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During the UFC 288 post-fight presser, Dana White was asked about where Henry Cejudo could be, should he continue to fight on. But the UFC president somehow found a way to answer it by throwing massive praises at Jon Jones.
White’s response compared Cejudo’s performance against Aljamain Sterling with how Jones handled one of his toughest career fights.
Jon Jones gets mad props from the UFC boss
During the presser, a reporter asked White about Cejudo’s potential path back to the title. Based on what he saw, the ever-outspoken UFC executive said this in response.
“When you think about what an incredible athlete Henry Cejudo is, and he’s coming off a three-year layoff. And you look at this tough fight he was in tonight… and then you look at Jon Jones, and what Jon Jones did.
“That’s why you just can’t really say it enough how special and how incredible Jon (is).”
White admitted to steering the question way off course, but to further drive his point home, he mentioned Jones’ 2013 title defense with Alexander Gustfasson. It was a fight that Jones notoriously didn’t prepare for.
“Like when he fought Alexander Gustafsson, it was the first time he’d ever been taken into deep water. And you know Jon outside the cage didn’t make all the best decisions, and who knows how hard he really trained for that fight or what he was doing before that fight.
“But to dog it out the way that he did, it’s just, like… When you think about all the great fights that happened, and you think about the stuff that Jon Jones does, it’s… pretty special.”
For White, Jon Jones already solidified his GOAT status when he beat Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in March to become the new heavyweight champion. With the win, “Bones” also skyrocketed back to the top of the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings.
What’s next for Jon Jones?
From his end, the 35-year-old Jones already declared his next fight to be against former champion Stipe Miocic, a man he regards as an all-time heavyweight great. He intends for it to happen at the UFC’s annual Madison Square Garden card in November, and he foresees it to be his retirement fight.
He also rejected the idea of a fight against number two-ranked Sergei Pavlovich, who capped off a six-fight win streak with a first-round TKO win against Curtis Blaydes in late April.
Jones’ record currently stands at 27-1 (with 1 NC).
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