Sometimes, the next step is both obvious and unassured.
In the wake of UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the way forward for heavyweight champion Jon Jones is apparent to everyone, but that doesn’t guarantee we’re going to get the fight everyone wants to see.
Over the weekend, Jones did what most anticipated, retaining his title with a third-round stoppage win over returning two-time champ Stipe Miocic, ostensibly ending the fight with a spinning back kick to the midsection that sounded gnarly in real time and likely felt even worse before the academic follow-up blows officially brought the night to a halt.
Jones looked dominant.
Long, quick, and diverse in his attacks, he rifled Miocic to the canvas with a powerful trip early in the first and spent the remainder of the frame punishing him from top position, crashing home elbows not only meant to inflict damage, but also show the 42-year-old challenger that he was completely outgunned.
In the second, Jones was content to stand, happy to throw hands with the Ohio native, trusting his ability to roll with and counter the best shots Miocic could muster. He did the same for much of the third round before driving his left heel into his opponent’s ribs, instantly sending Miocic crashing to the canvas in agony.
While Miocic was decisive regarding what comes next — “I’m done. I’m hangin’em up. I’m retiring. Thank God.” — Jones was less direct when asked about what comes next for him.
The champion, who has been pushing back against a fight with interim titleholder Tom Aspinall for some time while floating the idea of a bout with light heavyweight ruler Alex Pereira, said he wanted to sit down with the UFC brass to see what they had in mind, acknowledging that he might be convinced to stick around a little longer, which could potentially result in everyone getting a heavyweight unification bout.
At his media availability following the event, Jones stated he was seeking “(Bleep) You Money” in order to fight Aspinall, whom he personally finds annoying, and this is where things get complicated.
A fight with Aspinall is without question the next fight to make, for an abundance of reasons, the most obvious is he’s the interim champion and finding out who is the undisputed top heavyweight in the UFC at the moment is something everyone — save for perhaps Jones — wants.
Stylistically, it’s fascinating as well, as the British standout brings a different level of athleticism and well-roundedness to the Octagon than either of the two men Jones has bested during his brief run at heavyweight.
Against Ciryl Gane, he was able to easily wrestle the Frenchman to the canvas and exploit his deficiencies on the ground, securing the fight-ending choke in a touch over two minutes. On Saturday, he beat a 42-year-old man that hadn’t fought in well over three years who looked the part.
That’s not said to take anything away from Jones’s performance — he was dialed in and dangerous from the jump and breezed through Miocic — but rather to make it clear that Aspinall is an entirely different type of problem to deal with. He’s big, strong, fast, and has a diverse skill set of his own, with clear power in his hands and a wealth of skills on the canvas should the fight ever get there.
Ironically, the biggest reason Jones should actually want the fight — in my opinion, of course — is the one reason he’s been giving for why he has little interest in facing the interim champion.
Jones has been framing a win over Aspinall as doing nothing for his legacy, which is the one thing he values above all else. In his eyes, taking out the 31-year-old who earned gold in his stead and doesn’t have a Hall of Fame resume at the moment doesn’t add much to the incredible list of accomplishments he’s amassed over the course of his 16-year UFC career.
At the start of last week, I made the same argument my colleague here at Sportsnet, Aaron Bronsteter made Saturday evening, suggesting a win over Aspinall does a great deal to further bolster Jones’s legacy because he’d be taking out the leader of the next generation of talents, and someone many believe is capable of beating him.
While Jones sees beating a two-division champ like Alex Pereira as a greater achievement, it’s also a more favourable style matchup, at least on paper, as he could — in theory — wrestle “Poatan” to the canvas and dominate him there; easier said than done, sure, but we are talking about the greatest talent to ever grace the Octagon here.
UFC CEO Dana White recognized this on Saturday night and poured water on the notion of Jones and Pereira facing one another, backtracking enough to leave the window of opportunity to make that fight happen slightly ajar for the time being.
But Aspinall? There’s no clear and obvious route to victory for Jones; at least not in the way that there was against Gane, there was against Miocic, and there appears to be against Pereira.
It’s a dangerous fight, and one that everyone wants to see.
Now we just have to wait and see if Jones wants it enough to forego that “(Bleep) You Money” in favour of further bolstering his legacy and giving the fans what they want most.
OLIVEIRA IN TITLE QUEUE, BMF TITLE FIGHT AVAILABLE
Charles Oliveira could very well be in a position to sit tight and wait for the opportunity to face the winner of the anticipated lightweight title fight between Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan that is likely to happen in the first quarter of 2025.
At age 35 and coming off a largely dominant effort against Michael Chandler, the Brazilian has done all he needs to do in order to station himself as the No. 1 contender in the lightweight division, and his history with both champion and challenger make a bout with either appealing.
But that’s only when you look at it from the Oliveira side of things, and there are no guarantees that either man will be all that keen on running it back with the dangerous former titleholder. Makhachev was ready to give Oliveira a rematch last year, but that ship may have sailed and selling Tsarukyan on fighting him for a second time in a little over a year, this time with the title on the line should he beat Makhachev, might be challenging.
That’s where a potential matchup with Max Holloway for the BMF Title feels like a possibility worth exploring.
While they too have history, their initial encounter took place years ago, and a rematch now with the BMF Title and a lightweight championship opportunity hanging in the balance could be one way to inject further intrigue and excitement into the divisional title chase.
OTHER POST-309 PAIRINGS WORTH CONSIDERING
Bo Nickal improved to 7-0 and his win over Paul Craig was viewed as a measuring stick moment for the collegiate wrestling standout. Although he got the victory, the fight showed he’s not quite ready to be dropped into a top-15 matchup.
That’s not a bad thing, either.
Nickal is only seven fights into his career, and while the expectation is that he becomes a contender, he’s clearly not there yet. His striking is still a work in progress and he simply needs more reps, so slowing things down in the wake of his UFC 309 win would likely be better for him long term.
Beating Craig is still a solid accomplishment, especially given that there was zero wrestling involved, so what about a fight with someone a little more aggressive on the feet, like Gregory Rodrigues? “Robocop” has won three straight and five of his last six, has considerable power in his hands, and is strong on the ground, though he rarely looks to grapple.
It’s another solid test for Nickal and the kind of bout that would likely answer more questions about the Penn State alum.
Viviane Araujo halted Karine Silva’s unbeaten run inside the Octagon, outworking her compatriot over three rounds to get herself back into the win column and lockdown her place in the top 10 heading towards the end of the year.
As much as she wants to fight forward, the reality of the division and her recent results make her an ideal fighter to continue to occupy the gatekeeper role she’s held for the last year and change, which means another fight with an ascending flyweight hopeful, and there is an obvious choice available.
Araujo was booked to face streaking Canadian Jasmine Jasudavicius earlier this year in Denver before having to withdraw. Jasudavicius stayed on the card, beat Fatime Kline, and has since added another win over Ariane da Silva to extend her winning streak to three. On Saturday night, the Niagara Top Team standout posted a facepalm emoji following the contest, voicing her thoughts on the fight with a single click of a button.
Re-booking Araujo and the ascending Canadian makes a great deal of sense given the current complexion of the division and how things have been going for each fighter as of late.
And lastly, since Jim Miller picked up another win and floated the idea of getting to 50 UFC fights before calling it a career — he’s now at 45 after his submission of Damon Jackson — let’s figure out what comes next for the Sparta, N.J., native.
The smart thing Miller and UFC have done over the last five years or so is largely keep him away from established contenders and dynamite emerging talents, which has resulted in the 41-year-old going 10-5 during that time. Sticking to that approach, a bout with Chase Hooper, should he get by Clay Guida next month at UFC 310, feels like a reasonable pairing for both sides.
Hooper is 3-0 since moving to lightweight, with slick finishes in each of his last two outings, and if he can get by one tenured veteran, a date with another in 2025 Q1 would give him a chance to keep moving forward. As for Miller, it’s a matchup with someone that isn’t going to storm through him with power or athleticism, and would therefore be a winnable fight against a surging talent that could elevate him into a slightly higher profile pairing as he works towards 50 UFC appearances.
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