Jon Jones is not just a UFC champion. He’s also a UFC fan. Earlier this week, the champ took to Instagram to capture several moments with other luminaries that probably never would have happened for your garden-variety aficionado.
Jones’ activities on the social media site, gathered by MMA Junkie, were part of Monday’s widely hyped UFC news conference, during which the UFC rolled out its 2015 event schedule.
Among the short videos Jones posted were a sparring session with Anderson Silva and a clip of the two legends after the session, in which Silva praised the light heavyweight kingpin.
“Best fighter in the world,” Silva gushed in slightly fractured English. “Jones Jons Bones [sic] is a [expletive] crazy guy.”
That moment when dreams become reality pic.twitter.com/S6yTBrSFfU
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) November 19, 2014
Jones also grabbed a video of former light heavyweight champ and current middleweight Lyoto Machida posing for cameras and snapped photos of himself with stars such as Ronda Rousey, Nick Diaz and Conor McGregor.
The behind-the-scenes footage and images might have been the highlight of the event for those following the day on the web. A special announcement teased by UFC brass for the event did not materialize. The UFC did, however, announce that it would stage 45 events next year, though that was not the special announcement.
It was also a positive for Jones, who has had very public problems (NSFW) with his Instagram and Twitter accounts. It’s a good thing his accounts were not compromised by outside sources during Monday’s big events.
Jones is set to defend his light heavyweight title on Jan. 3 against Daniel Cormier. The two appear to harbor genuine animosity for each other. They engaged in a series of public scuffles and exchanged verbal barbs over the summer. The fight was originally scheduled for UFC 178, but a leg injury sidelined Jones for that event.
Jones did fight once in 2014, an April title defense against Glover Teixeira at UFC 172. Jones won the five-round bout by a dominant unanimous decision.
Cormier, a former Olympic-level wrestler, seems on paper to present a stiffer challenge. He may have the strength and the wrestling skill to keep Jones on his back—the one area analysts have speculated Jones may be vulnerable.
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