UPDATE: The UFC has reversed course and booked Jan Blachowicz against Jacare Souza, so Jon Jones’ next opponent is now up in the air.
ORIGINAL:
Dana White has decided who will be the next challenger for Jon Jones’s light heavyweight championship.
Jon Jones has expressed a desire to remain active since regaining his light heavyweight championship against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 232. He has done just that, going on to successfully defend his light heavyweight championship against Anthony Smith at UFC 235 and against Thiago Santos at UFC 239.
Jones’s next opponent was widely speculated to be Daniel Cormier, but Cormier’s loss to Stipe Miocic at UFC 241 has shriveled those talks, leaving fans to wonder who would be next for Jon Jones.
Another name many fans have expressed interest in as a potential Jon Jones opponent in the past is two-time heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic. Jones contributed to that interest by trollingly teasing a fight between himself and Miocic earlier this year. But Jones’s next opponent, according to UFC President Dana White, will not be Cormier, Miocic, or any other lightweight. It will be against light heavyweight contender Jan Blachowicz.
“I think Jan. I think Jan looked good in his last performance,” White told BT Sport in a recent interview. “And where he sits in the rankings, he’s the man.”
Jan Blachowicz is currently ranked #5 in the light heavyweight rankings. In his most recent bout, Blachowicz knocked out Luke Rockhold at UFC 239. In addition to Cormier, another candidate for Jones’s next opponent leading into the UFC 239 pay per view was Luke Rockhold. If Dana White’s comments hold true, Jan Blachowicz didn’t just knock Luke Rockhold out of the running to face Jones, but he swiftly stepped in to take his place.
Do you believe Jan Blachowicz is deserving to be Jon Jones’s next light heavyweight opponent?
