UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev believes Sergei Pavlovich has the skillset to beat heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
After peeling off six consecutive wins, all by first-round knockout, many see Pavlovich as the champion-in-waiting in the heavyweight division. His unrivalled knockout power combined with his (albeit untested) wrestling base could provide Jones with the type of well rounded challenge that many of the other top ranked contenders cannot.
Makhachev has previously trained with Pavlovich and shared some of his thoughts on a matchup with Jones at Eagle FC 52:
“It will be hard, but (Sergei) Pavlovich is able to deal with anyone. I worked with Sergei when he was AKA. We worked together on the ground. He has crazy strength. He pushed me away so hard. I even injured my neck – physically, gifted guy….When Pavlovich hits, his opponents fall.”
Whether a fight between Jon Jones and Sergei Pavlovich will materialise remains to be seen. Jones is expected to defend his title against former champion Stipe Miocic next, and retirement after that fight is a distinct possibility. If that sequence of events plays out, it’s unlikely we would see Pavlovich test his skills against Jones, but rather fight for the newly vacated belt.
However, even the fight with Miocic is far from certain. Jones’ long-time rival and current UFC commentator Daniel Cormier believes the fight is in danger of not happening. If the fight with Miocic doesn’t happen, common sense and the current rankings suggest that Pavlovich would be the next man up in the long line of challengers to try and defeat Jon Jones.
However, this is the fight business, and sometimes common sense does not always prevail.
Tyson Fury
The X-factor in all ongoing fight negotiations for Jon Jones is boxing heavyweight kingpin Tyson Fury.
The exact format in which Jones and Fury would clash remains to be seen. A ‘hybrid’ rules fight was raised by Tyson Fury on a Twitter Spaces, with him even confirming to have received an offer from the UFC:
“I’ve been in talks with Francis Ngannou for a hybrid fight. There’s talks of me and Jon Jones doing a hybrid fight as we talk right now. I received an offer from the UFC yesterday. So, you never know what’s gonna happen. The future’s bright for sure. There’s a lot of options out there, and it seems at the moment I’m still going to get an actual boxing opponent.”
Some kind of hybrid rule fight would make the most sense between Jones and Fury. Most people believe that a boxing fight and an MMA fight between Jones and Fury are foregone conclusions, with the champions almost certain to triumph in their own disciplines. However, this seemingly has not deterred Jones from entertaining both a fight in the ring and a fight inside the Octagon:
Whether Jon Jones fights Stipe Miocic, Sergei Pavlovich, or even Tyson Fury next, it will be one of the most watched combat sports events of the year.
Is Pavlovich vs. Jones the fight to make? Let us know in the comments who you would like to see Jon Jones face next!
Quotes in this article were first reported by MMA News and MMA Junkie
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images and Embed from Getty Images
