Derrick Lewis is confident that Jon Jones will fare just fine in the heavyweight division.
Jon Jones has been teasing and contemplating a move up to the heavyweight division for years, and now it appears that he will finally make the leap. Nobody really knows how Jon Jones will fare at heavyweight. It’s an entirely different weight class than light heavyweight, and the gap between heavyweight and light heavyweight is larger than the gaps between the divisions that other fights have crossed into recently. But another veteran UFC veteran, Derrick Lewis, does not think that there will be any differences that Jon Jones can’t handle, and he expects the light heavyweight GOAT to transition quite well.
“I believe Jones will do great at heavyweight,” Lewis told reporters in a virtual media scrum. “He walks around heavy. He’s been the champion for 205 for many years. He’s proven he’s a winner. He walks around (at) heavyweight. All he has to do is stay around and he’ll be pretty good.”
No one knows for sure who Jon Jones’s first opponent will be. It could be the winner of the targeted bout between champion Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou or, who knows, it might even be the winner between this Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 18 main event between Derrick Lewis and Curtis Blaydes. If it’s the latter, Derrick Lewis will gladly accept the fight with no hard feelings.
“I don’t care what he does,” said Lewis. “It doesn’t matter, I don’t have nothing against him. If the UFC came to me with a contract, and it looks good, I’ll fight him. But otherwise I don’t have any animosity against the guy.”
UFC on ESPN 18 takes place this Saturday from the UFC APEX. The main card kicks off at 10:00 PM ET, and the prelims begin at 7:00 PM.
Do you agree with Derrick Lewis? Do you think Jon Jones will excel at heavyweight?
