J. Jones after UFC victory. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook UFC
The transition of the former UFC light heavyweight (up to 93 kg) champion, Jon Jones, for heavyweights (up to 120,2 kg) has been a subject of discussion since it was announced at the end of 2020. For the former light heavyweight champion, Rashad evans, the change will be positive for Jones.
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Former training partner and also former opponent of Jon Jones, Evans stated that, even with the weight difference, Jones will dominate the new category in the same way he did in the previous one.
"Jon Jones moving up in weight will just be the continuation of his legacy. He is a phenomenal athlete. He is an incredible fighter and his IQ inside the Octagon cannot be surpassed by anyone. I believe he will take this to the heavyweights. The only thing that could be a problem for him is the fact that the guys are bigger and hit harder. But Jon Jones can adapt to any situation”, said Rashad in an interview with the North American website TMZ.
Jon Jones relinquished the light heavyweight belt at the end of 2020, announcing that he would return to the Octagon as a heavyweight when he received a better contract from the UFC. Negotiations between the fighter and the organization remain ongoing.
Meanwhile, Ultimate announced the dispute for the interim heavyweight belt between Derrick Lewis e Cyryl Gane protocols for UFC 265, on the 7st of August. Rashad evans, however, believes that the real challenge for Jones in the category lies in the possible confrontation against the linear champion, Francis Ngannou.
“The fight against Francis would be very interesting, because he would be fighting a guy who nullifies advantages that he has been used to having for a long time. He was always the guy with the biggest range, the strongest and all those aspects. But at the same time it's difficult to say that he won't adapt, because it's the Jon Jones. Francis has grown a lot and has improved parts of his game that weren't so good before, like grappling. And besides, he wants to fight Jon Jones. He's not rooting for the fight not to happen. So he is a guy who is very confident”, analyzed Rashad.
Rashad evans e Jon Jones they faced each other in the main fight of UFC 145, in April 2012. On that occasion, Jones won by unanimous decision and defended the light heavyweight title for the third time.
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