Jon Jones returns in the main event of UFC 309 this Saturday night for what is just his second outing as a heavyweight. During his incredible light heavyweight title run, “Bones” was always one of the hardest fighters to predict or prepare for because he’s so good everywhere.
Opponents could watch as much tape as humanly possible but ultimately, there’s no way to experience what it’s like to share the Octagon with the consensus greatest of all time other than physically being in there with him. This is even more true since he moved to heavyweight because of the lack of footage that is out there of him.
His heavyweight debut at UFC 285 against Ciryl Gane ended in just over two minutes so we still don’t really know how good Jones is at heavyweight. This creates a problem for Stipe Miocic and his team when it comes to strategizing for November 16.
In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Jones’ long-time striking coach Brandon Gibson spoke about what he would do if he found himself in their opposition’s shoes and had to plan for a fight against the heavyweight champion. Suffice to say that Gibson is glad that he’s on this side of the Octagon rather than the other.
“That team at Strong Style, obviously they’ve built a lot of great fighters and built Stipe into an incredible champ so I’m not gonna presume what I believe their game plan would be. I think through Jon’s 16 championship fights and 27 fights total that you could definitely plot little elements here and there of when Jon has been hit or hit clean. I think it’s very hard to replicate and to duplicate.
“You know if I were them, I would just be training Stipe to be the best Stipe out there. We’re anticipating him to come out aggressive like he has shown in the past and on the other hand, if I were to coach against Jon Jones, I think that’s the hardest puzzle as a coach in this entire sport to solve. Nobody has solved it yet and I think they’re the ones with their hands full.”
