Jon Jones has named two fighters who inadvertently helped him become a UFC legend.
‘Bones’ recently fielded questions from fans after hosting a historic seminar in Phuket, Thailand.
One person in the massive crowd asked Jon Jones how he stays sharp years after establishing himself as the greatest fighter in MMA history.
The UFC heavyweight champion insisted it’s the mental side of his game that separates him from others.
- READ MORE: Who is Jon Jones? Inside the life and career of one of the greatest UFC fighters in history
Jon Jones names two UFC legends he studied
Jon Jones namechecked Jose Aldo and Anderson Silva while answering the fan question.
The 37-year-old claims he spent countless hours studying the Brazilian duo during his rise to prominence.
Years later, Jones is confident that the things he does away from the gym are what make him great.
“I believe potential is a terrible thing to waste,” he said.
“I just try to strive mentally to continue to push myself and challenge myself. I just feel like I was blessed with a really rare talent, and I decided to not just look at myself as a lucky young man, but I embrace being one of the hardest-working young men.
“Just really training very, very hard, and studying footage constantly. I believe in finding a favorite fighter, maybe one or two or maybe three, and studying that person extensively.
“I’ve watched hours of Jose Aldo and hours of Anderson Silva. I really obsessed over some of these fighters and I got closer to where I wanted to be.
“I find the fighters that make it to the top are genuinely obsessed… Training is a big part of it, but it’s the mental side of the game that really makes people different. Being that guy that goes home and you’re just studying and constantly working on something.”
What’s next for Jon Jones?
Jon Jones has been in talks for a fight with interim heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall all year.
The American recently distanced himself from that matchup by calling out Francis Ngannou.
PFL boss Donn Davis reacted by proposing a ‘winner takes all’ deal for Jones vs Ngannou.
Following UFC 316, Dana White insisted Jones would fight Aspinall next, not ‘The Predator’.
“It’s Aspinall’s fight,” the UFC CEO said on Saturday night. “I mean, we’ve been talking to this kid about it forever and it’s his fight.
“Listen, you can’t make people fight, if Jon doesn’t want to fight, you can’t make him fight. We can try to make him fight, we can throw things at him that inspire him to want to fight, but we’ll figure it out… I don’t have Ngannou under contract and Aspinall is the guy!”
It is currently unclear if Jones will fight Aspinall or vacate his belt, and retire on top.