5 ranked UFC heavyweights Jon Jones could definitely beat
Despite spending well over two years on the shelf at this point, there are still high hopes for the eventual heavyweight debut of former UFC light-heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones.
When Jon Jones finally steps into the octagon against a heavyweight, will he succeed? the likelihood is yes.
Based on the fighters currently ranked in the UFC’s heavyweight top fifteen, it’s likely that ‘Bones’ would be able to dominate at least a handful of them.
Here are five top-ranked UFC heavyweights who Jon Jones would definitely be able to beat.
#5. Alexander Volkov
Currently ranked at #8 in the UFC’s heavyweight rankings, Russia’s Alexander Volkov would, on paper at least, make for an interesting matchup with Jon Jones, but purely because of his range and height.
At 6’7”, ‘Drago’ would be one of the few fighters competing in the promotion to enjoy a height advantage over the 6’4” Jones. Remarkably, ‘Bones’ would still hold a reach advantage over the Russian, with Volkov’s reach being recorded at 80” to Jones’ 84.5”.
Based on that, it’s highly unlikely that Volkov would be able to keep the former light-heavyweight kingpin at the end of his jab as he was able to do to opponents like Greg Hardy and Alistair Overeem.
If he couldn’t do that, then, there’s basically no way that the Russian could defeat Jones. When he’s been unable to keep his foes at a distance – as he couldn’t when he fought Ciryl Gane – then he’s tended to struggle for any kind of traction on the feet.
More importantly, based on how easily Curtis Blaydes and Tom Aspinall took ‘Drago’ down, it’s not difficult to imagine Jones doing the same. And from the top, few fighters in UFC history are as dangerous as the former 205lbs champion.
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Basically, Jones would be a horrible match for Volkov, and it’s hard to imagine the Russian finding any way of winning.
#4. Derrick Lewis
One of the reasons that doubters give for claiming Jon Jones will not be able to succeed as a heavyweight is that his chin has never been tested by UFC's heavyweights.
Whether that’s the case is debatable, but if he were to be matched against #7 ranked Derrick Lewis, ‘The Black Beast’ would put that theory to the test. After all, he’s scored more knockouts than any other fighter in UFC history (13).
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However, whether he’d actually be able to land one of his big haymakers on ‘Bones’ is another matter entirely. Stylistically speaking, this would probably be a comfortable win for the former light-heavyweight champion.
Lewis’ ridiculous punching power makes him a uniquely dangerous fighter for anyone to face, but he’s also a highly flawed fighter, too.
Not only does ‘The Black Beast’ struggle with rangy opponents who can hit him from the outside, but he’s also defensively porous on the ground and hasn’t always demonstrated the best takedown defense.
Essentially, then, Jones possesses all the tools needed to defeat Lewis.
#3. Sergei Pavlovich
Sergei Pavlovich is one of the newest fighters to crack the UFC heavyweight division’s rankings. The hard-hitting Russian surged up into the #5 spot in July thanks to his knockout win over Derrick Lewis, although there were some observers who claimed the fight was stopped too early.
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However, Pavlovich is definitely a very real threat in the UFC heavyweight division right now. After being stopped by Alistair Overeem in his octagon debut back in 2018, he’s been on a tear - taking out all four of his subsequent opponents via KO or TKO.
Does that mean he’d be favoured in a fight with Jon Jones, though? The answer, unfortunately for the Russian, is absolutely not.
Firstly, Pavlovich isn’t a gigantic heavyweight by any means. Sure, he hits like a truck, but he’s also only 6’3”, which makes him shorter than Jones. He weighs in at around 250lbs, meaning he doesn’t cut weight to make the 265lbs limit. So he wouldn't even have any size advantage over 'Bones.'
More to the point, while Pavlovich may have improved since his loss to Overeem, that fight saw ‘The Demolition Man’ take Pavlovich to the ground and absolutely smash him with ground-and-pound, something that Jones – particularly a muscled-up, heavyweight Jones – would definitely be capable of.
Sure, ‘Bones’ would have to be wary of the Russian’s power, purely because he is one of the few fighters with the speed to actually catch him, but overall, the match-up would definitely favour Jones.
#2. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
While he’s currently on the back of a two-fight losing skid, #9 ranked Jairzinho Rozenstruik remains one of the most dangerous heavyweights on the UFC’s roster right now.
A truly brilliant striker, ‘Bigi Boy’ carries brutal knockout power and also possesses surprising speed and accuracy for a fighter of his size. He’s used that speed and accuracy to take out the likes of Alistair Overeem, Andrei Arlovski and Augusto Sakai in the past.
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So how would he match up with Jon Jones? Well, it’s probably fair to say that his speed and striking skill would give him a better chance of beating ‘Bones’ than some of the more plodding heavyweights on the roster. However, it’s still likely that he’d struggle against 'Bones.'
Rozenstruik has lost on four occasions in the octagon, and even if his knockout defeat to Francis Ngannou is disregarded (who blitzed him), his other three losses testify that he'd fall victim to Jones' wrestling and range.
Both Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov were able to beat 'Bigi Boy' by keeping him at range, nullifying his power and accuracy – something Jones would definitely be capable of, particularly as he’d hold a reach advantage of over six inches.
Curtis Blaydes, meanwhile, took advantage of the massive holes in his takedown defense and ground game that had already been exposed by Overeem. Given his wrestling, there’s no doubt Jones could do the same.
#1. Jon Jones vs. Tai Tuivasa
This weekend sees Tai Tuivasa headline the UFC’s first event in Paris against former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane, and it’s probably safe to suggest that if ‘Bam Bam’ can pull off what would be quite the upset by defeating Gane, he could be in line for a title shot.
Right now, the native of Australia is on the best run of his career, having won his past five bouts in the octagon, all by KO or TKO. His victory over Derrick Lewis earlier this year was enough to move him into the #3 spot in the division.
Could ‘Bam Bam’ really beat Jon Jones in a potential future fight, though? Unfortunately for the fans that love to see him celebrate with his trademark ‘Shoey’, it seems unlikely.
Sure, Tuivasa moves surprisingly fast for a big man, and he carries plenty of brutal knockout power in his hands. However, it’s worth remembering that he was hurt badly by both Lewis and Greg Hardy, and relying on his chin wouldn’t be a wise move against the more technically proficient Jones.
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More to the point, when we’ve seen ‘Bam Bam’ put on the ground, he’s really struggled, being submitted by Sergei Spivak and also being stopped by strikes from the mount against Junior Dos Santos.
Essentially, some fighters are just bad match-ups for others, and in this case, Jon Jones would be a truly awful match for ‘Bam Bam’.