Jones Vacates LHW Title

[Taytro]

Jones announces he's vacating UFC light heavyweight belt

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[Chaels Arms]

He just tweeted that he just had a positive conversation with UFC about coming back as a HW about two hours after he vacated the light HW belt and complained about the UFC not negotiating with him lol.

 

[member 51464]

The timing also seems set to tweak DC, lol. Jones could have done this at any time opening the division up for Cormier to go back. Nope, wait for him to retire. haha

 

[Perennial]

The timing also seems set to tweak DC, lol. Jones could have done this at any time opening the division up for Cormier to go back. Nope, wait for him to retire. haha

I think Jones and Cormier would've already fought at HW, but Cormier lost the belt...

 

[Perennial]

I think Jones would clearly be the favorite in a bout with Stipe, so it wouldn't surprise me if he pulls a GSP... move up, win the belt, retire

It's a great plan unless Ngannou wins...

I don't think Jones would risk his undefeated record against the greatest KO artist MMA has ever seen...

 

[m9]

The timing also seems set to tweak DC, lol. Jones could have done this at any time opening the division up for Cormier to go back. Nope, wait for him to retire. haha

I don't think this is to tweak DC at all. I do wonder if the UFC had discussed Jones/Ngannou for the HW title if DC won and given Miocic a bit of time to to heal.

The timing is interesting though. Also interesting that Rumble is apparently back and wants to fight at 205lb for his return. I assume he will have to lose about 50 lbs for that to happen so can't imagine it happens for awhile,along with the USADA testing he will need to enter.

 

[member 51464]

Also, to be fair to Jones, this is his first time losing this belt for not criminal/extremely shitty behavior. Kudos for personal growth, guy.

 

[Moncherry]

Why does he need to vacate his title at LHW to move up to HW? I don't recall any of the other double-champs relinquishing their titles when they went for a second championship.

 

[CDJ]

I don’t think he finds anything at light heavy interesting. If Johnny Walker had won his last two MAYBE he could have been interesting but there’s really nothing there for Jon that would make him money. What’s he gonna do, face guys like Jan and Rakic and get minimal ppv buys while wasting the last few fights of his career? Doubt it. Plus he knows he’d probably have to rematch with Reyes and Santos, and then add a wild card like Prochaszka to the mix and I can see why he’s getting out now. The competition is getting stiffer while the pay days are going down in that division

so it’s not so much that he has to give it up, it’s that he wants to give it up. And that’s cool- I like that he’s not holding up the division

 

[Moncherry]

I figured he might just be done with LHW, but the other guys who went up for a title shot without the intention of returning to the division (McGregor, Cejudo, Cormier) vacated or were stripped only after they won the second belt. Not that it matters to me, and perhaps it doesn't matter to him, but it seems like a better 'conquest' when you possess both belts at the same time.

 

[Taytro]

My personal opinion is that his last 2 fights have been a bit too close for comfort and with guys who aren't generating hype. So he's risking losing while not making as much money as possible. If Jones loses to Santos or Reyes, a lot of his hype and praise go out the window since he's supposed to run over the smaller name guys (at least in the media).

The idea of moving up to heavyweight is strictly financial, it offers unique matchups, more ppv potential, and he can even chase that HV belt. At 33 Jones probably sees his earning window closing and wants to generate more income, more quickly and LHW isn't doing that.

 

[pistolpete11]

I think there are a lot of factors, but I think it's a pretty simple risk analysis going on.

The gap between Jones and the rest of the LHW division has clearly been shrinking, there aren't any big names to fight, and because there aren't any big names to fight the PPV numbers and thus the money will be relatively lower. Why risk losing his undefeated record (I know he technically has 1 loss) for that?

I think he would like his chances against Stipe or Francis, too. Against Stipe, the size difference would be minimal and Jones actually has a 4.5 inch reach advantage. Jones would be faster, is more varied in his attack (although he doesn't attack so much anymore), and he has a rock solid chin. Against Francis, Jones is better in everything except for sheer size and power, although he does have a 1.5inch reach advantage even against Francis. He's already the GOAT, but if he won the belt at HW against either of them, even his haters (of which I am one) would have to give it up. If he loses, it hurts his legacy a little but, but he at least keeps his undefeated LHW record intact and he would make a f***ton of money. And if they do Stipe-Francis 2, Jones fighting the winner would be the best case scenario for him. It's either the GHWOAT or the biggest, scariest puncher the sport has ever seen. I guess the only risk would be if Francis won, would they do the trilogy first? In which case, that's a long time to be sitting out.

I would also say, this is more significant than sitting on Twitter. However, it also doesn't mean he's actually going to fight at HW. He could easily comeback and get an immediate title shot at LHW after Reyes-Jan make a little bit of noise by becoming the champ.

 

[chrisab123]

Jones should be able to run the HW division for at least 2 years. He's uncanny. I honestly believe that the only thing that can possibly stop him from being champ is USADA.

 

[member 51464]

I figured he might just be done with LHW, but the other guys who went up for a title shot without the intention of returning to the division (McGregor, Cejudo, Cormier) vacated or were stripped only after they won the second belt. Not that it matters to me, and perhaps it doesn't matter to him, but it seems like a better 'conquest' when you possess both belts at the same time.

Those others did it with the focus on being champ-champ. Conor didn't defend either belt a single time, and DC had one defense at HW before Stipe won it back, and a handful of defenses at LHW. Jon has lorded over LHW for a decade when not out causing trouble for himself. So I think for him, to the extent that legacy matters, everyone already knows he is the man at LHW even if you hate the guy. It is a bit different than the other three guys.

With him trying to bulk up and get bigger, I see him either trying to pick his spots at HW and cash in a few big money fights before walking away, or doing a one and done with Stipe and then retiring.

 

[m9]

Those others did it with the focus on being champ-champ. Conor didn't defend either belt a single time, and DC had one defense at HW before Stipe won it back, and a handful of defenses at LHW. Jon has lorded over LHW for a decade when not out causing trouble for himself. So I think for him, to the extent that legacy matters, everyone already knows he is the man at LHW even if you hate the guy. It is a bit different than the other three guys.

With him trying to bulk up and get bigger, I see him either trying to pick his spots at HW and cash in a few big money fights before walking away, or doing a one and done with Stipe and then retiring.

This is essentially my thought as well. Jones doesn't need the belt to prove he's the best LHW like those other guys, everyone already knows it. He also has given up the belt many times in the past so I wonder how much attachment he even has to it at this point.

He transcends belts, the same way GSP did. GSP didn't need to be the current 170lb champ for people to realize how big it was for him to win the 2nd belt at 185lbs.

 

[member 51464]

And now Rumble says he's back in the testing pool and looking to return to LHW.

I'll be very curious on match making when he finally is ready to fight.

 

[Islay1989]

I think there are a lot of factors, but I think it's a pretty simple risk analysis going on.

The gap between Jones and the rest of the LHW division has clearly been shrinking, there aren't any big names to fight, and because there aren't any big names to fight the PPV numbers and thus the money will be relatively lower. Why risk losing his undefeated record (I know he technically has 1 loss) for that?

I think he would like his chances against Stipe or Francis, too. Against Stipe, the size difference would be minimal and Jones actually has a 4.5 inch reach advantage. Jones would be faster, is more varied in his attack (although he doesn't attack so much anymore), and he has a rock solid chin. Against Francis, Jones is better in everything except for sheer size and power, although he does have a 1.5inch reach advantage even against Francis. He's already the GOAT, but if he won the belt at HW against either of them, even his haters (of which I am one) would have to give it up. If he loses, it hurts his legacy a little but, but he at least keeps his undefeated LHW record intact and he would make a f***ton of money. And if they do Stipe-Francis 2, Jones fighting the winner would be the best case scenario for him. It's either the GHWOAT or the biggest, scariest puncher the sport has ever seen. I guess the only risk would be if Francis won, would they do the trilogy first? In which case, that's a long time to be sitting out.

I would also say, this is more significant than sitting on Twitter. However, it also doesn't mean he's actually going to fight at HW. He could easily comeback and get an immediate title shot at LHW after Reyes-Jan make a little bit of noise by becoming the champ.

I agree with this with one caveat, he hasn't been hit by the likes of Miocic or Ngannou thus far. We'll see how his chin holds up against one of those two.

 

[BGDDYKWL]

I agree with this with one caveat, he hasn't been hit by the likes of Miocic or Ngannou thus far. We'll see how his chin holds up against one of those two.

I think you could actually make the case that he hasn't really been hit clean with a real big shot his entire career. It's quite impressive.

 

[Islay1989]

I think you could actually make the case that he hasn't really been hit clean with a real big shot his entire career. It's quite impressive.

Definitely. His head movement and footwork are 2nd to none, I'm just saying we really have no idea how he would fare if Stipe or Ngannou land a punch. It's not like they need to land a perfect one either, Stipe extinguished people backtracking and throwing off balance off his back leg, and we all know about what Francis can do. In saying that, I think I'd rather fight Francis if I was Jones, he is wild, not overly technical in his striking and rather one-dimensional in a sense that he looks for that big punch most of the time.

I could see Jones dancing around and tiring him out with Francis landing barely anything, while Stipe on the other hand in addition to having an absolute bomb in his hands is also a methodical striker who knows how to pick his spots and if he can close the range he can do real damage to Jones without gassing himself.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

Definitely. His head movement and footwork are 2nd to none, I'm just saying we really have no idea how he would fare if Stipe or Ngannou land a punch. It's not like they need to land a perfect one either, Stipe extinguished people backtracking and throwing off balance off his back leg, and we all know about what Francis can do. In saying that, I think I'd rather fight Francis if I was Jones, he is wild, not overly technical in his striking and rather one-dimensional in a sense that he looks for that big punch most of the time.

I could see Jones dancing around and tiring him out with Francis landing barely anything, while Stipe on the other hand in addition to having an absolute bomb in his hands is also a methodical striker who knows how to pick his spots and if he can close the range he can do real damage to Jones without gassing himself.

Most fighters wont fare well if Ngannou land's a punch.