Possibly the most exciting thing to happen in 2021 is Jon Jones making his Heavyweight debut. He posted on his official Twitter page, that he weighs around 250lbs and is feeling good. He does not need to cut weight anymore for the heavyweight division.
250lbs moving like a Jones pic.twitter.com/4SzcpDCEpR
— BONY (@JonnyBones) January 13, 2021
A lot of questions need to be answered on Heavyweight Jon Jones, will he be able to take down contenders like Curtis Blaydes, Ngannou, and Miocic or will they be too much as he is giving up his usual size advantage. Although he has fought guys like Alexander Gustaffson and the first match was one of the greatest Light-heavyweight fights of all time.
Jones is known to study his opponent’s tendencies a lot as shown in the Daniel Cormier rematch where he set up a head kick that led to a technical knockout. He has an underrated fight IQ where many fans think that he only possesses reach advantage but in truth, he usually has a great gameplan for certain opponents.
In his fight against Machida, in the first round, he was having a hard time with the timing of Machida’s counter but later adjusted in the second round where he feinted a leg kick and went upstairs. It led to a stunned Machida that got choked out via Guillotine.
While many consider Jones as the greatest fighter to ever step on the Octagon, some say that he can never be because he is a drug cheat, and some say that he just outsize smaller fighters due to his long frame. Some of those can be answered when he moves up and face guys that are either the same size or bigger than him.
One take away from Jones bulking up maybe that his speed will be diminished. He is known to have the speed advantage but if he bulks up, he may be a bit slower. With guys like Blaydes, he may have a difficult time if he lacks size as well. He needs to be just around the line of being big and not slowing.
The UFC is reportedly trying to book Miocic vs Ngannou 2 for March and the winner will be who Jones will face on his heavyweight debut. Either fighter that will come out victorious should pose a lot of threats to Jones. No fighter is an easy opponent for Jones in the top 3 heavyweights.
