The president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Dana White, recently made the shocking announcement that Jon Jones would not be making his highly anticipated return to action at UFC 282 in December of this year. As a result, Jones’ heavyweight debut will be pushed back once again.
Jones vs Miocic Was a Water Cooler Discussion
Even though a prospective battle between Jones and Stipe Miocic was the topic of conversation around the water cooler, the match that fight fans have been truly wanting to see is “Bones” battling for the championship against Francis Ngannou, who is the dominant fighter in the division.
Eric Nicksick, who serves as Ngannou’s head coach, claims that not only he and “The Predator,” but also a high-ranking official from the UFC who will remain nameless is interested in the fight.
A representative from the UFC contacted and said, “Hey, what is your ideal timeframe, and what is your dream matchup?” Nicksick shared his thoughts with MMA Junkie Radio. “What difference does it make if it is my opinion?
No, but I appreciate them calling to check on it and asking. I already said that in an ideal world, I would want March, and in an ideal world, I would want Jon Jones.
“The gentleman that phoned in concurred a thousand times over that this is exactly what [UFC] would prefer, as well,” he went on to say. “That is exactly what Francis has in mind. They are phoning to inquire about the severity of the injuries and the amount of time it will take me to make him ready.
Nicksick Thinks That It Would Be Beneficial for Ngannou
Nicksick believes that it would be in Ngannou’s best interest to take on Jones first in the 265-pound category since doing so would compel the previously dominating light heavyweight roost-ruler to modify his game plan to compete against the greatest big man on the globe.
“I don’t want Jon Jones to be able to take a fight before us,” Nicksick said. “I don’t want him to be able to take a fight before us.”
“I want him to have to figure out everything in the cage with Francis, not go fight Stipe and maybe win a decision and then go back to the drawing board and go, ‘OK, here’s the things I need to fix and get better at,’ and then come out a better version.
“I want him to have to figure out everything in the cage with Francis.
After that, he went on to say that “Where Jon Jones is so good is that he gets those reps.” “He has the awareness that ‘Okay, I can repair this, and I could solve that.'” It’s not like he’s going to be strolling about Heavyweight as other people do.
He is working hard to get himself into fighting shape for the heavyweight division. He is trying to bulk up despite having a build that isn’t naturally suited for heavyweight competition. Therefore, that muscle is going to need a specific quantity of oxygen and cardiovascular activity.
Jones has not fought since February 2020, when he earned his eleventh championship defense by winning the UFC 247 main event against Dominick Reyes. As for Ngannou, he needs knee surgery earlier this year, which forced him to miss a significant portion of the action in 2018.
Finishing Line
The champion at 265 pounds most recently contested at UFC 270, when he earned his sixth consecutive victory by earning a unanimous decision victory against Ciryl Gane.
Jones and Ngannou have been interested in fighting one other for some time now, but Ngannou’s hefty bout pay demands originally prevented those plans from moving further.
However, there is a chance that the current round of talks goes much more smoothly, and both Jones and Ngannou, in addition, to fighting fans, ultimately receive what they want.
