Jon Jones’ longtime striking coach, Brandon Gibson, is confident ‘Bones’ will be an even better fighter at heavyweight.
Jon Jones’ striking coach Brandon Gibson thinks his fighter will be even more dangerous when he makes the eventual move up to heavyweight.
After dominating the light heavyweight division for over a decade, Jones (26-1, 1NC) has been bulking up for the past year as he prepares to make his heavyweight debut. Talking recently to MMA Fighting, Gibson discussed Jones’ goal of becoming heavyweight champion.
“Jon has been the most dominant champion in UFC history,” Gibson said. “He has the record for titles but, man, this goal has sparked a fire in all of us.
“Whether it comes in a few months, or comes in a year-plus, Jon’s 33. I feel like he’s not even in his heavyweight prime yet. We’re taking our time, we’re doing this right and there’s a lot of other business decisions outside of my realm. But my job is to treat Jon Jones as a professional athlete, a professional martial artist and the great champion that he is 24/7.”
Jones hasn’t fought since a controversial split decision win against Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 in February 2020. After struggling to reach a deal with the UFC for his next fight, the pound-for-pound number one recently brought in former Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer as his new adviser.
“He’s had great success in his 20’s, a great run at light heavyweight, but Jon not only has that focus of being a heavyweight champion with this huge task in front of us, but also his commitment to himself as a professional athlete,” Gibson continued. “I think we have yet to see the most dangerous Jon Jones there is. This version is going to be greater than any of them.”
Despite Jones and his team’s plans, UFC president Dana White isn’t as confident recently stating that Jones will never fight at heavyweight.