After witnessing the destruction by Francis Ngannou against Stipe Miocic there is one question the MMA fans want to be answered. Is there anyone who can beat Francis Ngannou? Well, many believe that Jon Jones is the guy to overcome the insane power striking of Ngannou? But, how will he do that?
We saw Ngannou dismantle Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 who already had a dominant win over him. The world witnessed a much-improved version of Ngannou at UFC 260. He was patient, more accurate with his strike, and defended the takedown easily. So how does Jon Jones plan on beating the UFC heavyweight champion?
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Well, Jones’ long-time head coach, Mike Wjnkeljohn in a recent interview explained the gameplan to beat Francis Ngannou. In an interview with Submission Radio, Jones’ coach said:
“I expect Jon Jones to just take the plate and hit a home run. There’s no doubt about it. You know what? It’s about Jon imposing his will and fighting where he wants, and where he doesn’t want to, he won’t be there in the fight. So, it’s all about Jon Jones’ mentality and how smart he is. He’s got the experience on Francis, there’s no doubt about that, and Jon’s a big guy now. People would be surprised. He’s been hammering the weights, lifting. His power doubles, he can launch people over his head like crazy. He’s just so strong everywhere, and he hasn’t lost any speed. I think people are going to have a great new look at the better Jon Jones in the future.”
Coach predicts Jon Jones vs Francis Ngannou
An easy path to victory against Francis Nganou will be to take him down and tire him out round after round. However, it’s easier said than done considering the power and athleticism of Francis Ngannou. But, Mike Winkeljohn believes Jon Jones has a huge advantage in wrestling and conditioning. And that will be a huge factor in his potential fight against Francis Ngannou. Coach stated:
“There’s no doubt I think Jon got the advantage there. Francis can explode out of anything. But it’s also the conditioning aspect. People don’t understand that Jon’s cardio has always been better than his opponents. That’s what he brings to the table. you can scramble so many time and ay some point cardio start taking over. And the strongest man in the world is very very weak if they don’t have the cardio.”
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Coach Winkeljohn even claimed that Jon Jones will be able to submit Ngannou in the later rounds. He also believes that Ngannou is an easier fight for Jon Jones.
“Oh gosh, Jon finishes him late in the fight. I think Jon, after some ground-and-pound, will end up tapping Francis out late in the fight.”
Now if there is anyone who is skilled enough to come up with a gameplan to beat Ngannou it has to be Jon Jones. However, this will be his heavyweight debut. And as per his coach, he would like to be at the 250 lbs mark for the fight against Ngannou. Now can Jones maintain his speed after moving to the heavyweight division? Will he able to increase his striking power significantly to earn the respect from Ngannou in the octagon? There are some unanswered questions about Jones’ heavyweight debut. And those can only be answered when he takes on a heavyweight inside the octagon.