Without living the lifestyle of a martial artist, Jones has shattered records, dominated nearly every fight he’s been in, and earned nearly universal recognition as the best to ever do it in the sport. That just shows the talent, the creativity and Fight IQ he possesses, and makes one wonder how much further would he have separated himself from the pack in the G.O.A.T. discussion if he was completely focused 24/7.
None of that really matters now, though, because all the What Ifs are in the past. What matters now is Saturday night and whether moving to a new weight class was the answer for a fighter who was in tougher than expected fights when he defeated Reyes and Thiago Santos in his last two trips to the Octagon. He believes it is, and while he thought this journey north would have taken less time, he found out that getting up to heavyweight properly was a more complicated ordeal.
“At first, I thought it’d be really easy,” Jones admits. “I thought I could do it in a few months. And as I got more into it, as I got more into the culture, I realized that if I wanted to do it right, I would have to really commit my life to it. It would have to become something that I did almost every day.”
Reasons To Watch UFC 285: Jones vs Gane
So as the months ticked away and speculation about his future mounted, Jones simply put in the time in the gym, far from the bright lights that nearly blinded him at times. And when it was time to make that call to say he was ready, he truly was.
“I feel amazing,” he said. “I’ve gained the weight very slowly and I feel like I do everything I used to do, just more confidently and with more power. Back in the day, I’ve had some really great fights where I’ve showed really solid boxing, but I never really believed in my punching power. Now I believe my combinations are sharper than ever. I also feel like my punching power and my confidence to be in the pocket is higher than it used to be. My explosiveness and my quickness, my ability to wrestle and everything I used to do, I just do with more power now, more confidence. I feel like I got that grown man strength finally. And it’s exciting. It’s an exciting time.”
