Fighting Jones makes sense for Miocic

Pitting Jon Jones against Stipe Miocic would be a huge bout in the near future. It would be a type of semifinal bout to a shot at the heavyweight belt, Mark Podolski writes.

It’s been a relatively quiet time for the UFC heavyweight division.

Daniel Cormier is the reigning heavyweight champ after he knocked out former champ Stipe Miocic last July in Las Vegas. What has been know for some time, according to UFC president Dana White, is Cormier will next defend the heavyweight belt (he’s also the light heavyweight champ) against former WWE champion and the wildly popular Brock Lesnar.

When that fight happens is still the big unknown. Lesnar is expected back from his UFC suspension because of a reported PED violation in January 2019.

In the meantime, Eastlake North graduate Miocic has been low-key as well. He returned to training at Strong Style in Independence in early August. At the same time, Miocic told The News-Herald his next fight would be a rematch for the belt against Cormier or he wouldn’t fight at all in the foreseeable future.

“No. Nope,” Miocic told The News-Herald Aug. 6. “It’s DC and that’s it.”

Those are words that create a hard line between the former champ and the UFC. However, the best plans can and do change. Miocic and his team should consider a new option that could be on the table: Former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

On Sept. 19, the UFC announced Jones would be eligible to return to the octagon Oct. 28. The U.S. AntiDoping Agency announced the length of Jones’ suspension for a doping violation was 15 months (with time already served) and that his ban from the UFC will conclude Oct. 28.

Pitting Jones against Miocic would be a huge bout in the near future. Jones is hugely popular and his anticipated return will be a boon for pay-per-view sales. More important for both fighters is that bout would without question be a type of semifinal bout to a shot at the heavyweight belt.

Unless the anticipated Lesnar-Cormier falls through for whatever reason, this is Miocic’s best route to earning his title shot. Getting through Jones, if that’s the case, won’t be easy.

That’s because Jones, like Miocic, is one tough dude. Jones, 31, has length at 6-foot-4, weighs 205 pounds (but would surely add to his frame if he fought at heavyweight), has an 84-inch reach, and is quick and athletic. He’s 23-1, and twice fought Cormier. He won both bouts, but the first was changed to a no-contest when he was busted for drugs.

By comparison, Miocic, who weighed in for the Cormier fight at 242 pounds, has more bulk than Jones but is also quick and athletic. Miocic is also 6-foot-4, so that’s a wash. His reach is four inches shorter than Jones at 80 inches. Miocic turned 36 in August.

Miocic badly wants to be heavyweight champ again, but it appears highly unlikely he gets the immediate rematch he wants vs. Cormier. Fighting Jones would be the next best thing, and with a win would it would be difficult to envision a scenario in which he didn’t get a title shot.

First, though, Jones would have to agree to move up to the heavyweight division. With Cormier the champ (Jones and Cormier have had an ongoing feud that’s crossed into their personal lives), that would be a given, so no problem there.

As of right now, the heavyweight division doesn’t present Miocic with promising options. Lesnar is still in UFC limbo serving his suspension. Curtis Blaydes, the No. 3-ranked heavyweight, will fight Francis Ngannou on Nov. 24. Derrick Lewis, ranked No. 2, is coming off a win over Ngannou that impressed no one in Las Vegas on the undercard of Cormier-Miocic. He fights No. 5-ranked Alexander Volkov on Oct. 6.

Even with the loss to Cormier, Miocic is the No. 1-ranked heavyweight contender, and has wins over Top 10 ranked contenders Alistair Overeem, Ngannou, Junior dos Santos and Mark Hunt. With Blades, Ngannou, Lewis and Volkov committed to upcoming fights, there aren’t worth-while options that would feature the upside and payday potential of a Jones bout.

“I’ll be back,” Miocic told The News-Herald in August. “It sucks right now. Nothing’s perfect, but I’ll be fine.”

When asked by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto if the assumption Jones will headline at UFC 230, White said on Sept. 20: “Not true.”

A Miocic-Jones fight makes sense from every angle. Now it’s up to White and both sides to make it happen.

TIM PHILLIS - THE NEWS-HERALD Stipe Miocic after his fight against Alistair Overeem.