Rashad Evans thinks Jon Jones will have continued success at heavyweight.
Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC), a dominant former UFC light heavyweight champion, relinquished his 205-pound belt and has been bulking up to a heavyweight frame.
Having already both trained with and competed against Jones, Evans knows the kind of talent he is and thinks “Bones” will dominate at heavyweight, despite the change in weight class.
“Jon moving up, it’s going to be a continuation of the legacy of Jon Jones,” Evans said in an interview with TMZ. “Jon Jones is a phenomenal athlete. He’s a phenomenal fighter and his IQ inside the octagon, it can’t be surpassed by anybody. So I expect him to carry that to the heavyweight division.
“The things that I think may give him some problems is the fact that these guys are big and they do hit harder. But for the most part, this is a great Jon Jones. Jon Jones can make an adjustment to anything.”
While the physical transition has been a smooth one for Jones, the negotiations haven’t been. Jones has been in a public spat with the UFC over pay and likely will sit out for the rest of 2021.
An interim heavyweight title fight between Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane was announced as the UFC 265 headliner for Aug. 7. But if Jones does get the chance to challenge UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou (16-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC), Evans thinks that’ll be the one true challenge for him.
“The fight with Francis, that is one that is a very intriguing fight because he’s going against a guy that takes away some of the advantages that he’s been able to enjoy for so long – being able to have a long reach, being able to be the stronger fighter and all those different aspects that he’s been able to bring to the table,” Evans said. “So it’s going to be interesting to see if he’s going to be able to bring that to the heavyweight division. But at the same time, it’s hard to say that he won’t because this is Jon Jones.
“I went back and forth a few times just because the fact that Ngannou is growing at an exponential rate. His mindset has been absolutely amazing when it comes to just growing and rounding out the part of his game that wasn’t so good before, which is the grappling, and even understanding how to control his power and not trying to throw a hard punch every single time he lets his hands go. This Francis has grown a lot, so it’s still so hard to say. And here’s another thing: He wants to fight Jon Jones. He’s not hoping it doesn’t happen – he wants to fight Jon Jones. He’s seeking that fight out, so that’s a man who’s a very confident man.”
