Laura Sanko doesn’t see Jon Jones’ size making that much of a difference against Stipe Miocic. Length on the other hand is a different story.
On November 16, ‘Bones’ will put his undisputed heavyweight world title on the line for the first time when he headlines the UFC’s return to Madison Square Garden. Standing in Jones’ way of adding another successful defense to his resume will be Miocic, the promotion’s first and only two-time heavyweight titleholder.
It will be Jones’ second time competing as a heavyweight, the first coming at UFC 285 in March 2023 when he scored a quickfire submission victory over Ciryl Gane to claim the vacated crown. ‘Bones’ weighed 248-pounds for that bout. If he tips the scales similarly for Saturday’s scrap in NYC, he’ll likely have a slight size advantage over Miocic who usually weighs in at 230-240.
However, Jones’ real advantage will be with his length. At least, that’s what color commentary Laura Sanko thinks.
“Yeah, I always tell people, size isn’t as big of an advantage as you think it is… but length is,” Sanko told Din Thomas while the two broke down the UFC 309 headliner.
Jones’ reach measures at 84.5 inches which is the second-longest in the UFC.
Din Thomas Agrees with Laura Sanko’s assessment of Size vs. Length
Din Thomas agreed with Sanko’s statement, suggesting that if Miocic has any chance of winning, it’ll be by making the most of his 80-inch reach via distance management and keeping ‘Bones’ at bay with combinations.
“It’s a huge advantage,” Thomas added. “And this is why I’m saying Stipe is gonna have to do his job on his feet because he can cover up some of that distance in and out, side to side, creating angles, seeing if he can catch Jon slipping. I mean, he’s gonna have to. And he’s gonna have to throw in combinations. But I think he’s got a skill set that ages well, as long as he’s been active and moving his body.”
Sanko also pointed out that Jon Jones has fought someone similarly statured on two separate occasions, given us a potential indicator of how ‘Bones’ could handle his matchup against Miocic.
“I agree,” Sanko said. “And part of that is because this is the fight where the length that you’re talking about is the least pronounced. Stipe is taller and longer than Alexander Gustafsson, and that’s the closest one to it. Alex Gustafsson is 6’5,” Stipe 6’6.”
