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Joe Rogan speaks to Jon Jones during the UFC 214 weigh-in at the Honda Center on July 28, 2017 in Anaheim, California.
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is in an interesting position to move up to the heavyweight division. UFC President Dana White confirmed to TMZ earlier this month that « Bones » will receive an instant title shot against the winner of the UFC 260 main event.
On March 27th, heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic will kick off in a highly anticipated Rematch against Francis Ngannou in 1st place.
GettyStipe Miocic reacts at the end of the fifth round against Francis Ngannou in her heavyweight championship bout during UFC 220 at TD Garden on January 20, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Many would argue that Jones’ best game is waiting for the title shot. Becoming a multidivisional UFC champion would bolster your career in the Bones Hall of Fame even more and could firmly establish yourself as the greatest of all time.
Only seven fighters in UFC history have ever belted a two gained in various weight classes.
A glaring problem with Bones, however, is the associated layoff. While Jones hasn’t given a firm schedule for his debut, it’s unclear when the UFC 260 winner will be ready to defend his belt against the former light heavyweight king.
If Miocic or Ngannou get a quick knockout in the first round they’ll likely be ready to fight by summer. However, if it’s a long, drawn out fight, or if the winner is injured during the fight, we may not see them back for a long time.
The UFC heavyweight belt, according to history, has only been available once a year, since Cormier got it in 2018 from Miocic.
Jones, who hasn’t fought in over a year, will likely sit back and watch the UFC 260 main event play out. And should it seem like the winner is out for a while, or Bones longs to get to the Octagon and earn a payday, an epic fight recently surfaced for him at UFC Vegas 19.
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GettyDerrick Lewis screams on the scales during the ceremonial weighing of UFC 247 at the Toyota Center on February 7, 2020 in Houston, Texas.
At the UFC Vegas main event on 19 am February 20, two top 5 heavyweights went to war. Curtis Blaydes, who came in second, took on Derrick Lewis in fourth at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
And on Saturday night, Lewis did what he did best. « The Black Beast » landed a devastating uppercut that defeated Blaydes in the second round. Lewis went into battle with the most KOs in UFC heavyweight history, 11. And at his 12th, he’s now tied for the most KOs in promotion history regardless of weight class.
Lewis is now in a winning streak with four fights and has spoken out in favor of an independent title shot. And while he wants to win a championship, he’s not a fighter waiting for a title shot either, Heavy confirmed in a recent interview.
A fight between Lewis and Jones would be an exciting matchup that would be the best contender for the UFC 260 winner could determine. It would be a compelling battle of styles when the thug Lewis takes on Jones, known for his broad arsenal of skills in all facets of MMA.
Lewis would be a fantastic benchmark for us to see how Jones acted as Heavyweight will cut off. Lewis has proven against Blaydes that he’s worked on his wrestling defense and that his strength can turn off the lights of anyone in the world.
Building the fight could be a lot of fun too, as Lewis is a unique and fun one Personality is in sport.
During the post-fight press conference, Lewis expressed interest in fighting Alistair Overeem in sixth place in a three-round match. Overeem lost to Alexander Volkov in the second round against TKO in February.
Derrick Lewis def. Curtis Blaydes knocked out in the second round
Yana Kunitskaya def. Ketlen Vieira on UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Darrick minner def. Charles Rosa on unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-27)
Chris Daukaus def. Aleksei Oleinik on TKO in the first round
Phil Hawes def. Nassourdine Imavov by majority decision (28-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Tom Aspinall def. Andrei Arlovski on the bare choke behind the second round
Jared Gordon def. Danny Chavez on unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
John Castaneda def. Eddie Wineland on the first round of TKO
Julian Erosa def. Nate Landwehr on TKO of the first round
Casey O’Neill def. Shana Dobson on TKO in the second round
Aiemann Zahabi def. Drako Rodriguez KO in the first round
Serghei Spivac def. Jared Vanderaa on the second round of TKO
Ref: https://heavy.com
