For the folks that were excited about the idea of mixed martial arts GOAT Jon Jones possibly facing Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight GOAT Stipe Miocic, those hopes got some cold water poured all over them by Jones’ head coach.
Headlines were made last week when UFC President Dana White admitted in an interview, that former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic had verbally agreed to a hypothetical fight with the former light heavyweight king. On the surface, it seems like a matchup that makes a lot of sense right now, beyond just the historical significance. However, “Bones” head coach Mike Winkeljohn doesn’t seem too interested in the idea.
Winklejohn shuts down idea of Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic
“It doesn’t really excite me, Winkeljohn told ” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>”>Submission Radio. I would think the same thing, from the outside looking in, I would think that wouldn’t excite Jon [either]. I think Jon wants the big one. He wants to get the big one. He wants the big challenge, and right now Stipe is not there. Stipe is awesome, don’t get me wrong, but Jon wants the biggest challenge out there. That’s how Jon Jones thinks.
Obviously, the big one would be a matchup with current heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. Yet that seems unlikely now, considering negotiations for that fight stalled months ago, and White was extremely excited by the prospect of Ngannou versus Ciryl Gane, following the Frenchman’s interim-title fight win this past weekend at UFC 265.
It makes a bout between Jones and Miocic that much more sensible, as opposed to having the 26-1 superstar maintain his current hiatus, which is already in its eighteenth month. However, the Jackson-Wink MMA co-leader doesn’t see much reason for the bout other than testing out heavyweight division in a “step-up” fight.
Makes sense to go after the title, Winkeljohn said. Because honestly, Jon is the best pound-for-pound of all time, so why would he have just a normal fight? Unless we felt we needed that to get used to our new body. I don’t think we’re going to need that. I think Jon is already getting used to his new size, so there’s not a necessity to take a step-up fight. Jon’s ready to go. He wants the challenge.
Are you disappointed by a Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic bout seeming unlikely, or does the former light heavyweight champion deserve to go straight into a title fight his division debut?
