UFC veteran Keith Jardine has given his thoughts on how Jon Jones performs in sanctioned fights in comparison to training.
As we know, Jon Jones is an absolute freak of nature. He is one of the greatest fighters in the history of mixed martial arts, he’s a two-weight world champion, and he has never been beaten by another man inside the cage – well, in an official capacity, at least.
The expectation is that Jon Jones will defend his belt against Tom Aspinall later this year. Alas, while it’d be incredibly disappointing if that doesn’t happen, his legacy has already been written in many ways. ‘Bones’ has achieved some wonderful things at the elite level, and anything we get from this point on is a bonus.
In a recent interview, Keith Jardine spoke about some of the experiences he had when training in the same facility as Jon Jones.
Keith Jardine’s view on Jon Jones in training
“I don’t think—Rashad used to beat him up in the ring for real, whatever, every time I saw it. But you saw what happened when they fought, right? He just turns a switch on, man. Like, I spar with him all the time—it was just like, you know, I win some, he wins some, whatever. But when the fight—like, I think this sounds weird, but I really think he experiences—when he gets in the zone, I really think he experiences time different than us. I think everything’s moving a little bit slower for him.”
For Jon Jones, it certainly feels like he only has one or two more left in him before he rides off into the sunset. He may even be done now, but hopefully, he at least gives us the blockbuster Aspinall fight before bidding farewell to the sport.
