Filed under: UFC
NEW YORK — With freshman verve, Jon Jones marched on to the stage of Radio City Music Hall, in the City That Never Sleeps, on the Great White Way, and declared himself ready to face one of the most decorated light-heavyweights in the short history of MMA.
This is a town that prizes flash combined with substance, and the 23-year-old certainly looked and sounded the part. Dressed in a blue suit, Jones played to the boisterous fans, waving them on, taking a moment during the press conference to Tweet a picture of the assembled crowd, even accepting the request of a US soldier to walk him to the cage at UFC 128 on Saturday night.
In typical Manhattan style, one local asked Jones to stand up, then asked if he really thought he could beat champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. That set off a chorus of screams from fans, split on their loyalty to the main event fighters. Jones smiled and waited for the crowd to quiet.