UFC light heavyweight king Jon Jones hasn\u2019t officially committed to a move to heavyweight, but he has hinted strongly that he\u2019d be willing to do so for the right price and the right opponent. Even a mere mention of that potential bombshell move is a roadblock for heavyweight phenom Francis Ngannou, who has rightfully staked his claim as the top contender after delivering consecutive first-round knockouts over Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez.<\/p>\n
The latter is undoubtedly the most jaw-dropping takeaway from the weekend\u2019s UFC on ESPN 3 festivities, along with UFC President Dana White\u2019s lukewarm response after witnessing Ngannou\u2019s ham-sized fists dribble off dos Santos\u2019 skull<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cStipe [Miocic] and [UFC<\/a> heavyweight champion Daniel] Cormier has to play out,\u201d White said, per MMAjunkie<\/a>. \u201c\u2026Who wins, how they come out of that fight, what does Cormier want to do next if he wins. There\u2019s a lot of things that play into what\u2019s next. It\u2019s not as easy as, \u2018Oh, I won tonight, and I\u2019m next for the fight.\u2019 And we know this. I go through this every single time there\u2019s a fight.\u201d<\/p>\n There is something to be said about promising title fights with a clear conscious and avoiding prisoner of the moment decisions that could lead to matchmaking problems down the line. However, Ngannou just unseated two of the greatest fighters of this generation in dominant fashion, which doesn\u2019t leave much to the imagination when pinning down a more deserving heavyweight challenger for the throne.<\/p>\n Light heavyweight, on the other hand, is an entirely different story.<\/p>\n That\u2019s where arguably the greatest fighter to ever step foot inside the octagon resides. The only man to ever defeat Cormier (twice) turned what was once perceived as the UFC\u2019s deepest weight class into a pillar of ashes faster than Daenerys Targaryen could say \u201cDracarys.\u201d Jon Jones is the only long-shot contender that would give White cause for pause in denying a terrifying heavyweight like Francis Ngannou a title shot, and if Cormier somehow gets past Miocic a second time, he could be the reason \u2018DC\u2019 sticks around for at least one more fight.<\/p>\n Even after the outcome of the first two fights, there is something particularly scintillating about a trilogy taking place at heavyweight. That observation goes beyond the blockbuster-worthy drama and naughty things Jones and Cormier say to one another when they think the camera isn’t rolling. No, there is a legitimate belief that somehow things would be different if Jones fights Cormier at walking-around weight.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s still a lot of interest in me fighting Daniel Cormier for some reason,\u201d Jon Jones told ESPN\u2019s Brett Okamoto<\/a>. \u201cI don\u2019t really know what it is. The first time I won by unanimous decision and the second time I won by knockout so I don\u2019t know why people want to see us fight again so bad, but at heavyweight, I guess that would add a few different factors. So yeah, if that\u2019s the fight the world wants to see, I know one thing about the UFC, we give the fans what they want.\u201d<\/p>\n