Jon Jones will ‘run through Stipe Miocic’ later this year and his ‘versatility’ makes him a nightmare at heavyweight, claims sparring partner
- Jon Jones’ long-awaited move up to heavyweight will take place later this year
- He is due to take on former champion Stipe Miocic in his divisional debut
- Jones’ sparring partner Yorgan de Castro predicts ‘Bones’ will dominate the fight
Jon Jones ‘will run through’ Stipe Miocic later this year when he makes his long-awaited heavyweight debut, according to his sparring partner.
Fellow heavyweight Yorgan de Castro trains with ‘Bones’ and has seen the transformation over the past two years while he has bulked up.
Having shared the mat with him regularly, the man from Cape Verde is convinced that Jones will dispatch the consensus greatest heavyweight in UFC history with relative ease.
Yorgan de Castro (left) trains with Jon Jones and believes he will cruise past Stipe Miocic
Miocic has not fought since losing his title against Francis Ngannou last year
He told Trocação Franca: ‘He’s been waiting two years for this. He’s walking around at 255 pounds but is so strong. And cardio will be the key. He has so much cardio. He hits pads for two hours and doesn’t slow down.
‘You’re never comfortable with him in sparring. If you start to get comfortable with the hands, he wrestles you.
‘If you want to get up, he throws elbows and knees. Not many people can do that at heavyweight.
‘Everybody has heavy hands, but not many people can combine wrestling and jiu-jitsu. And Jones’ versatility will make the difference [at heavyweight].’
Jones expressed his frustration that he’ll have to wait until September to fight Miocic
De Castro, who fights in Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Eagle FC, went on: ‘I don’t see anyone else at heavyweight with a good enough wrestling or ground game.
‘And if they have good wrestling, Jones will be superior on the feet. The Stipe fight will be perfect. Stipe weighs the same and has good boxing.
‘I think Jones will run through Stipe. Jon will likely win by TKO.’
The fight is expected to take place in September after Jones reluctantly agreed to wait a while longer, with Miocic claiming that is when he will be in peak shape.
With Francis Ngannou’s future with the UFC far from certain, the winner of that contest is likely to see themselves in the immediate title picture later this year.