Prime vs. Prime: Jon Jones vs. Cain Velasquez, who would win?

Jon Jones is the current UFC heavyweight champion, having claimed the vacant throne, despite the best efforts of former interim titleholder Ciryl Gane. In doing so, 'Bones' realized his destiny, as a future in the heavyweight division was predicted on his behalf over a decade ago when he was still the 205-pound champion.

Back then, the reigning heavyweight champion was all-time great Cain Velasquez. A matchup between the two was teased several times, with the American Kickboxing Academy star once claiming, in an interview with TMZ, that he possessed the tools to beat Jon Jones.

Unfortunately, the bout never took place. Injuries derailed Velasquez's career, and by 2019, he announced his retirement from MMA. But what if things had gone differently? Specifically, what if Jones had moved up to heavyweight in his prime to face Velasquez, who was also at the peak of his physical powers?

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Fighter Profile: Jon Jones

Jon Jones is, in 2023, a very different fighter from the version that fans became well-acquainted with from his pre-Daniel Cormier era. Today, 'Bones' is a less dynamic striker and less dedicated wrestler. He throws little in the way of elbows or much else besides pot-shot punches and oblique kicks at range.

He banks on his absurd durability and indestructible chin to simply walk through any and every offense his foe throws. But in his prime, he was far more exciting to watch and he presented a puzzle that his opponents struggled to solve. His striking, in particular, was more diverse.

At the height of his run as the light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones was well-known for his spinning elbows, dynamic kicks, and thrilling clinch work. He was never a dedicated combination puncher, but always had clever setups for his elbows, such as his jab-right cross combination.

Jon Jones stung his opponent with the one-two, implanting the combination's threat in their mind. He'd then either deliberately miss his right cross as he steps forward or bank on his foe trying to slip his right hand on the outside. Either way, this afforded Jones a dominant angle to spin into a back elbow on their open side.

In his legendary war with Alexander Gustafsson, he showed another setup for his spinning back elbow by using a level change. Due to the threat of his takedowns, every time he dipped low, the Swede dropped his arms in anticipation, only for 'Bones' to spin and uncork an elbow over the top.

He also made exceptional use of the clinch to land more elbows. The former titleholder often extended his hands outward to trap his opponent's hands if they tried to land looping punches over the top of his jab. Once he tugged his opponent into the clinch, he quickly secured a thumbs-down wrist grip.

Since the thumb is the hooking point of any grip, fighters must yank their arms in the direction that their foe's thumb is pointed towards. For this reason, Jon Jones used a thumbs-down wrist grip to dupe his opponent into yanking their arms downward and away from their face, exposing them to elbows over the top.

If his foe started ducking under those elbows, he'd intercept their dipping head with knees and uppercuts. Additionally, Jon Jones had extra weapons in the clinch. In his title defense against future champion Glover Teixeira, he made brutal use of the shoulder crank, punishing the Brazilian for grabbing onto weak underhooks.

Jones immediately overlooked his foe's arms and used his height and length to generate tremendous torque as he cranked on his shoulder. It didn't finish Teixeira, but it dissuaded him from underhooking him in the clinch. But he was also an out-fighting specialist.

Due to his kicks, which ranged from side-kicks to the body, axe kicks, push kicks to his foe's lead knee, spinning back-kicks, and his patented oblique kicks, he prevented his foes from closing the distance on him. Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson famously complained about the effectiveness of Jon Jones' oblique kicks.

Jon Jones essentially stomped on the knee of his foe's lead leg every time they stepped forward, hyperextending the joint and stopping them in their tracks. It caused them to fall short on their punches and dealt enough cumulative damage to gradually slow down their movement.

This allowed Jon Jones to dictate the range of his bouts. But if his foes entered the clinch, they'd find that it wasn't just elbows, but his takedowns they needed to fear. He often secured overhooks and used his superior height and length to get leverage for double overhook saltos.

This entailed overhooking his foe's underhooks, dropping his upper body, and turning his torso sideways mid-throw while moving one of his shoulders faster than the other. His absurd length also meant that his ability to score double-leg takedowns was second to none.

His arms, being as long as Stefan Struve's, enabled him to hook his hands together behind his foe's legs even if they widened their base, allowing him to score takedowns, even against Olympic-level wrestlers like Daniel Cormier. Once on top, Jones had some of the most brutal elbows in the game.

He folded his long arms to land elbows which had significant leverage and power behind them. Future ONE heavyweight champion Brandon Vera can attest to that, as Jon Jones shattered his orbital bone with an elbow on the ground.

As far as submissions are concerned, most of them came from openings created by his ground-and-pound, and due to the fact that his long arms allowed him to apply leverage and torque, while locking up chokes from angles that would be otherwise impossible.

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Fighter Profile: Cain Velasquez

Former heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez had a game built on pressure. He marched forward without fear of consequence, swarming his opponent with combinations, before rushing into the clinch. Unfortunately, he didn't necessarily have the best footwork when entering the pocket.

He was often guilty of chasing his foe in a straight line, much like Ronda Rousey did against Holly Holm. But what set Velasquez apart from most was that he rarely tired. Besides an anomalous performance in Mexico City, he has never gassed out inside the octagon.

This allowed him to operate as a record-breaking volume puncher who dragged his opponent into pocket-boxing exchanges. This was almost always to his advantage due to his natural speed advantage over the larger heavyweights, as Velasquez was always on the smaller side.

Furthermore, this made his shorter arms better equipped for the small spaces in pocket boxing, whereas his foe's longer limbs needed more space to generate punches with any power and leverage. But his primary goal was pinning his opponent to the fence.

Velasquez entered the clinch, often using dirty boxing by securing a single collar tie and tugging his foe's head into the path of uppercuts. Once his opponent tried to pull their head back, they'd find their heads rising into the path of a thunderous overhand or looping hook, which Junior dos Santos absorbed several times.

Having to constantly pull their head back briefly forces his opponent into assuming a tall posture. At that moment, Cain Velasquez charges into the clinch, securing underhooks and shoving the top of his head against their chin, breaking his foe's posture while pinning them to the fence.

With his opponent trapped against the fence, and their head stationary, he would land several short punches and uppercuts. In doing so, he'd rough his opponent up in the clinch and distract them from an upcoming takedown as he'd quickly drop down for a double or single-leg takedown.

If his foe defended his takedown attempt, he'd simply stand back up to secure underhooks in the clinch, pinning them to the cage and using dirty boxing. If he succeeded in scoring takedowns, he'd typically open up with massive punches on top, never threatening submissions.

His win over Antônio 'Bigfoot' Silva is a testament to how brutal his ground-and-pound was, as he often struck his opponent while transitioning into better positions. Getting the fight to the ground was his primary aim, and while he was skilled at doing so against the fence, he was excellent in open space.

Velasquez was one of the best when it came to using strikes to create openings for takedowns. He made liberal use of the overhand right due to its natural dipping motion. He'd combine the punch with a level change that presented his foe with a double threat depending on their reaction.

If they dropped their arms to stuff the takedown, they'd be blasted by an overhand-right over the top. But if they kept their hands up to block the punch, they'd leave their hips and legs exposed to a takedown.

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The Verdict

The unfortunate part of the matchup is that it's more one-sided than many realize. Jon Jones' deficiencies are in his defense. He defends himself against strikes by posting his lead arm out, raising his rear hand to his chin, and retreating away from punches. To make him pay for doing so, his opponent must match his dimensions.

Only the likes of Dominick Reyes and Alexander Gustafsson have made him pay for this, as they were tall and long enough to land punches even as he retreated. This is also why he's such a dominant wrestler against shorter opponents, even if they're higher-level wrestlers than him, like Daniel Cormier.

Cain Velasquez never had the height and reach to get inside on Jon Jones, where he'd have found a nightmare in the clinch from someone who can generate far more leverage and deal more damage. Furthermore, his notoriously ruined knees would have been at the mercy of Jones' oblique kicks, which ruin healthy knees.

Every time Velasquez would try to close the distance, his shot knees would be destroyed by kicks. And if a far more skilled wrestler in Cormier struggled against Jon Jones' wrestling, Velasquez certainly would have, due to Jones' length. Additionally, his cardio would not be the weapon that it usually is against someone as tireless as Jon Jones.

Velasquez was notoriously difficult to finish unless his foe was a powerful puncher like Junior dos Santos or Francis Ngannou, an all-time heavy hitter. It is likely that Jon Jones would have beaten him via unanimous decision had the two crossed swords in their prime.