Mike Winkeljohn is one of the main coaches for Jon Jones, the embattled UFC star currently sidelined with a temporary suspension due to a failed drug test.
While Winkeljohn isn’t sure when we will see “Bones” compete again, he told the guys over at “Submission Radio” that a social media-inspired fight with UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic would be the “scariest fight to date.”
“I’m a big believer in what Jon Jones can do. I told everybody a long time ago, nobody beats Jon Jones but himself, that’s what I said. Nobody studies as hard as Jon Jones, looking at tape. He knows what his fighter’s going to do before he does it and Jon can beat anybody out there. I think he’s going to just continue to dominate the Light Heavyweight division if he wants,” said Winkeljohn, who runs Jackson-Wink MMA with Greg Jackson. “If he wants to step up for Stipe, we just can’t get hit by those big punches. Other than that, I think Jon could dominate that fight. But like everything, Heavyweights, one punch makes a difference. So I would think that I would like to see Jon just dominate the light heavyweight division first and then try to move to heavyweight down the road.
“(Stipe would be) the scariest fight to date because it’s the one-punch power and then it’s a strength of someone that can be on top of you. And Stipe is very, very strong and because of that one-punch power it’s scary. It makes people second-guess what they’re doing. So for that reason it’s kind of the scariest fight in that way, but it’s kind of like fighting (Anthony) Johnson or anyone else like that – if you can avoid the big punches, then Jon Jones can dominate.”
As for his progress with trying to get back to work, Winkeljohn said that things have gotten quiet on that front. Jones is expected to appear before the Nevada Athletic Commission next month.
“No. I thought it was coming sooner, but all of a sudden it’s kind of gotten dead. No one’s giving us any answers. And I know Jon was in the gym this morning, training, looking pretty good. And he’s actually said, he’s just kind of enjoying spending time with his daughters and helping them out in school and stuff and he’s kind of enjoying the family thing right now,” he said. “So I don’t even know if Jon is in any rush at the moment. I know he’s always willing to fight somebody, but he’s going to have to get this suspension out of the way and go forward.”
