Between 43 year old Stipe and Alex Pereira, who is the tougher match up?

[Ibm]

Stipe is a much tougher Matchup than Alex for Jones even though Alex is the superior striker to both.

 

[Poatan Power]

Stipe.

Jones has wrestling, reach and a chin. He's a nightmare for Alex.

 

[FreedomCricket]

Stipe is only 41/42 in August.

42 is just out of prime for HW.

He may have been knocked out in 2021, but that's largely irrelevant anymore. Any short term damage is fully recovered.

I'd be more worried about ring rust than the effects of the 2021 knockout.

 

[TempleoftheDog]

Stipes biggest problem would be that he's a notoriously slow starter.

Do you realize Stipe has 6 first round finishes in the UFC?

Clearly you don’t.

Where did you get this fantasy notion that Stipe is an “notoriously slow starter”? Certainly not from actually watching his fights.

There’s no need to make shit up. The facts speak for themselves. Stipe even had a 4 fight winning streak of first round wins. Arlovski, Werdum, Overeem, and JDS. And the last 3 were all title fights.

 

[Ludwig von Mises]

Do you realize Stipe has 6 first round finishes in the UFC?

Clearly you don’t.

Where did you get this fantasy idea that Stipe is an “notoriously slow starter”? Certainly not from actually watching his fights.

There’s no need to make shit up. The facts speak for themselves. Stipe even had a 4 fight winning streak of first round wins. Arlovski, Werdum, Overeem, and JDS. And the last 3 were all title fights.

Stipe got nearly Knocked our by Overeem early.

Knocked out by DC early.

Started slow against DC in the rematch too.

Started slow against Ngannou too in the rematch.

Judging by how long hes been away I'd assume he will start slow in his next fight too.

 

[ThaiSexPills]

It’s gonna be so, so funny if Stipe destroys Jones.

 

[Lee Danger]

Stipe by tko (punches)
Alex by ko (knees)

 

[C0NCH3TO]

lmao, seriously? Father time is undefeated. I have never seen a 42 year old man without roids or trt doing well in mma at the highest level. Stipe will look like dog shit if he fights Jon. At this point a lot of lhws would do better than him.

(Not to mention he hasn’t fought in many years and the last time he did he got ktfo savagely. )

 

[Chayanne]

jones should be ashamed of himself, 43 older man who hasn't fought in 3 years. there is no honor to be had

 

[Thepaintbucket]

42 years old, been knocked out cold in two of his four fights. By the time he enters the octagon again it will be 3 and 1/2 years. Did I mention he was brutally KOd his last fight?

This fight is pretty much a set up for Stipe to lose. He's at the end of his career. His confidence may be at an all-time low. Stipe might even be fighting just to secure a big paycheck which would be really bad. Jon Jones is fighting a shadow of an accomplished former champion and nothing more.

Yes we all realize this isn't prime Jon Jones anymore and he isn't young himself but c'mon. Jon is looking to take an advantage of a compromised fighter

 

[Bret 'The Hitman' Hart]

I think it's Stipe because of his wrestling and grappling, but man... 43 is old, and he has been inactive for a long time. It's a young men's sport

At HW they all have KO power, they can all sleep you. Pereira and Stipe aren't much different in that regard


But anyway, it's a squash match.

 

[andgonsil]

 

[Oddmonster]

Should be Stipe but man, I really don't think he will be anywhere close to the same as he was in his prime. The DC trilogy took a lot out of him and that Francis KO likely ended his chin/durability for good. On the other hand there is Alex, who might not be as complete of a fighter as Stipe but he is also far less damaged and has been active, unlike Stipe who has been out for years.
If you had to pick one with the best chance of beating Jones, who would it be?

Stipe - Old, hasn't fought in ages. In the last 6 years he is 2-2, with the losses being K.O's. Weighs about 15 lbs less than Jon. Stipe has not fought in 3 years.

Alex - is a HUGE middleweight. only about 15-20 lbs lighter than Jon Jones by now. His wrestling and ground game is not fantastic, at best it is mediocre.

NONE of them are interesting fights when it comes to Jon "The Duck" Jones.
When Jon mention a fighter he wants to fight, you just know him and his team has analyzed that fighter, and that Jon has a 90%+ chance of winning. There is a reason why he don't want Aspinal. There is a reason he did not want Ngannou.

 

[plataoplombo]

I think Stipe due to his size and well roundedness but he's really iffy at this stage.

 

[Only Here for Attachments]

Jones vs Pereira would put the wrestling fanboys who also hate Jon in quite the predicament

 

[jx820]

I think Alex is a tougher match up, and Tom is tougher than that. But I think the promotional potential of the fights is completely inverse of the difficulty.

Stipe is old, coming off a long time on the shelf and a KO loss. Jon has WAY more milage than most fighters his age and he's coming off an injury but I think he can handle Stipe at this point. He's just a very straigh forward challenge. A very good wrestle boxer who's lost a step.

Alex just has very difficult skills to train for. His technique is powerful and sneaky. He'd be small at HW, but I'd expect his power to translate based on what we've seen at LHW. The terrifying prospect is whether he could hit harder with added weight allowance. So the question becomes whether Jon's old shop worn knees could manage a TD.

Tom is faster than any man his size has any right to be, he hits incredibly hard, he's a good boxer with good wrestling, and great subs. He's also got big fight experience out of the way without wilting. That's a tough night at the office. Not saying I'd pick him to win, but if I were Jon's manager I'd focus on Stipe and Alex.

 

[Tweak896]

The thing with Jones is chin is normally a non-factor. I only remember him KOing DC with that headkick, which maybe could come back. Realistically you have to judge it by either Jones striking with Stipe or Jones wrestling Pereira. Assuming Jones doesn't magically get KO power at HW, striking with Stipe is grueling. Look at the DC wars, Stipe probably will be tough to put away and come back with his own. So Stipe would be the harder opponent on paper.

If Pereira beats Ankalaev and shows decent TDD, it might be enough for almost retired Jones. If Jones is forced to stand with Pereira he's done for.

Good thread, it shows why Stipe/Jones is a decent matchup still.

 

[Schoolboy Q]

Stipe is a tougher fight, Alex would be the easiest fight of Jones career.

 

[Only Here for Attachments]

Stipe is only 41/42 in August.

42 is just out of prime for HW.

He may have been knocked out in 2021, but that's largely irrelevant anymore. Any short term damage is fully recovered.

I'd be more worried about ring rust than the effects of the 2021 knockout.

Glad I'm not the only one who realizes Stipe has had a long time to recover

 

[arcadeperfect]

Call me crazy, but I think that even a shopworn Stipe is a bad match up for Jones and could be a cherrypick gone wrong.

Jones has historically struggled striking with guys who have similar heights and reaches, and Stipe is good boxer and a solid wrestler.

Since the fight was announced, I've thought that it might turn out being much more difficult for Jones than people expect.

Jones is now deep into his 30s, has been very inactive over the past several years, is coming of the first serious injury of his career and looks like shit physically after doing a bunch of partying. All of those factors are going to balance things out for Stipe.

The good news for Stipe is that Jon isn't a KO artist.