Jon Jones ignites Curtis Blaydes rivalry on Twitter: “Less hate, more work”

The former light-heavyweight champion has harsh words for a heavyweight contender on the rise.

Still on the sidelines after his title vacation, Jon Jones is preparing for his debut at heavyweight. Talks of a return against Stipe Miocic or champion Francis Ngannou are circulating, but nothing has been set in stone. It seems, though, that ‘Bones’ Jones has found himself a rival in the upper echelons of the division he hopes to claim his second title in.

One of heavyweight’s finest contenders, Curtis Blaydes, is set for one of the biggest fights of his career this weekend. During an interview with MMAFighting’s ‘The Fighter vs The Writer’, Blaydes was asked how he foresaw a potential bout between Jones and former titleholder Stipe Miocic. The Chicago native predicted that Miocic would have enough tools to beat Jones, though the fight would be a pick ’em.

“Jon hasn’t shown that one-punch knockout power. What he has shown is that he is extremely creative. He’ll hit you with elbows, knees, teeps, all types of different stuff,” said Blaydes. “Even on the ground, he’s aggressive. He’s looking for submissions. He’s looking to drop elbows. He brings a lot to the table, but the biggest thing he doesn’t have is the power. I think that’s always the equalizer.”

He continued, “I would pick Stipe to win this. Just because he’s been in five-round heavyweight fights multiple times and he’s shown one-punch power when he knocked out Fabricio [Werdum], when he knocked out Alistair [Overeem]. I know that wasn’t one punch, but it was one punch that set up the finish. He’s already shown that, and he has the wrestling, he has the conditioning.”

“I just believe he’s a smart enough fighter, he’ll be able to figure out Jon after two or three rounds. He’ll start to land. His punches are going to hurt more than the punches of a Jon Jones. That’s just what I think. I think it could go either way. “I’ve also sparred with [Dominick Reyes] before, multiple times. He does hit hard, but it ain’t like getting hit by a heavyweight. It ain’t the same.”

Jones took to Twitter to voice his dismay at Blaydes’ comments, claiming the contender has been “rooting against him for years.”

Jones last fought Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 in February 2020, where he defended his light-heavyweight title for the final time. Blaydes has picked up wins over Alexander Volkov, Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Chris Daukaus since them, and is scheduled to fight Tom Aspinall this weekend. These two could cross paths for the heavyweight title, should things pan out right for them both.

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Do you side with Blaydes and Jones in this growing rivalry? Would you like to see them fight? Let us know in the comments!