Alexander Gustafsson might be stuck in Sweden, but his spirit lives on in Baltimore. Leading up to this weekend's light heavyweight title bout between Jon Jones and Glover Teixeira, the former contender's name has swirled at least as much as the new one's has. Heavily favored, Jones' triumph over Teixeira almost seems to be a foregone conclusion. That breach in intrigue has been replaced by questions about whether or not Jones has gotten his house in order.
Speaking with Jim Rome on Wednesday, Jones was asked why his coach, Greg Jackson, claimed his preparation leading up to UFC 172 in no way resembles his last training camp.
"Going into the Gustafsson fight I had just beaten Chael Sonnen, somebody that almost beat Anderson Silva twice, and I dominated Chael Sonnen in a minute and thirty seconds,' said Jones. "I think for the first time in my career I really started to feel myself. I really started to think, 'Maybe I've got this extraordinary talent and maybe I just can't be touched.'
"I went 80% [against Gustafsson]. I'm not making any excuses. Gustafsson did a great job in the fight but I know that I had a lot more in me. I did some of the cardio tests that I normally do and my numbers weren't the same. Me knowing that, I still went into the fight thinking, 'Well, since I've performed excellent, maybe I'll still perform really really high, do really good and the fight may be a little closer if I just put half the effort in. I learned a lesson the hard way that you have to give full effort."
Weighing in on Wednesday night's UFC Tonight, Sonnen questioned Jones' decision making leading up to this fight.
"I have some very serious concerns," said Sonnen. "First off, I don't like the way that he's preparing. He got rid of Izzy Martinez, his head wrestling coach. He has delayed this fight three times. Three different dates have been set for this fight because of Jon Jones.
"I think we've got some question marks around the champ coming Saturday night."
Unsurprisingly, Jones' take is quite a bit more optimistic.
"The way this camp has been different is that not only have I given full effort, but I've trampled over some of the numbers I've had in the past," said Jones. "My highest numbers from my cardio test, my strength test. I've increased those numbers in a major way. I know that my cardio is better than ever. I know that my physical shape is the highest it's ever been.
"I'm getting older in the sport. I just feel that my coordination, body awareness and body understanding is at the highest level. I feel like the complete package right now and I'm going to show that."
Jon Jones defends his light heavyweight title to Glover Teixeira Apr. 26 at UFC 172 from the the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.
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Statistics: Posted by z0rg — Apr 24. 2014, 12:56 — Replies 0 — Views 6
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