The consensus greatest mixed martial artist of all time, Jon Jones, is finally scheduled to return to the UFC Octagon on November 16 when he takes on Stipe Miocic at UFC 309.
Ahead of his highly controversial heavyweight title fight against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, Jon Jones has admitted that it will likely be his last outing and won’t stick around to unify the title against interim champ, Tom Aspinall.
After debuting in the UFC in 2008, it is fair to say, ‘Bones’ has seen all there is to see in the fight game and is now passing down his expertise to the next generation.
Jon Jones gives a speech to training partners about protecting the brain
Despite having never suffered a KO or submission loss throughout his storied career, the 37-year-old made sure to talk to his training partners about the importance of protecting the brain in combat sports, talking about problems he has encountered throughout his career.
Jones’s message has become even more poignant following the recent admission that over 50 UFC veterans have stated that they’ve been left ‘broke and broken’ following their fight careers.
“Throughout my whole twenties, going home with a headache all the time from concussions, and now when that happens I get really upset and feel like I did something wrong, so really try and protect that brain, man,” Jones told his training partners in the locker room.
“After you get punched in the head enough times, your ability to see things coming goes away. I’ve been teammates with guys who you couldn’t hit and then towards the end of their career, they couldn’t stop a jab, they just couldn’t stop it.
“Your ability for your brain to process and react quickly goes away the more you get hit. So really, really, I’ve had teammates, and not to bad mouth them, one of my teammates John Dodson, he would get punched and he would go (visual excitement), ‘hit me some more’, and I never thought that was funny, I would watch him put his hands down and let people hit him and hit him and hit him.
“He’s a rare exception because he still moves great, and he still talks great, doesn’t stutter, he’s a rare exception, but for the most part you definitely want to protect that brain,” Jones continued.
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Jon Jones assembles a super team for UFC 309 title fight
Having been away from the fight game for over a year now, Jones is making sure that he is fully prepared for all eventualities at UFC 309 against Miocic.
The heavyweight champion recruited the assistance of Gable Steveson, Olympic gold medalist wrestler for his camp, as well as continuously training with grappling superstar, Gordan Ryan.
There have been rumors for several years regarding Steveson and whether he will bring his talents to MMA full-time time and after training with Jones, the 24-year-old may have more clarity on the future of his combat career.
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