Stipe has a better chance against Jon than people expect

[robbie]

Stipe is 42, has a full-time job, got flatlined in his last fight, and hasn't won a fight in more than 4 years.

That's all I need to know.

What you said is all true. But at least Stipe got in the cage with Ngannou twice and won decisively in the first bout. Ngannou did get a highlight reel KO in the rematch, but Ngannou has many highlight reel KOs against top HW opponents and was probably the hardest hitting HW in UFC history. Jones avoided Ngannou like the plague and only went up to the UFC HW division after Ngannou left the UFC. In addition, Jones was gifted a decision win over Reyes at LHW before he made the jump to HW. Jones definitely lost that fight, Reyes was shafted. Jones is now avoiding Aspinall just like he avoided Ngannou.

The big question is whether Stipe has retained his skills at age 42. Father Time is undefeated. Jones has not been particularly active in recent years, so he might not be as sharp as the prime Jones we all respected as one of the best ever to fight in the UFC.

 

[NenadRS]

I see Jones taking Stipe down at will. This fight won't be competitive.

No way, he could not take Reyes/Santos down, now he is even worse.

Stipe is naturally strong, probably stronger than cheater Jones, even when fully on peds.

Hard to know what shape Stipe is, and how the fight will go, but I think it will be mostly standup, and Jones will try to win on points from distance and clinch, like the did in recent LHW fights.

 

[Thepaintbucket]

Stipe is going to be tentative as hell in this fight. 3 1/2 years is a long time and the last time he fought Stipe got wasted. If he even attempts a take down I'm going to be surprised.

 

[wufabufa]

People aren't factoring in that Stipe has had all those years to rest and recover.

I've never seen someone portray ring rust in such a positive light.

 

[OldBoy91]

People aren't factoring in that Stipe has had all those years to rest and recover.

Jon should fight Randy Couture then. Dude's had a decade eand a half to recover from his last fight.

 

[marvinparsons]

Stipe looked old and slow as molasses in his last couple fights. Father time is undefeated. And Jones isn't as old. Stipe's best bet is that Jones is also a shell of himself. Why a HW title fight is a competition to see who is the least decrepit is a travesty.

 

[Only Here for Attachments]

I've never seen someone portray ring rust in such a positive light.

I like to think outside the box

 

[JKS]

Jon is not gonna have some prime advantage in this fight or be in better physical shape. For all those saying Stipe is 42, got KO'd his last fight and has been inactive since 2021. Well, Jones has exactly 90 seconds of fight time in the last 4.5 years, is coming of a major injury, and 37 himself. On top of that he's had more fights and been fighting a few years longer than Stipe.

In conclusion, both will look old and out of their prime.

 

[Fedorgasm]

Stipe is 42, has a full-time job, got flatlined in his last fight, and hasn't won a fight in more than 4 years.

That's all I need to know.

Exactly.

1. Fighters don't retire when they still got it. They know themselves and their own bodies and they typically know when they're at the end.
2. Occasionally a great fighter can come out of retirement to exploit an easy matchup, like Randy and GSP did. But Jones is NOT an easy matchup, and Stipe is NOT Randy or GSP.
3. Number of fighters who improved between the ages of 38 and 42.... 1. But like I said, Stipe is NOT Randy.

Stipe has zero chance. ZERO.

This is like Bob sapp or fat rampage just collecting a check. Shame on all of you who fall for it. Don't reward the UFC for this or they'll keep doing it.

 

[Hdfi]

Prime Stipe would beat Jones but he's now 43 or something and hasn't fought in years...

 

[MillingMeSoftly]

Stipe by TKO

 

[Trabaho]

Stipe by murder. Jon is going to die. Goodbye Jon, was nice watching your. We will attend your funeral. Hope you don´t suffer to much in the post fight surgery that will lead to your passing. Bye Johny, thanks for the fights.

 

[Final Say]

What’s your current take on this fight? You are a dedicated stipe follower

I see why the odds are as far as they are, mostly because of the age factor, but I see them as being way off. Stipe is a way more live dog than people give him credit for.

The single biggest worry I have in this fight is a short elbow/punch exiting the clinch, Jones excels at it and stipe has been caught more than once there. Cormier fight is one example, although stipe was blind on that side from an eye poke immediately prior. Still, he’s susceptible to it.

If stipe can keep his legs out of harms way I think jones is in for a long night. You are always in danger of being finished by stipe and I really don’t see jones just taking him down ‘at will’ or holding him down at all. That would shock me.

 

[JKS]

What you said is all true. But at least Stipe got in the cage with Ngannou twice and won decisively in the first bout. Ngannou did get a highlight reel KO in the rematch, but Ngannou has many highlight reel KOs against top HW opponents and was probably the hardest hitting HW in UFC history. Jones avoided Ngannou like the plague and only went up to the UFC HW division after Ngannou left the UFC. In addition, Jones was gifted a decision win over Reyes at LHW before he made the jump to HW. Jones definitely lost that fight, Reyes was shafted. Jones is now avoiding Aspinall just like he avoided Ngannou.

The big question is whether Stipe has retained his skills at age 42. Father Time is undefeated. Jones has not been particularly active in recent years, so he might not be as sharp as the prime Jones we all respected as one of the best ever to fight in the UFC.

Off topic, but on your topic....not true at all about Jon only moving up when Francis left. Francis was offered the Jones fight in his proposed contract, the fight was guaranteed in his deal. Jones was already re-signed to a new 8 fight deal and was booked for his HW debut for UFC 285. Francis didnt' accept the terms and turned the fight down.

 

[Final Say]

Off topic, but on your topic....not true at all about Jon only moving up when Francis left. Francis was offered the Jones fight in his proposed contract, the fight was guaranteed in his deal. Jones was already re-signed to a new 8 fight deal and was booked for his HW debut for UFC 285. Francis didnt' accept the terms and turned the fight down.

He turned the contract down, not the jones fight

 

[Jitter]

Stipe is well rounded. Even though he got KOed last fight it took a few heavy shots from Francis to do it. Jones does not hit near as hard. Jones has/had great MMA wrestling, but we are not sure where it is at right now. Jones is also old and coming off injuries so we are not getting prime anyone. I am not going to bet against Stipe though

 

[robbie]

Off topic, but on your topic....not true at all about Jon only moving up when Francis left. Francis was offered the Jones fight in his proposed contract, the fight was guaranteed in his deal. Jones was already re-signed to a new 8 fight deal and was booked for his HW debut for UFC 285. Francis didnt' accept the terms and turned the fight down.

Francis Ngannou - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Ngannou's contract with the UFC expired in December 2022 and the UFC released Ngannou in January 2023. Jones had his last UFC fight at LHW in February 2020. Jones had his first HW bout in March 2023 vs. Gane for the vacant UFC belt that Ngannou surrendered when his contract expired. Jones made little effort to get a HW bout for 3 years, but sure moved fast to get his first HW fight inked after Ngannou was out of the picture. I'm not saying that Jones would have lost to Ngannou, but I don't think Jones wanted the risk of being on the receiving end of a Ngannou upper cut which sent Overeem into an alternate universe. Cormier also never stepped up to fight Ngannou. So hats off to Stipe for signing on the dotted line twice to fight Ngannou.

Ngannou vs. Overeem

 

[Aluminati]

If Stipe brings his eye poke game like he brought against Cornier, he could actually pull it off.

 

[Lionheart7167]

Styles make fights.
I don't see a path to victory for Stipe here, I just don't.
Stipe won't submit Jones, and unless he somehow finds a way to lay'n'prey his way to victory, I don't see a decision either. The only path to a win I see, is if Stipe connects with a picture perfect punch or combo. Jones is savvy though and will be expecting that, and looking to take him down, should that arise.
Jones is younger, more athletic, has a much longer range (and amazing at using that range).
Jones is also a better wrestler, a better grappler, and wayyyyyy more creative.
I even think Jones is a better all around striker. Stipe may be a better traditional boxer, but this is MMA.... it's hard to box a guy who cuts angles and is creative with knees, punches, and spinning shit.

Unless he throws caution to the wind, I think it's going to be a KO or submission for Jones round 1, and rather easily.

 

[Alpha_T83]

Jon is not gonna have some prime advantage in this fight or be in better physical shape. For all those saying Stipe is 42, got KO'd his last fight and has been inactive since 2021. Well, Jones has exactly 90 seconds of fight time in the last 4.5 years, is coming of a major injury, and 37 himself. On top of that he's had more fights and been fighting a few years longer than Stipe.

In conclusion, both will look old and out of their prime.

That's a great point. I always overlook the fact that Jon Jones has had 1 fight in almost 5 years, and it was a softball fight against a guy that can't defend takedowns.

As much as I think this fight is a sham and that Jones should obviously be unifying the HW titles with Aspinall, I do hope if it goes forward that Stipe has a Randy Couture-esque moment fighting Jon Jones. That's more difficult to do with modern drug testing ... Randy wasn't exactly "Natural" back then if you know what I mean.