Jon Jones
UFC light heavyweight Jon Jones is the talk of the division.
Jon Jones has tons of hype behind him.
He’s been turning the heads of fans since his arrival in the UFC at UFC 87 in August of 2008, and his recent performances have gotten the attention of some of the biggest names in the 205-pound division.
Jones fights Ryan Bader at UFC 126 on Feb. 5 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, and Forrest Griffin and Rich Franklin, who also fight on the card, recently commented about the up and comer who seems destined for greatness.
“Those guys are obviously two rising stars,” said Griffin about Bader and Jones.
“As far as Jones goes, I keep saying, okay, this guy is going to be the test. This is going to see how good he really is, and he blows through that guy, so I really don’t even know how good that kid is. Every time I think somebody will give him a great fight, he beats them in a couple of minutes, so I’ve been surprised,” said the former UFC light heavyweight titleholder.
Former UFC middleweight champion Rich “Ace” Franklin, who now competes in the light heavyweight division, agreed with Griffin’s assessment of Jones.
“I’m really impressed with how relaxed he is in the ring to do some things that you would try to do maybe in a sparring session, but not necessarily in a fight,” said Franklin about Jones.
“I think if he gets through Bader — this will be his toughest test of time. But if he gets through Bader — he’s a young guy. Guys like him are the future,” added the former UFC middleweight titleholder.
Jones is basically undefeated with the only blemish on his resume coming by disqualification due to illegal elbow strikes in a fight with Matt Hamill that he was dominating.
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