Jon Jones is widely regarded as the best UFC fighter there has ever been.
‘Bones’ dominated at light heavyweight for a decade before moving up a division and quickly submitting Ciryl Gane to become heavyweight champion in March 2023.
The 37-year-old knocked out Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in November to further cement his legendary legacy.
Joe Rogan has now provided an insight into the mindset that makes Jon Jones the greatest of all time.
Joe Rogan reveals pre-fight rituals of Jon Jones
Joe Rogan recently had the expert in influence, persuasion, and human behavior, Chase Hughes, on his podcast.
As he often does, the MMA commentator brought the conversation around to his favorite sport.
Rogan discussed the mental aspects of fighting and the increased focus modern combat athletes put on getting their minds right before competing.
“The moment is overwhelming, it’s so different than everything else,” he said.
“You have to have a very special mind to be able to overcome that. I think it’s one of the reasons why a lot of fighters today are seeking out mental coaches.
“There’s quite a few different fighters now that utilize mental coaches and some sort of visualization coaching, where they have very specific goals in terms of how they want to walk out, they want to see the whole thing.”
The 57-year-old went on to explain how Jones has utilized visualization throughout his Hall of Fame career, whether it be by getting to the arena a bit early, or tape-studying so he knows his opponent inside out.
Rogan added: “Jon Jones would famously walk out before the fight, and he would move around the Octagon to soak it all in while no one was there.
“We’d get footage sometimes of him just moving around. You know, he just wanted to feel the floor under his feet, he wanted to see the cage and get himself in that mindset.
“Jon is, if not the greatest, one of the absolute greatest of all time. He was meticulous and still is meticulous about his preparation. Meticulous about watching footage, understanding who he is fighting, what their moves are, what they do, what’s their tells, what mistakes they make, and then visualizing success.”
What’s next for Jon Jones?
Interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is next in line for a shot at the MMA GOAT.
Talks about their unification fight have been ongoing since Jones KO’d Miocic three months ago.
UFC boss Dana White ‘100 percent’ guaranteed that his two heavyweight champions will meet in 2025.
In an exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow, Aspinall insisted he was ‘very confident’ the fight would happen – but lately, fans have become concerned about the protracted negotiations, and general lack of updates.
White tried to put everyone’s minds at ease during a livestream to announce Ilia Topuria has relinquished his featherweight title, which will be on the line when Alexander Volkanovski faces Diego Lopes at UFC 314 on April 12.
“It’s coming, relax,” the MMA mogul said in response to a pessimistic fan comment on Jones vs Aspinall.
Unfortunately, fans won’t be able to relax until White officially books the biggest fight 2025 has to offer.