When it comes to stories from the NBA, there aren’t better narrators out there than Jeff Teague. The former Minnesota Timberwolves man was on The Draymond Green Show for just this purpose, with many of his stories even leaving the host in shock. And perhaps the most shocking one of them all is how James Johnson almost decided to leave the NBA to fight a certain UFC legend.
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Initially, Teague spoke about how Johnson once defended him after football players in the same college kept calling him ‘Mike Conley’, something that got on his nerves. However, as he soon learned from there, not only did James know kickboxing, he was even 10-0 in his career by that point.
Jeff then talked about how the team had a meeting with him, asking him what he would choose between the UFC and basketball. The 36-year-old then revealed his former college teammate’s hilarious answer, before even revealing he wanted to fight with arguably the best ‘pound-for-pound’ fighter of all time, Jon Jones.
“This dude had a kickboxing match set up in college… The coach has to sit us down, tell us like, ‘Yo! are you going to be a kickboxer or a basketball player?’. He like, ‘I need some money!’. I’m like, damn! You about to go fight? For money? Oh I’m not f**king with this dude!… He’s like I’m 10-0. I need some extra money around here”
Jeff then leaned into the potential embers between Jon Jones and James Johnson, saying,
“You ain’t seen him talk crazy to Jon Jones? Oh, I know he not doing that! JJ [James Johnson] I love you to death. [But] listen I don’t know that. That’s a different world, I don’t want no smoke with either one of y’all! But he said he want to fight Jon Jones. I’m like [shakes his head] ‘aight’.”
Throughout his time in the NBA, James Johnson has been known as one of those people who is always ready to throw down. And especially given how prepared he is to combat these situations, most players are aware, teammates or otherwise, that it would be best not to engage him.
That said, Jon Jones is no slouch either. While he is retired now, his record stands at 27 wins, 1 loss, and no draws. That is beyond exceptional, and massive proof that it would take quite a bit to get the beating of him. That said, if there is anyone in the NBA that could do it, it’s likely James Johnson.
James Johnson’s UFC career
As mentioned prior, when Johnson was in college, he went 10-0. However, later in life, when he attempted to do so in the UFC, things didn’t pan out quite as well. After all, he fought just once, a match that he lost.
However, especially given the fact that he is one of the few people in the NBA who has real fighting experience, there aren’t many others one would pick to face the great Jon Jones in a potential bout. However, there is no doubt that the UFC legend would be the favorite in this scenario, no matter how skilled the NBA player may be.
