HOUSTON – UFC 247 is set to do big business at the box office Saturday, according to the promotion.
Seeing these impressive numbers makes UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones wonder why he hasn’t competed outside of Las Vegas on a more frequent basis. At a pre-fight media day held Thursday, Jones (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC) said he likes the idea of venturing out after UFC 247.
“Maybe I need to step outside of Las Vegas and fight in these markets where people don’t see me too often,” Jones said. “I think that’s going to be important. If I can possibly break numbers here in Houston, I can only imagine what would happen if I went to Australia or one of these other countries where they’d never expect to see me. The people would come out and that’s what it’s all about.”
Australia, of course, is the stomping grounds of New Zealand’s Israel Adesanya, who defeated Robert Whittaker for the middleweight title at UFC 243 in front of an announced crowd of 57,127.
When asked, Jones joked he’d still be the bigger draw in Adesanya’s backyard, “Yeah he is (a big draw). I bet I’d be even bigger.”
Jones and Adesanya (18-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) have exchanged words in recent months through interviews and online. Thursday, Jones said he’s not interested and finds the middleweight champ to be human, unlike other past potential superfight opponents.
“I have no interest in Israel at the end of the day,” Jones said. “Anderson Silva was a guy everyone wanted to see me fight. I never wanted to do it because I had so much respect for Anderson. I feel the same way with Izzy, but it’s not coming from a place of respect. My career isn’t based around fighting him. For him to fight me, it would be huge for his resume. For me, I feel like I already have so many legends under my resume. He’s not even a legend.
“We’ve all seen that video of him fighting some Alex guy (Alex Pereira) and catching a clean overhand right. He’s very human to me. He’s not this special guy. I don’t see what everybody else is seeing in him. I think his whole anime stuff and how he’s all antics with his hands and all this crazy stuff. I think that’s kind of entertaining to a certain fan base. For me, it’s like ‘I would slap you. Get out of here, kid.'”
Adesanya wasn’t the only topic Jones touched on during Thursday’s UFC 247 pre-fight media day. Check out Jones’ responses to a handful of other subjects on the next page.
On his recent interview with ESPN’s Max Kellerman
“I think they wanted it to be a little more hairy and I allowed them to be. I think Max (Kellerman) was really trying to lay it on me, for sure. I don’t think any of the questions he asked were softballs. I think he was trying to be a little controversial with me. I was really proud of myself for the way I handled the situation. I definitely feel like I took the high road.”
On Stephen A. Smith’s controversial comments post-UFC 246
“Hats off to Stephen A. Smith. I think he’s a tremendous reporter, but you’re absolutely right. I think he does need to do more homework. You need to go back and maybe watch some of those PRIDE fights. You have to go back and start at UFC 1 and really do your homework. That way you know not only who we all are, but you know positioning. You know technique. You know a few submission names. I doubt they’re at that level and I would love to encourage them to get at that level. If you’re a true professional, that’s what you do.”
On why he doesn’t like to predict finishes
“I think (Dominick Reyes) is a very emotional fighter. He’s a very emotional person. If he’s sad he’ll come out like in some of his interviews. It seems like he can’t even breathe. The anxiety and the emotions have kind of taken over him sometimes. Then other times, he’s laughing and playful and just speaking out of his ass. One thing about saying you’re going to knock somebody out is you’re putting all of your eggs in one basket.
“I never claim that I’m going to finish the fight. I say I’d like to finish the fight. I can predict I’m going to finish the fight, but I’ve never guaranteed people I’m going to finish the fight. When you say you’re going to knock a person out and you find yourself going into Round 4 and I’m still here looking at you. You’re breathing hard and I’m not? It can cause a sense of panic. Like, ‘Oh boy, my plan didn’t work. I thought I was going to get a first-round knockout. Here we are going into Round 2.’ He’s just adding pressure on himself saying he’s going to get a knockout. Hey, I’m just trying to find a way to win.”
On whether he thinks people are too critical of mistakes made in his early 20s
“I can’t play a ‘poor me’ role. I’ve done a lot of wild stuff, you know what I mean? I can’t play ‘poor me.’ At the same time, I think about it this way. My little brother and my older brother are in the NFL. From the time they left college, they had programs there to really show them how to be a professional athlete. The NFL and their team provided them with a driver that they can call 24 hours. In the NFL, there’s a chaplain they can call 24 hours. There are group meetings. There are fellow guys to be around to encourage you. I was just kind of thrown into, ‘Okay, you’re fairly famous now and here’s some money, too.’ When you come from nothing, at that age it can be a lot to handle. It can be a lot to juggle. I don’t think I had enough mentors in my life at that point. I’m glad I finally figured it all out.”
UFC 247 takes place Saturday at Toyota Center in Houston. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
