UFC: Dan Hardy ranks Jon Jones third in heavyweight debate, calls him P4P best

Interim UFC champion Tom Aspinall has the speed, undisputed UFC champion Jon Jones possesses the technique, and PFL champion Francis Ngannou brings the power— but how do these three heavyweight giants stack up against each other?

That’s the question many experts have pondered, and now MMA icon Dan Hardy is weighing in. Contrary to the prevailing opinion, Hardy has Jon “Bones” Jones ranked third in his heavyweight assessment, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Dan Hardy is a former UFC title challenger and commentator, who now heads up Fighter Operations for PFL: Europe; with connections to Tom Aspinall, Jon Jones, and Francis Ngannou, how does ‘The Outlaw’ rank those three champions?

“I think Jon Jones is the pound-for-pound best,” stated the British MMA legend in conversation with MMA Fighting earlier this week.

“I think he’s the best representation of mixed martial arts generally that we’ve ever seen. I think he’s still evolving, which is terrifying. But is he the best current heavyweight on the planet? I don’t think so.

“I think the winner of Aspinall versus Ngannou would be the answer,” stated Hardy, who was quick to reaffirm that he means “no disrespect in any way to Jon.

“Current heavyweight champion but not the current best heavyweight on the planet – certainly not.”

Following the highly successful 2024 PFL World Championships last weekend, CEO Peter Murray would call on the UFC to ‘step up’ and make Jones vs Ngannou in 2025.

Just a few days later, Ngannou would double-down on that callout, taking to social media to respond to Jones’ post about him ‘ducking’ the interim champion: “Blessings make haters uncomfortable, but they can’t change it.

Dan Hardy is a former UFC title challenger and commentator, who now heads up Fighter Operations for PFL: Europe; with connections to Tom Aspinall, Jon Jones, and Francis Ngannou, how does ‘The Outlaw’ rank those three champions?

“I think Jon Jones is the pound-for-pound best,” stated the British MMA legend in conversation with MMA Fighting earlier this week.

“I think he’s the best representation of mixed martial arts generally that we’ve ever seen. I think he’s still evolving, which is terrifying. But is he the best current heavyweight on the planet? I don’t think so.

“I think the winner of Aspinall versus Ngannou would be the answer,” stated Hardy, who was quick to reaffirm that he means “no disrespect in any way to Jon.

“Current heavyweight champion but not the current best heavyweight on the planet – certainly not.”

Following the highly successful 2024 PFL World Championships last weekend, CEO Peter Murray would call on the UFC to ‘step up’ and make Jones vs Ngannou in 2025.

Just a few days later, Ngannou would double-down on that callout, taking to social media to respond to Jones’ post about him ‘ducking’ the interim champion: “Blessings make haters uncomfortable, but they can’t change it.

“The reality is Tom Aspinall is the fastest out of all three of them,” continued Hardy, who acknowledged that the Brit’s lightning-quick movement remains an incredibly rare attribute at the highest weight class.

“That makes him very, very dangerous at heavyweight because speed kills at heavyweight. That’s what’s scary about Tom Aspinall. What was he on the scale? 254 [pounds]? He’s right at the top end of the heavyweight division with no fat on him.

“You can say the same thing for Francis Ngannou. So [in terms of] physical specimens, I would say Jon Jones is bottom of the rung.”

Bloody Elbow was lucky enough to catch up with Aspinall last week, discussing how it felt to watch Jones KO Stipe Miocic at UFC 309.

“The creativity of Jon Jones and the wisdom, the fight IQ, that reigns supreme,” concluded Hardy: “I just wonder if he’s got that ability with someone as fast as Tom Aspinall and someone as powerful as Francis Ngannou.”

News.Az