Former UFC light heavyweight champion “Suga” Rashad Evans knows pound-for-pound kingpin and MMA G.O.A.T. Jon Jones pretty well. He and Jones are former training partners and Evans was defeated by Jones at UFC 145 in April 2012.
Jones relinquished his 205-pound championship in 2020 to pursue a title run in the heavyweight division. He’s yet to compete as a heavyweight due to contractual disputes with the fight promotion, but plans to be a two-division champion at some point. Francis Ngannou holds the heavyweight title and Evans believes a fight between Ngannou and Jones is an intriguing one.
“Jon moving up (to heavyweight) is going to be a continuation of the legacy of Jon Jones. 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,” Evans told TMZ Sports.
“The things that I may think may give him some problems is the fact that these guys are big and they harder. But for the most part, this is the great Jon Jones. Jon Jones can make an adjustment to anything.
“I would say, though, the fight with Francis, him and Francis, that is one that is a very intriguing fight because he’s going against a guy who takes away some of the advantages that he’s been able to enjoy for so long, being able to have the long reach, being able to stronger fighter and all of those different aspects that he’s been able to bring to the table,” Evans said.
Hear everything Evans had to say in the video below.
(Courtesy of TMZ Sports)
Rashad Evans: A match between Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou is ‘very intriguing’ | Video
