Jon Jones Reacts After Receiving Criticism for New Heavyweight Body

Jon Jones

Getty Jon Jones

Former UFC light heavyweight king Jon Jones is a heavyweight now, and some have poked fun at “Bones” for not being as lean as he used to be.

The UFC posted pre-event photos of Jones during UFC 285 fight week which featured Bones shirtless. Specifically, one photo went viral in the MMA world of Jones appearing to have a softer midsection than when he had a 205-pound frame. “All he did was eat pizza for 3 years (crying emoji),” popular MMA community member Ben Davis tweeted. He also shared the photo in question, and it can be seen below via the embedded tweet:

Others chimed in as well. MMA writer Garrett Kerman tweeted: “HW is the only division where looking like this is acceptable since 95% of the division does.” Not everyone took the chance to have some fun at Jones’ expense; however. One Twitter user wrote: “I think Jon is gonna shock people how well he performs in a body like this.”

“Nah, he added muscle, too,” CBS Sports’ Luke Thomas tweeted. “It’s generally not possible for an advanced athlete to put on any muscle without adding fat in the bulking process. If his team views this body composition as optimal for their game plan, there’s no incentive to vanity cut.”


Jones Said He Possesses ‘The Strength & Explosiveness of a Lion’ With His 250-Pound Physique

Well, Jones posted an Instagram Story after the photo made its round. He seemingly took notice of the MMA community’s response to it. “Good thing it’s not a bodybuilding competition!” Jones wrote. “I have the strength and explosiveness of a lion right now. I can focus on leaning out better for my next fight. Most importantly I’m 250lbs still moving like a light heavyweight.”

He also shared another portrait of himself from the UFC’s photo shoot where he looks much more muscular. “Told you,” Thomas responded. “He CLEARLY added muscle.” See the photo Jones shared below:

Jones is set to battle Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight title during the UFC 285 main event on March 4 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.


Jones Said He Is Stronger Than Ever With New Build, Has Been ‘Performing Really Well’

The former light heavyweight champion spoke with the media on Wednesday. He said that although he’s not as lean as he used to be, he’s focused extensively on endurance training and feels “awesome.” Still, Jones said it took a while for him to get accustomed to seeing himself without a six-pack.

“I feel awesome,” Jones said. “I feel like I move really well. I have great pride in my endurance. I do a lot of endurance training, whether I’m on the row machine or in the pool, or if I’m on the bike, or if it’s just sparring or heavy mitts, jiu-jitsu, jogging. I worked really hard — I feel great.

“Honestly, I feel like a stronger version of myself. You know, I’m not super lean. I don’t have a mean six-pack like I used to.  That took me a while to get used to. Back in the day, I would judge my fitness level by the way I looked in the mirror. You know, I’m a heavyweight now.

“It’s not about how you look like,” he continued. “It’s about how you perform. And I feel like I’m performing really well. I’ve had some close knockouts this camp, or knocking out other people. That’s something that never happened in camp in the past.”

Jones also said he had a near 100% takedown rate in this training camp as well.

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