John McCarthy believes Stipe Miocic deserves a shot at the UFC heavyweight title more than Jon Jones.
Right now, the UFC heavyweight championship is held by Francis Ngannou. The title will be defended at UFC 270 when ‘The Predator’ goes up against former teammate and top contender Ciryl Gane. Outside of that, however, Stipe Miocic and Jon Jones are both on the outside looking in – waiting for their chance to challenge for the gold.
Some have suggested they go up against each other, while others believe both men have a claim for a title shot. Miocic held the heavyweight title before Francis Ngannou knocked him out at UFC 260. Jones, for his part, is a former light heavyweight champion.
John McCarthy brought up both contenders for a title shot. However, the former UFC referee believes Miocic has a slightly better case than Jones.
“Stipe is the longest-lasting heavyweight champion, had more title defences than anybody else, before losing it. He has! Then he lost the title, came back and got it back, took the title back and then defended it. Stipe has done everything that he needs to do. The thing you’re talking about with Jon is that if he was absolutely signed, sealed, ready to go, yes, I think they would give it to Jon Jones. I think he’s the guy that they look at, but then again I think they look at him and go ‘but what’s gonna come next?’. Is there gonna be a problem? You never know, but with Stipe, you know.”
When did Jon Jones last compete?
The last time we saw Jon Jones inside the octagon was when he controversially beat Dominick Reyes via decision at UFC 247. The event was one of the last few pay-per-views before the COVID-19 pandemic really took hold with many believing Reyes had done enough to get the nod and capture the UFC light heavyweight championship.
Since then, Jones has been preparing for a move up to heavyweight – and he’s been doing so for almost two years. It’s one of the longest absences he’s had throughout his mixed martial arts career. A return could be imminent, however, it’s just as likely that we won’t see him for months.