a few days ago Ilia Topuria recognized that, from his point of view, John Jones is the best fighter of all time. For the Hispanic-Georgian champion, the American, who fights next Saturday in UFC 309is head and shoulders above any other fighter, including Khabib Nurmagomedov, who retired undefeated a few years ago. The numbers of Jones, who has defended his belt 14 times, speak for themselves. Now, who is Jon Jones inside the octagon?
To begin with, he is one of the most complete fighters in UFC. The New Yorker He started in the company as a very good wrestler but with many striker deficiencies. His first fight in the organization was very good proof of this, with Jones almost unable to throw a single kick. He won that fight against André Gusmão by decision and did not shine too much.
From there Jones showed a incredible learning curve and was incorporating one of the most complete attack and defense systems in the UFC. It is true that boxing has never been his strong suit, but over time He has acquired a brilliant kick and his shortcomings with his hands have been made up many times with his elbows.. It was these weapons that saved him against Gustafsson in his first fight, in which he suffered against a guy with a good boxing level.
The Gustafsson fight, by the way, also made it clear that Jon Jones has a chinbecause he had to endure the Swede’s very tough hands. His face at the end of the fight, in fact, was a true poem. Be that as it may, in order to get to that fight the American had to defeat some of the most difficult light heavyweight fighters, such as MaurÃcio Rua, Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida or Rashad Evans. Many of them were in the prime of their careers.
Recent years in the light heavyweight division
It is true that His last years in light heavyweight were not the best and that even his victory against Dominick Reyes was doubtful, but his rise to heavyweights was stellar. He had in front of him an expert in Muay Thai like Cyril Gane and it didn’t last even one round. Jones’ dominance was absolute and he ended up subduing him.
On Saturday we will be able to see him against another legend, which is Stipe Miocic. The challenger’s state of form is a mystery since he hasn’t entered the octagon in years. He lost his last fight by KO against Ngannou, but before that defeat he looked fine. Inactivity is usually paid for in this sportbut in heavyweights a heavy hand can change everything.