Jon would be a complete idiot to not take the Stipe fight if he's getting paid 15 million for it

[Goutfather]

So why doesn't he fight Randy Couture next?


edit - was a lazy quick response by me in hindsight bc you might argue Stipe > Randy, but perhaps better examples might even be ->

Should O'Malley wait for Dom Cruz over Merab?

Should DDP wait for Anderson Silva instead of Izzy or Khamzat or whoever you think is most deserving at 185?

cejudo wanted to fight dom for the reasons i stated. back in 2020, it made sense, even if dom arguably was out of his prime. but today, dom is 5 fights removed from being champ 8 years ago. there have been numerous champs since then, and they’re still around. that said, id be interested in seeing sean fight cruz if cruz can work his way back.

anderson silva was last champ in 2013, had a huge losing streak, and is retired. not a good comparison.

 

[Soggust]

cejudo wanted to fight dom for the reasons i stated. back in 2020, it made sense, even if dom arguably was out of his prime. but today, dom is 5 fights removed from being champ 8 years ago. there have been numerous champs since then, and they’re still around. that said, id be interested in seeing sean fight cruz if cruz can work his way back.

Cejudo didn't have an interim champion begging to fight him and the landscape was a bit murky back then, iirc.

But even with that said, I still respectfully disagree that it made sense then. Should have been Yan or even Sandhagen imo, but I'd just be making the same case as I am here lol.

anderson silva was last champ in 2013, had a huge losing streak, and is retired. not a good comparison.

Fair enough. Hard to think of a perfect example, but regardless of the reasons, I don't feel like champions should be picking their fights and I feel like they should be booked against the most deserving.

Neither of which Stipe qualifies for imo, but I respect that you might just disagree with my position.

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I just truly think people would be MORE excited about Jon vs Stipe if he vacated, branded it a legacy fight, and it were for the BMF title instead of the undisputed HW championship.

Instead the narrative becomes people bitching about ANOTHER undeserved shot that delegitimizes the sport.

And ironically, the BMF title would feel more legitimate and a better piece on Jones' resume than "1 title defense at hw".

Also sells a better unification fight (BMF + Tom's belt) should he decide to return.

Like, I hate the BMF title, but this is the PERFECT scenario for it, if we are going to have it.

 

[ThaiSexPills]

Of course it makes sense for Jones. The thing is, us fans don't give a fuck. What do WE get? Nothing. I don't watch MMA to help pad a fighter's bank account.

This. It makes no sense for anybody except the two fighters involved. Fans don’t want it, it’s bad for the sport, it screws up an already screwed up division more and beating the shell of a once good HW does nothing for legacy.

Blows my mind people defend this. The UFC needs to strip Jones. I also kind of hope Stipe beats his ass but then we’ll have to wait even longer for a proper (and not paper) HW champ. At least if Jones wins, he retired and Tom / Curtis winner gets upgraded.

 

[Gamer007]

How does beating Stipe do jack shit for his legacy??

These levels of mental gymnastics are beyond me, Stipe's last fight was a world title fight against a top 5 UFC HW of all time.

Jon is fighting in a division where the men are 40-60 pounds heavier than his prime weight class. I get that people don't like Jones, but these narratives are just fraudulent.

 

[GrantB13]

This. It makes no sense for anybody except the two fighters involved. Fans don’t want it, it’s bad for the sport, it screws up an already screwed up division more and beating the shell of a once good HW does nothing for legacy.

Blows my mind people defend this. The UFC needs to strip Jones. I also kind of hope Stipe beats his ass but then we’ll have to wait even longer for a proper (and not paper) HW champ. At least if Jones wins, he retired and Tom / Curtis winner gets upgraded.

I'd bank more on Stipe retiring no matter once than Jones but who knows. Given that it appears Jones is out after this fight I think this fight is a complete write off regardless of who wins. Which is why it makes the whole rescheduling the fight until November even more annoying.

 

[skylolow]

The UFC seem determined to make Jones vs Miocic happen. I think it's shameful that the UFC would let Aspinall defend his interim title, and not force Jones to defend against Aspinall. However, the consideration is always the same: Money.

At this point I'm not sure what the UFC is thinking. I think Jones vs Aspinall sells about as well as Jones vs Miocic, and the former bout has far more legitimacy (assuming Aspinall makes it past Blaydes).

My conspiracy theory here is that the UFC are grooming Aspinall to take over heavyweight after Jones retires, and they are afraid Jones will beat Aspinall. In that case, it might make sense to let Jon have his money fight and then retire.

I think Jones was the one twisting the UFC's hand on this fight. The UFC doesn't really get along with Stipe and his people for years now and he is basically done so why bother with him.

It was a concession they gave into to get Jones back.

 

[Domitian]

I think Jones was the one twisting the UFC's hand on this fight. The UFC doesn't really get along with Stipe and his people for years now and he is basically done so why bother with him.

It was a concession they gave into to get Jones back.

So you think they told Jon if he beats Gane he can have Stipe afterwards? UFC might have thought a slim chance Gane would beat him after Jon's unimpressive performances and then long hiatus. Not sure if it's much of a concession more than it is an agreement, if that's what happened.

Still think that 15 million number is laughable.

 

[CatchtheseHands]

It makes all the sense for Jon which is why I understand why he's doing what he's doing. I still think though that he is going to stick around to fight Aspinall if he ends up being Curtis because Jon's ego is that big and I don't think it's going to allow for him to be able to tolerate people calling him a duck and a fraud by not fighting Tom before he retires.

 

[aali14]

It's fine, just stop talking shit and belittling Aspinall only to duck him in the end