Legacy Fight: Should the UFC really go through with Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic?
Back in 2020, when Jon Jones initially vacated the UFC light heavyweight title and expressed his interest in moving to heavyweight, it’s safe to say that the landscape was very different.
At the time, Stipe Miocic held the heavyweight title, Francis Ngannou was the red-hot top contender, and the division was filled with aging stars like Alistair Overeem and Derrick Lewis.
Things quickly began to shift when Ngannou dethroned Miocic in the early part of 2021, but few fans could’ve predicted what would happen next.
Jones indeed returned as a heavyweight earlier this year. However, with Ngannou departing the UFC for the PFL and abandoning his title in the process, ‘Bones’ ended up facing former interim champ Ciryl Gane for the vacant gold.
The New York native duly dispatched Gane in the first round with a guillotine choke to claim the title.
While it felt somewhat cynical on the part of the UFC to instantly label him the ‘GOAT’ – it was clearly a knock at the departing Ngannou – it was still exciting to imagine him facing some of the division’s newer stars like Sergei Pavlovich and Tom Aspinall.
First, though, it was quickly announced that Jones’ first defense would come against Miocic later in 2023.
Sure, Miocic hadn’t fought since his loss to Ngannou two years prior, and hadn’t won since his victory over Daniel Cormier in 2020, but – at least to the UFC – that didn’t matter.
Miocic was still the most decorated heavyweight in the promotion’s history, meaning that for Jones, a win over the former champion would be hugely valuable to his legacy.
However, in the months that have followed, the landscape has shifted again, bringing into question whether the UFC should pursue this fight – and if they do, whether it should be for the heavyweight title at all.
What is an interim title truly worth in the UFC?
As most fans are now well aware, Jon Jones’ fight with Stipe Miocic was supposed to headline UFC 295 in November. However, during training for the bout, Jones tore a pectoral tendon, forcing him out.
The natural solution would’ve been to have Miocic fight a different opponent for an interim title, but Dana White instead stated that such a move would’ve been “disrespectful” to the former champion.
Therefore, it was instead decided that Tom Aspinall would face Sergei Pavlovich for the interim title. In a wild, short bout, the Liverpool native knocked out the Russian to claim the gold.
Since then, though, rather than pursue a unification match between Aspinall and Jones, it appears that the UFC is still dead-set on booking Jones vs. Miocic upon the champ's return.
Aspinall hasn’t seemed too happy about this, at one point suggesting Jones ought to be stripped of the title due to his injury and then calling out Miocic for a fight at UFC 300 with the winner to face ‘Bones’ down the line.
Despite this, it doesn’t seem like the UFC are willing to bite. Dana White has instead suggested Aspinall defend his interim crown against someone else, claiming that both Jones and Miocic deserve their “legacy fight.”
This, of course, brings into question the whole point of crowning Aspinall as interim champion in the first place.
The UFC has always prided itself on not being like boxing, which has multiple titles in each weight class. Usually, when an interim champ is crowned, a unification bout is quickly put together.
In this case, though, the promotion really would have two active champions, particularly if Jones can return by the middle of 2024. With ‘Bones’ not technically being the lineal champion having not defeated Francis Ngannou, too, all this does is muddy the waters of the division further.
Do Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic really deserve a ‘legacy fight’?
Perhaps the biggest question to ask right now is whether Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic really deserve this so-called ‘legacy fight’.
To answer this question, it’s worth breaking it down and looking at the careers – and the future – of both fighters.
Miocic is undoubtedly the most decorated, if not the outright ‘best’ heavyweight in UFC history. His record of two title reigns with four successful title defenses remains unmatched, and at the age of 41, he’s likely to sign off for good after this fight.
Whether he warrants a title shot after three years on the shelf and no wins since 2020, though, is highly debatable – particularly with young contenders like Tom Aspinall, Jailton Almeida, Sergei Pavlovich, and Curtis Blaydes climbing the ladder.
However, if the plan was for Jones to defend against Miocic and then – assuming he wins – continue to defend the title, then there wouldn’t be so much of an issue.
The bigger problem, unfortunately, is the fact that ‘Bones’ himself has already stated that he may choose to hang up his gloves if he can defeat Miocic, feeling that a win over the former champ would cement him as the greatest of all time.
If Jones and Miocic are both planning to walk into the sunset after their fight, then, what’s the point in having the title on the line? After all, the winner will just end up vacating anyway, resulting in Aspinall – assuming he still holds the interim title – being upgraded and labeled the undisputed champion.
Realistically, the only person that this decision would benefit would be Jones. If he were to win, ‘Bones’ would get to retire, technically undefeated, having never actually lost either of his titles in the octagon.
Is this fair to Aspinall, though? The honest answer is no. Thanks to his win over Pavlovich, as well as his previous victories over the likes of Alexander Volkov and Marcin Tybura, he’s more than earned a big fight with the “real” champion. If anyone is being disrespected in this scenario, it’s him.
In turn, it’s worth asking exactly what Jones’ legacy is truly worth. Sure, he’s a phenomenal fighter who is arguably untouchable when it comes to sheer talent. However, he’s also a fighter who has caused untold problems for the UFC over the years thanks to his various failed drug tests and out-of-octagon legal issues. He remains the only fighter in the promotion’s history to be stripped of his title on more than one occasion, in fact.
If ‘Bones’ had been a consummate company man like his great rival Daniel Cormier or Michael Bisping, then it’d be understandable that White and company would want to protect him or secure his legacy.
That’s not the case either, though. Jones has had a number of spats with the UFC brass, usually over his pay check. In fact, he only agreed to return this year after receiving a huge pay bump.
The UFC is bigger than the legacy of Jon Jones
The bottom line, then, is that the UFC – and the future of the heavyweight division – is bigger than the legacy of Jon Jones. If anything, Jones’ various indiscretions have already damaged that legacy.
By winning the interim heavyweight title, Tom Aspinall has earned a shot at becoming undisputed champion. Therefore, if Jones won’t give him that shot, he ought to be stripped of his title, and the Liverpool native simply upgraded.
Jones could then still face off with Miocic in their big fight, but it would be a non-title affair instead. If the legacy of both men is so important, then surely such a fight shouldn’t need the title on the line anyway.