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“Sometimes you just get caught and sooner or later, he’ll get caught.”
UFC veteran Jon Jones is as close to unbeatable as any fighter is going to get, but the reigning light heavyweight champion is only human and fans were reminded of that fact in ‘Bone’s’ most recent title defense against Thiago Santos at UFC 239.
Jones who, despite numerous failed drug tests is considered the most dominant fighter of all-time, edged out a split decision win over Santos in what was, undoubtedly, his weakest title defense to date.
The pound-for-pound phenom took minimal damage against Santos and was never in any serious trouble, but UFC Hall of Famer Forrest Griffin believes it’s only a matter of time until Jones — like all other greats — gets caught and knocked out by one of his opponents, probably when he’s least expecting it.
“I think he’s been fighting a lot this year,” Griffin told Helen Yee in a recent interview (h/t Abhinav Kini of The Body Lock MMA). “He looked like a guy who had three fights in six months, seven months. It was a decent performance. Thiago Santos is a guy who can take your belt from you with one punch. So he had to fight him in a safe manner. It wasn’t necessarily the most exciting fight but he got the job done.”
“The last two guys that Jones faced, he obviously had respect for power in their hands,” Griffin continued. “If Thiago throws a spinning heel kick, there’s your belt.
“It’s going to take an anomaly, almost like what happened with GSP. In the sport of MMA, sometimes you just get caught and sooner or later, he’ll get caught.”
Jones, who recently turned 32, is teased to fight Daniel Cormier in a trilogy bout should ‘DC’ successfully defend his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 241. The PPV is expected to take place next month, Aug. 17 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.