By Chris Howie
MMANEWS.COM Staff Writer
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones steps into a new role when he will oppose Chael Sonnen on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter, that of coach instead of main event headliner.
Jones discussed what he brings to the table during for the new season and also talked about what he hopes to prove to America:
“I need to show America that I'm a champion,” Jones said. “I'm a champion coach. I'm a guy who is not going to be stingy with his success. I'm going to try and motivate others with his success and share his success and ultimately bring up the whole sport of mixed martial arts, whether it's an individual athlete or an ideal or anything. My job is to pay it forward.
“I look at this way, and it's very simple: Somebody put me on to this world of mixed martial arts, and I owe a great deal to that person. the only way I can truly ever say thank you in my eyes is to put someone else on it. So when I'm in the locker room, I look at all of my guys as, 'Which one of you guys is going to be the next guy? Which one of you guys can I bless by giving you my best?' That's the way I feel about the whole situation. I want to put someone else up. I want to change someone else's life. I want to give back to the sport and be a contributor to one of the next great fighters.”
“I think this whole championship is a matter of coaching them mentally,” Jones said. “These guys should already be in shape before they got here. I want to see which guys want to consider themselves a leader and which guy is going to take that inferior role. The whole journey is mental.
