Triple Take: Who's the best opponent for UFC champ Jon Jones next?
Three members of the MMA Junkie team weigh in on Jon Jones' fight options, including Jan Blachowicz or a Dominick Reyes rematch.
The UFC light heavyweight division has more viable title contenders than any time in recent years, and that’s keeping UFC champ Jon Jones in the headlines.
Just one week after Dominick Reyes pushed Jones to the brink in a title bout at UFC 247, Jan Blachowicz put himself in the forefront of the conversation with a knockout of Corey Anderson at UFC on ESPN+ 25. There’s a lot of jockeying for position, and also the lingering option of Jones fighting someone from another weight class.
What’s Jones’ best move? That’s the question MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn, Farah Hannoun and Danny Segura attempt to answer in the latest edition of Triple Take.
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Mike Bohn: Jan is the man
The UFC is all about trying to capitalize on momentum and opportunity, and quite honestly, this one fell right into Dana White’s lap. If Blachowicz had won in any less a spectacular manner than he did against Anderson, he would have been a reluctant part of the title conversation, only because of his overall body of work that includes three consecutive wins over Anderson, Ronaldo Souza and Luke Rockhold.
What he pulled off in reality, though, was nothing short of perfection.
Not only did Blachowicz avenge a crucial career loss to Anderson from 2015 with an exclamation point, but he did it with the champ Jones sitting in the front row. The Polish fighter took full advantage of that unique scenario, pointing at Jones through the cage and doing just what he needed to build hype for a potential title fight. Jones played his part, too, by totally immersing himself in the moment and making Blachowicz come off a much bigger star than he’d appear to be otherwise.
Coming into the event, a rematch between Jones and Reyes felt like the most marketable title fight at 205 pounds, but now there is an argument to be made. Jones went backstage after Blachowicz win, as well, and sold his new contender as someone truly deserving of a chance at the gold. That was done for good reason, and it would seem somewhat silly to let that go to waste.
Does Reyes deserve another chance to share the octagon with Jones? Probably. But that fight will be there. He can get the attention again with a solid performance against a fellow contender, making a second fight with Jones even bigger. Blachowicz has the hot hand at the moment, though, and that’s why he the best bet to fight Jones next, especially if the UFC brass are looking for a main event for the rumored June pay-per-view card in Australia.
Next page – Farah Hannoun: Dominick Reyes rematch is the answer