Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones coach Mike Winkeljohn appeared recently on Submission Radio and talked about what’s next for the light heavyweight GOAT, who relinquished his belt to take a run at the heavyweight division. The current division champion is Stipe Miocic, who is expected to defend next vs. Francis Ngannou. However, the situation is complex.
UFC president is on record as saying Jones can return for a 205 title shot if he has a mind to. And middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is expected to challenge current champion Jan Blachowicz, and more, is calling out Jones and has been for some time. Further, Glover Teixeira made a mighty statement for a title shot in the main event of UFC on ESPN+ 40 last Saturday when he stopped Thiago Santos.
Coach Wink said if Adesanya, wants Jones, it won’t be at light heavyweight.
Have Israel come up to heavyweight,” said Winkeljohn. “Here’s the deal, Jon Jones has always fought a who’s who, and it’s always been this guy, you have to go beat this guy to secure your legacy. And then he beats him. And then it’s, okay, you have to beat this guy to secure your legacy. And then he beats him. Jon doesn’t need to chase anybody, they need to chase him. That’s the way I look at it. That’s why he’s the best
“Jon’s current mindset is to get to heavyweight. That makes sense. Once he puts all that mass on, there’s no reason to come back down. What’s the purpose of that? Go back down to chase Izzy? Absolutely not. Jon’s the man, that’s why he’s the greatest, and people need to chase him, and he’s a leader, he’s the leader of the sport.
Striking-wise, here’s the deal, Jon’s fought some big, tall, long guys before and he’s done well. The first fight with Gustafsson wasn’t Jon’s great night by any means. Not all of Jon Jones was there for many reasons in that fight. But he’s already fought a lot of long guys. I’m not sure if Izzy’s fought a Jon Jones before as far as length goes. And definitely nobody has fought Jon Jones as far as skillset goes. I know everyone that comes to my gym. They’re big heavyweights, they come in, and I think they’re immediately surprised by how big Jon’s presence is in the cage when they start working out with him.
If in Jon’s mind he says, I’m gonna beat him on the feet, that’s what he’s gonna do. But if Jon says, you know what, I’m gonna go home and just secure the win and show him what MMA is all about, welcome to my world, I’m sure he’ll take him down and bloody him up with elbows.
That said, Winkeljohn is impressed with Adesanya.
I’m always amazed at some things he does,” he said. “I think to myself, gosh, if he only does these things against him, and then Izzy makes a small correction and solves that problem. So, he’s a hard guy to figure out in that he has so many skills and such great timing, great speed and takedown defense. He’s so well-rounded and getting better. He’s getting better every fight. I’m watching it, I’m real impressed with what they’ve been able to do with the team down there in New Zealand.
And the coach broke down where Adesanya’s opponents have underestimated him.
“Underestimating his ability to adapt. I think you’ll see Gastelum was able to throw him back and throw punches from the side and catch Izzy, but Izzy’s better at defending those things now. So, we can go back and watch old tape on fighters and think these will be the openings, he’s one of those guys that’s able to start closing those holes and start expecting you to attack those openings. I think mentally he’s come a long way. I really do. I think people don’t give him credit for that. They’re always looking for certain tactics, but it’s bigger than just the tactic itself, it’s just himself understanding the whole game and what’s the best thing to do at the moment.
Coach Wink said that Jones is, of course, also looking at UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic.
“Oh, I’m definitely looking at Stipe. In my mind, that’s a great fight for Jon to take,” he said. “That motivates Jon. I think Stipe is incredible. I really like the guy, I have nothing but great things to say about him as a person, over and above, just a great fighter. But Jon’s got his sights set on the best and might as well do it.
It’s a tough one. Stipe is a great striker, so strong everywhere and he’s real smart. I saw the way he was controlling some of the heavyweights on the ground. He’s smart about what he does. But I think Jon beats him in every one of those aspects. When Jon puts his mind to it, Jon beats everybody at wrestling, he beats everybody at stand-up, he beats everybody everywhere and always ends up having a bloody show when things go right.
But what if Miocic retires before facing Jones?
Of course that’d disappoint me, because that would be, I would assume, a great goal for Jon,” he said. “But if that’s the situation, then on to whoever else has title, it’s as simple as that. That’s what Jon wants, just to go beat the best that’s available out there at the time. You know, Francis, if they were to rematch, I think he’s a beast. I mean, that guy, he’s got bricks in those hands there, and whatever he hits just kind of explodes. Nothing but respect for him. He’s a scary man, no doubt about it.
And lastly, Winklejohn addressed the P4P GOAT argument.
Pound for pound is Jon Jones, there’s no doubt about it. He’s beaten a list of champions, he’s beaten a list of the greatest guys, and just so many of them he beat. It’s as simple as that. I mean, he’s got his one loss, but that was a disqualification, and there’s others that are undefeated, but with that being said, they haven’t defended their titles as many times as Jon, they haven’t defeated the type of fighters that Jon Jones has. That’s why he’s at the top of the game.”
I think that’s real common when you’re at the top. People want to see you fall, or they don’t want to give you credit. They’re always looking for the new guy, and it’s a tough nut for Jon Jones in that he’s been at the top for so long, and everyone wants to argue the point, but you gotta beat him. It’s as simple as that.
