Besides, JJ's opinion then # his opinion now. He got better, more technical and even more knowledgeable about fighting tactics, octagon control, precision shots, analysis... And he may have adapted to HW better than he thought he would have. In fact, he dominantly defeated 2 opponents who were high level ones from JJ's careers own standards...
Stipe had a good clash with DC but was better. Jon Jones tho, was considerably better than even Stipe... Even if we like, say a younger DC would be ~ Stipe Miocic, the way JJ dominated Stipe is telling to me, that he adapted to MMA in a way elite opponents like DC, Stipe, Gus, who were once big tough fight to JJ, are now bound to be dominated by him. It's not for nothing that JJ has gone through 3 generations of fighters... You can only reach that stunning feat by improving your own game. For example, Gus was already having troubles with the new generation on LHW despite being same age as JJ. JJ beat Smith (who had beat Gus), then he beat Tiago Santos and Reyes. The latter two who were on route to be the among the best of this generation. Tiago Santos was coming off a win over Jan Blackowski, a KO... Reyes was on 12-0, most by round 1 finishes. JJ beat them, the up and comers from the third generation, who were at their best when fighting JJ. Even still, unlike 99% of fighters, JJ dug deep, toughened it out and beat both Santos and Reyes.
JJ said after the Santos fight that he feels Thiago Santos was the strongest fighter he had ever faced by then... Ppl may wonder how stronger than Gus? Than DC? Well, again, he was from the up and coming generation, as well as Reyes... JJ defeated Gus in their second fight dominantly, so he put a gap on their former rivals, and that gap was enough to get a hard earned win vs the then best ones from the new generation (who'd be, in the shape they fought JJ, a challenge for the top LHWs now, just seeing at Reyes now while getting back his confidence )...
But in the 3 years, it seems Jon Jones improved even more and put a gap on the new generation like Cyril Gane. He was similar to Reyes in terms of athleticism and grappling, jiu jitsu experience. DDP before the fight even said he feels Gane is like the Jon Jones of the LHW. He didn't mention the grappling I'd say, because takedown defense was getting way better at upper weight classes, like 205 and HW, as JJ struggled to take Reyes down. And Gane hasn't worse grappling, instead, Jon Jones improved his grappling. As well as his takedown... Which is more like unpredictable set ups now, rather than double leg. And he improved his grappling in general. That's how he could keep a 247 lb Stipe on the ground and do way more damage and for far more time than DC could when fighting a Stipe who weighed 232 lb... Gordon Ryan stated that he and JJ practiced a lot, that they overtrained to manage to always keep the opponent on the ground even if they are good wrestlers — as Stipe could get up from DC... And if the opponent is more BJJ focused, then JJ says it's even easier, as he has worked a lot in BJJ offense and defense from submissions from the bottle... Combining it with ground and pound and ways to drain the opponents energy while on the ground.
Like, I'm not a fan of the person Jon Jones. But I just find it simply... Intriguing. Because he's likely the biggest talent ever in MMA. Ppl talk about Dana being all this and that... But Dana knows he owes JJ some $ considering even fighters like Topuria made more in the UFC than JJ. Plus, Dana knows that JJ is the best. I don't think he says that in a way to motivate JJ to keep fighting. It's a legit assessment he got totally sure of after seeing JJ vs Gane and Stipe. Seeing just how JJ could improve even more in those 3 years. He knows JJ is a talent that transcends logic. Like, I may be wrong and I don't care if I end up being wrong, but... I don't think anyone can beat JJ right now. And maybe he can fight 3 more fights after Tom and I don't think he'll lose. Gordon Ryan said he knows whatever fighter JJ fights against, it's fun because they all know he will win.
