Jackson Wink head coach Mike Winkeljohn is confident Jon Jones would come out on top against UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic.
Jones vacated his 205-pound crown earlier this year to prepare for his long-awaited move up to the heavyweight division.
However, there has also been a lot of recent talk of him potentially facing Israel Adesanya, especially with the latter set to move up and challenge Jan Blachowicz for the light heavyweight title.
For now, nothing is confirmed on both ends.
But when it comes to Winklejohn, he is focused on other opponents for Jones in addition to Adesanya — namely Miocic.
“Oh, I’m definitely looking at Stipe,” Winkeljohn told Submission Radio. “In my mind, that’s a great fight for Jon to take. That motivates Jon.
“I think Stipe is incredible. I really like the guy, I have nothing but great things to say about him as a person, over and above, just a great fighter. But Jon’s got his sights set on [being] the best and might as well do it.”
For many observers, Miocic is one of the toughest possible matchups for Jones.
He carries serious knockout power, is one of the best strikers in the division, has a wrestling background and has some of the best cardio in the division.
That said, Winkeljohn feels Jones is better than him in every department.
“It’s a tough one. Stipe is a great striker, so strong everywhere and he’s real smart,” Winkeljohn explained. “I saw the way he was controlling some of the heavyweights on the ground. He’s smart about what he does.
“But I think Jon beats him in every one of those aspects. When Jon puts his mind to it, Jon beats everybody at wrestling, he beats everybody at stand-up, he beats everybody everywhere and always ends up having a bloody show when things go right.”
If the stars align, we could be seeing that matchup take place in 2021.