Advertisement

Jon Jones believes he can beat Cain Velasquez, but will 'super fight' ever happen?

Jon Jones believes he can beat Cain Velasquez, but will 'super fight' ever happen?

The term ‘super fight’ gets thrown around a lot in the sport of mixed martial arts. All too often, unfortunately, the outcome of these billings is anything but super – at least in terms of hype matching overall return.

There is one fight out there that fans have been clamoring for the last year and it may be the only fight a major organization can put together that is worthy of the super-fight moniker. And half of the ‘last great super fight’ tandem fanned the flames this weekend at UFC 184 when he addressed his future.

"I don't know when I'm going to move up in weight,” said UFC light heavyweight champion at Saturday’s UFC 184 Welcome to the Show press event in Los Angeles. “I've entertained the thought of going to heavyweight so many times…”

UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez sits atop his throne of the UFC’s big men. When he isn’t battling one of his many well-publicized injuries, the American Kickboxing Academy product has looked nearly unstoppable as the heavyweight king. He is undefeated since 2011 and when healthy, continues to improve on an already terrifying resume.

The fight between Jones and Velasquez has been milled about for the last year or so among pundits, and it’s only picking up steam as Jones continues to dominate at 205. Some believe that Bones’ upcoming fight with Anthony Johnson at UFC 187 in May will be his last at his weight class. If so, a potential showdown with Velasquez may lie just on the horizon.

"But if I do go to heavyweight,” continued Jones, “or when I do go to heavyweight, I do believe I have the skill set to beat Cain."

Velasquez must also first dispatch his next challenger, interim champion Fabricio Werdum in Mexico City this summer at UFC 188, but assuming he does, the super fight could be a showdown between the UFC’s most dominant big men. As of right now the UFC’s heavyweight division is short on clear-cut contenders, and a fighter the likes of Jon Jones moving up in weight would unquestionably warrant an immediate title shot.

Jon Jones will face Anthony Johnson at UFC 187 on May 23. (Getty Images)
Jon Jones will face Anthony Johnson at UFC 187 on May 23. (Getty Images)

And if they do one day meet inside the Octagon, then the company’s youngest champion likes his chances, “My main reason for believing I'll beat Cain is his size," Jones said. "He's not one of these massive heavyweights who's going to just outweigh me and out-power me in every situation. He's a guy I can totally compete with.”

Jones isn’t wrong: Velasquez (13-1) is an undersized heavyweight. On average he weighs 240 pounds – a full 25 pounds under the heavyweight limit. It hasn’t affected his performances inside the cage (albeit only four fights in the last five years), but it doesn’t take away from the fact that the champ is not your prototypical ‘hulking’ heavyweight.

Jones (21-1), on the other hand, is an extremely large light heavyweight and for the majority of his career, most thought that an eventual move to heavyweight was only a matter of time. Jones would be packing muscle onto what is an already lean physique at 205 and his 6’4” frame would seemingly be more than equipped to handle the added weight.

Velasquez comes in at a generous 6’1” and is more bulldog than Great Dane. Jones has an 81.5-inch reach, where his heavyweight contemporary clocks in at just 77.0 on the dot.

Meaning: if and when Jones and Velasquez ever do square off, you can expect the ‘eye test’ to be a lot closer than you may think.

And at least one of them thinks it could be a fight – dare we say ‘super’ – that MMA fans could get behind.

"When it happens," Jones said, "it will be a good one."