in line. Walker has gained a lot of momentum and popularity, despite only having two UFC fights. Even if he moonsaults off the cage and lands a spinning back kick to knockout Anderson, he needs at least one more fight. Going from Anderson to Jones would be a huge jump, and not one I find very necessary.
Then you’ve got Dominick Reyes, the correct option.
He’s won all six of his UFC bouts with his last four coming over top-tier names. He defeated Chris Weidman in 103 seconds, so there’s no more criticizing him for lacking a marquee victory. Plus, Jones is eager to get back in there. Who knows what the health status of any of the other “options” are or will be?
While he doesn’t have the same buzz as Adesanya or Walker, he’s earned this position through merit. It’s been earned, not given.
The question was answered last weekend. Reyes is that guy. Let’s book this ASAP.
Next page – Farah Hannoun: Move up to heavyweight
Farah Hannoun: Move up to heavyweight
Clearly Jon Jones is looking for a big fight. With Dominick Reyes emerging as a light heavyweight contender this past weekend in Boston, Jones quickly shut him down, suggesting he needs one more fight.
Now, would Jones have said the same had Chris Weidman won? Probably not. Jan Blachowicz was another fighter who scored a big knockout over former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold in his last outing, but instead of a title shot, he drew Jacare Souza. Now, had Rockhold won, would Jones have passed him up? Probably not.
My point is, Jones is looking for a big fight. And I don’t blame him. This isn’t the case of a newly crowned champion already looking to move up in weight. Jones has done pretty much everything you can in the division, and as a defending champion.
His last two defenses came over Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos, which both proved to be very worthy opponents, but they weren’t Jones’ best showings. These fights came after big rematches with Daniel Cormier and Alexander Gustafsson, where Jones seemed highly motivated.
There’s a budding rivalry with middleweight champ Israel Adesanya, but pitting two of the biggest stars together wouldn’t be the brightest idea. Adesanya was just crowned undisputed middleweight champ and has a fun stylistic matchup and storyline with Paulo Costa, so no need for that fight at all right now. Let Adesanya’s star build.
So where does that leave Jones? Well, a trilogy with Cormier at heavyweight would certainly be interesting, since their second fight was ruled a no contest, but it appears that Cormier will be facing Stipe Miocic for his own trilogy fight. Jones vs. the winner of that fight would be massive, and another championship for Jones could be exactly what he needs to cement himself as the greatest of all time.
Jones has dabbled with the idea of moving up, then didn’t seem too keen, then hinted at it again once more on Twitter, suggesting he fight the winner of Miocic and Cormier, and just wait for a 205-pound contender to emerge.
But I can certainly see him highly motivated for a different challenge in his career, and if Blachowicz and Reyes taking out former champs didn’t cut it for him, that leaves the winner of Anderson and Walker, which at this rate, may not do it for him either. Timeline wise, he’d have to wait for a title shot at heavyweight if the target is to book Miocic-Cormier 3, but if he makes enough noise, who knows, he may entice Miocic into taking a fight with him instead.
