5 Jon Jones Heavyweight fights to make
Jon Jones recently announced that he was stepping away from the Light Heavyweight division and would like to move up to Heavyweight. Jones explained that he was relinquishing his belt on Twitter.
He noted his recent disputes with the UFC over negotiating the terms for his next fight, but went on to explain he had held positive discussions with the company and was now hopeful things could be worked out.
All this seems to indicate that we may be closer to finally seeing Jon Jones compete in the UFC as a Heavyweight. This news comes at an interesting time in the division that recently saw Stipe Miocic retire Daniel Cormier at UFC 252 and sports a number of viable contenders coming through the ranks.
With Stipe Miocic versus Francis Ngannou all but confirmed to be the next Heavyweight title fight, Jones may have to wait for his shot which may lead him into pursuing another opponent to prepare him for the different challenges the division presents.
As Jon Jones begins the process of putting on weight, here are the five fights we'd love to see the greatest Light Heavyweight of all time take on in as he enters a new division in the UFC.
#5 Junior dos Santos (21-8)
Junior dos Santos is now on a three-fight losing streak following his second round KO loss to Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC 252. He is, however, still the No.7 ranked Heavyweight in the world and a former UFC Champion with a lot of big fight experience.
While Dos Santos appears to have lost a step, given his recent results, he might be exactly the sort of opponent Jon Jones would seek out as he aims to make a name for himself in the Heavyweight division.
With a win, Jon Jones immediately asserts himself as an elite Heavyweight and puts himself in a position to demand a title match right away. He also reduces the risk of taking a loss given that Dos Santos doesn't seem as dangerous as he was in his prime and is certainly not as much of a threat as some of the other options in the division.
UFC would be sure to make good money by pitting these two former champions against each other and Dos Santos would have one last to chance to start climbing the rankings once again.