LAS VEGAS — Holly Holm has something of a secret weapon in her preparation for Ronda Rousey: the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet.
Holm has been working quite a bit with Jon Jones at Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA in Albuquerque, according to Jackson-Winkeljohn striking coach Brandon Gibson. Jones, the former UFC light heavyweight champion, is currently suspended by the UFC following a felony hit-and-run arrest in April.
“He’s been helping Holly Holm a ton,” Gibson told MMA Fighting. “Jon is a leader and he inspires the team and we just try to do the same for him. We try to inspire him wherever we can. He’s getting stronger ever day.”
Holm challenges Rousey for the women’s bantamweight title at UFC 193 on Nov. 15 in Melbourne, Australia.
Without any fights coming up himself, Jones has turned his focus toward his teammates, according to many people at Jackson-Winkeljohn. Gibson said Jones was an indispensable part of Andrei Arlovski’s training camp to prepare for Travis Browne at UFC 187 in May. Arlovski won by first-round knockout.
“He helped Andrei a lot for the Travis Browne fight,” Gibson said. “That was kind of after he got in trouble and he would still go in there.”
There is no timetable for Jones’ return to the Octagon, if he decides to return at all. Jones has said almost nothing publicly since the arrest.
Right now, he is waiting for the Bernalillo County (N.M.) district attorney to decide whether or not to bring the charge of felony leaving the scene of an accident involving death or serious injury to a grand jury. Jones allegedly struck the car driven by a pregnant woman with his vehicle April 26 and then fled the scene. The woman broke her arm in the crash.
While he waits to see where the chips fall, Gibson said Jones is in the gym often helping others.
“Jon has definitely been around,” Gibson said. “He’s a brother to these guys. He helps the team out. As he matures and gets older, he’s becoming more of a mentor to these guys. I don’t think Jon was necessarily ever like a selfish fighter. He was always giving to his team and working as a training partner.”
Holm is his latest assignment.
“Jon is very creative and [Mike] Winkeljohn has been grooming Holly since she was a teenager,” Gibson said. “Him and Greg [Jackson] and Coach Izzy [Martinez] have put in a lot of work with Holly. I think Jon just brings a different perspective and a different view, whether it’s technically or the mental aspect of it, to help prepare our sister for this championship fight and to take this title.”