Jon Jones has fought many a tremendous fighter in his time, but he really struggled to put a plan together against one of his light heavyweight rivals.
The legend, who’s renowned for studying tape, couldn’t work out what the best method was for beating this talented competitor.
Jon Jones couldn’t work out Ovince St Preux
At UFC 197, on April 23, 2016, at the MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, Jon Jones defended his belt against Ovince St Preux.
Going into the contest, ‘OSP’ struck fear into the icon’s heart, with his dangerous style inside the cage.
Jones, who’s renowned for planning his performances to the second, was left in disarray in the lead-up to the contest, as he couldn’t work out the clearest path to victory.
Therefore, when the night of the fight came, he had to resort to doing something he really didn’t want to do.
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During an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, he said: “The main thing about Ovince that really bothered me is that he was so green and raw still, skill-wise. I study everybody extensively, and then I come up with their patterns.
“With Ovince St Preux, he doesn’t know what he’s going to do. He’s so unorthodox. He gets these random knockouts from these weird angles and wings stuff and almost closes his eyes, and the next thing, he’s knocked somebody out.
“So, the scary thing about him is that he’s so unpredictable, and I had a lot on the line.
“I said, ‘You know what? This guy is in a shell. He’s been defensive the whole fight’, and I thought, ‘I’ll just coast through the fight and not really risk anything’.
“I felt like I let myself down, because usually I’d just take them out.”
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Eight years on from his clash with St Preux, Jones is in a similar position, as the man who now holds the UFC interim heavyweight title, Tom Aspinall, also makes for a tough opponent to study for.
And that’s perhaps why fans are speculating that ‘Bones’ is ‘ducking’ the potential match-up.
The talented MMA star has dismissed the possibility of an epic battle on more than one occasion, dismissing his rival’s skills.
However, one of the undisputed champion’s former opponents is adamant that he owes the Englishman more respect.
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