The allure of Jon Jones moving to heavyweight has been in place so long, it’s almost hard to remember when exactly it started. Sometime during the dominant but troubled champion’s first run atop of the 205lb weight class, no doubt.
Yet while fans salivated over the notion and Jones himself teased off and on that a move to heavyweight might be pending, he still shocked the MMA world by finally pulling the trigger, and relinquishing his light heavyweight title last month.
Assuming he does go through with the move, however, what comes first? A super-fight with Brock Lesnar? A fight with heavyweight legend and former training partner Alistair Overeem? The Francis Ngannou fight? A shot at the title right out of the gate?
Let’s pump the brakes on that last one. Hopefully before Jon Jones jumps into a heavyweight championship title fight he at least takes a three round fight against a contender. That is probably an unpopular opinion, as this is the great Jon Jones we are talking about. But while Jones certainly isn’t getting any younger, by all accounts, he is still a young guy. No need to rush things. At 33 years old he is no spring chicken, but as we’ve seen over the years, the average prime for a heavyweight fighter tends to be significantly later than all other weight classes.
Over the years we’ve seen a lot of seasoned heavyweights have career resurgences in their mid-to-late 30’s. Middle age is part from a death sentence in the big man’s division. So rushing Jones into a title shot at this juncture isn’t the move to make. Instead, let’s get an opportunity to really enjoy this transition to the new weight class.
Check out the video above as we explore the subject further and look at what the right move is for Jon Jones’ debut in the heavyweight division.
