Jon Jones’ Toughest Heavyweight Opponent Named, Other Heavyweight Fight 'Would Be Easier'

Jon Jones' biggest threat would come in the form of heavyweight kingpin Stipe Miocic, but the UFC legend would face an easier fight against "super predictable" Francis Ngannou.

That's according to Anthony Smith, who previously lost to Jones by unanimous decision in their UFC 235 clash in March 2019.

Jones, 33, announced last week that he had vacated the light heavyweight championship ahead of his long-awaited climb to heavyweight.

And MMA fans are already excited about the prospect of 'Bones' fighting Ngannou or Miocic in UFC mega-fights.

Smith believes that Miocic, who successfully defended his championship against Daniel Cormier at UFC 252, would bring a 'lot of problems' for Jones to deal with inside the octagon.

"In the top 10, Jon would beat a lot of those guys," the 32-year-old UFC star told MMA Junkie.

"I think you start getting into your Francis Ngannous, even Curtis Blaydes I think would give Jon some problems. Stipe obviously would give Jon lots of problems.

"So there's a lot of interesting matchups up there, and to be fair, I think Francis Ngannou is probably one of the easier matchups for Jon Jones at heavyweight."

Jones and Ngannou have shared a heated rivalry in recent months, with the 'Predator' recently reacting to his rival's callout of heavyweight champ Miocic.

However, Smith has insisted that Ngannou "isn't super fast" and Jones "dominates Francis in the clinch."

'Lionheart' explained: "Francis isn't super fast. He's super predictable. You kind of know what he's going to do. Jon is longer than he is.

"Once he grows into his frame, he'll be comparable in weight, I would imagine -- but not so much in muscle mass. But Jon is smart. You can stay away from Francis and pick at him from outside like Jon does. Jon is defensively sound. He's good at not getting hit. He moves very well.

"I think he dominates Francis in the clinch and gets a takedown whenever he wants to get a takedown.

"I don't think you can necessarily say that with Stipe and a guy like Curtis Blaydes, or someone like that, because Curtis is dangerous striking-wise obviously, but he's going to be strong in the clinch and in those wrestling exchanges as well as Stipe."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Jon Jones, Stipe Miocic, UFC News, MMA News, Anthony Smith, UFC, Francis Ngannou, MMA

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

@AdnanRiaz9