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‘I put money on Jon going to heavyweight and dominating there, too’: Jon Jones’ Coaches believe the fighter has mental attributes that give him an edge over his opponents

Prateek Arya
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'I put money on Jon going to heavyweight and dominating there, too': Jon Jones' Coaches believe the fighter has mental attributes that give him an edge over his opponents

Jon Jones is seemingly approaching the physical peak to compete in the heavyweight division, and in the wake of that, his coaches are confident that he will dominate the 265-pound weight class as well. 

2021 will witness Jon Jones climbing the ladder to compete in the Heavyweight division for the first time. Having wiped out almost the entire 205 division the former Pound-For-Pound No.1 fighter is apparently eager to step inside the Octagon again, and this time as a Heavyweight.

The longest reigning Light Heavyweight champion relinquished his title in July, in order to find new challenges and conquer the Heavyweight summit. However, the formidable competitors that are awaiting his arrival may derail his course.

In the span of 12 years, Jon Jones has administered authority over every individual he has faced in UFC, and if he takes the throne at the Heavyweight division, then he will certainly become what he and Dana White already claim he is i.e., the Undisputed G.O.A.T of UFC.

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Jon Jones’ Coaches believe the fighter has mental attributes that give him an edge over his opponents

While he has spent almost the entire second half of the year preparing for the called upon challenge and still training, with 2021 set to arrive, Jon Jones is seemingly willing to go the extra mile to acquire what he desires. Which is exactly what his coaches implicated in a chat with MMA Fighting.

“Heavyweight’s a different animal, but Jon’s spent a lot of his career training with some of the best heavyweights in the world,”

“I’ve seen Jon do hundreds of rounds with guys like Overeem and Arlovski and Travis Browne. We’ve had a plethora of great heavyweights come through Jackson’s, and Jon has been Jon Jones with all of them.

“Jon’s skill level is so high, his fight IQ is so high, that I don’t think somebody having a 20-pound advantage over Jon is going to make that much of a difference. He’s just such a skilled martial artist. I think the weight class intrigues Jon.”

Even after dedicating so many years to this sport Jones is still deceptively young at 33. And adding to the age advantage he has, physical and mental attributes can make him soar in the division rapidly.

“You’re not just going up a division, you might be going up by like 50 pounds sometimes,” Winkeljohn said. “These guys are big. It’s not like going up 15 pounds like everybody else. It can be a big jump. So that makes a big difference.”

“Jon has always done very well” Winkeljohn said. “He’s always had the ability to change up things and as far as fight IQ, Jon’s that guy. If he’s fighting a guy like Andrei Arlovski with a big overhand, he knows how to nullify it. If he’s fighting a guy like Alistair Overeem, who throws a big hook into a knee to the body, he knows how to avoid that.

“He’s very good at reading a fighter and knowing what the fighter’s going to do, sometimes before the fighter even knows himself.”

When asked whether it is a rational decision to move to Heavyweight when there is nothing left to prove.

“He’s wiped out a division, so it makes sense (to go to heavyweight),” Winkeljohn said. “I put money on Jon going to heavyweight and dominating there, too.”

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