UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is targeting Stipe Miocic next.
Jones defends his light heavyweight title against Dominick Reyes this Saturday at UFC 247. Should he come away the victory, there will be more calls for “Bones” to finally make the move up to heavyweight.
For his part, he seems to want that as well as he feels there is a “really good chance” of him moving up to heavyweight after fighting Reyes. In fact, he wants to go right after the heavyweight champion as well:
“There’s a really good chance,” Jones told Ariel Helwani of moving up to heavyweight after UFC 247. “I feel like I really want to fight Stipe Miocic. I feel like I could beat him.
“I don’t think I would need a tune up. I’m pretty tuned up. I’m pretty in tune. I feel great, feel strong already. Stipe’s like 230 or something? I feel like me at a lean 230 is plenty. I feel like I could totally beat him just based on his performances with DC. Our speed differences, my fight IQ, my versatility, my faith and confidence — I think I’m the guy to beat him for sure and I want to strike while I’m doing hot.”
Should that fight happen, however, Jones doesn’t plan on remaining at heavyweight. Instead, he will go back down to 205 which is where he feels he is at his optimum best:
“I think I would go up and go straight for the king. I think I would probably go back down to 205 [afterwards],” Jones added. “Getting down to 205 just makes me feel good about myself, just makes me feel good just to earn that victory and to detox myself, lose the weight again.
“The journey to get down to the weight class and just to feel ultimately prepared — I just love it. I feel like my highest just mentally, spiritually, physically, something about getting down to my weight class that makes me feel super charged.”
Of course, Jones has to get past Reyes first before any of this can happen.
Do you think we can see Jones vs. Miocic in the future?