Tag: James Johnson

Jon Jones Fires Back at NBA’s James Johnson Over Bold Fight Challenge: ‘This Man Sounds Crazy

Jon Jones Fires Back at NBA's James Johnson Over Bold Fight Challenge: ‘This Man Sounds CrazyJon Jones is tired of hearing NBA journeyman James Johnson run his mouth. Last year, Johnson — a forward…

Jon Jones Fires Back at NBA's James Johnson Over Bold Fight Challenge: ‘This Man Sounds Crazy

Jon Jones is tired of hearing NBA journeyman James Johnson run his mouth.

Last year, Johnson — a forward for the Indiana Pacers who has played for no less than 11 NBA teams since being drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 2009 — boldly claimed that he could beat undisputed UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones if given a year to hone his ground game.

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“I would need a year,” he said on the NBA Rookie Life podcast. “My standup game is great but what we all know with Jones is he’s a collegiate wrestler, really good on the ground and that’s not my forte. I can get on the ground. To his level? I’m not there yet I’d definitely need a year to work on counters and defenses against it so that we can stay on our feet.”

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Johnson echoed a similar sentiment during an appearance on the OGs Podcast, once again claiming that he could beat ‘Bones’ and that he’d have an advantage while striking with the consensus GOAT.

“I truly, truly believe that [I can beat Jones]. I’ve been doing this my whole life,” Johnson said. “Like, real training would really be for that groundwork. As far as standing up in a fight, I feel like I got an advantage.”

Jon Jones snaps back at James Johnson

Jones never responded to Johnson’s initial comments. Instead, he allowed the internet to thoroughly drag the NBA star on social media. But after seeing Johnson double down on his original statement, ‘Bones’ finally opted to address his “crazy” claim.

“I didn’t realize until now that basketball players got CTE as well, this man sounds crazy,” Jones wrote on Instagram.

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Johnson’s comments initially came after a report claimed he had amassed a 20-0 record as a kickboxer and was an undefeated mixed martial artist before making pro basketball his career. However, a quick Google search found that there was no evidence of Johnson ever competing in combat sports of any kind.

Michael Bisping slams NBA star James Johnson for suggesting he could beat UFC champ Jon Jones in a fight

Jon JonesMichael Bisping went off NBA star James Johnson after the 6’8? behemoth suggested that he could put Jon Jones’ lights out with a year of training. Non-fighters suggesting they could hold their own against some of the best combat sports athletes in the world is becoming a very annoying trend these days. It all seemed […]

Jon Jones

Michael Bisping went off NBA star James Johnson after the 6’8″ behemoth suggested that he could put Jon Jones’ lights out with a year of training.

Non-fighters suggesting they could hold their own against some of the best combat sports athletes in the world is becoming a very annoying trend these days. It all seemed to start when bodybuilder Bradley Martyn suggested that he could win a street fight with Nate Diaz. Since then, Martyn has drawn the ire of the MMA community by calling out Alex Pereira, Demetrious Johnson, and Sean O’Malley.

Johnson, an NBA veteran who has played for 10 different teams in his 13-year career, recently suggested that with a year of training to hone his ground name, he could not only survive a fight with the reigning UFC heavyweight champion, but he’d win decisively.

Getting wind of Johnson’s comments, Bisping slammed the pro basketball player via a video released on his YouTube channel.

“Give me a year? Give me a f*cking break,” Bisping exclaimed. “That’s what we really need right here. Listen, this James Johnson, I’m sure he’s a lovely guy, I really am. But this is hilarious. We’ve all watched a martial arts film and at the end, we’re all hyped up, we wanna go. We watch Rocky, we start shadowboxing, we think we’re a badass. Go down to the pub, have a few beers, think we can take this guy on. The list goes on” (h/t MMA Mania).

‘The Count’ also called Johnson’s claims that he’s 7-0 as a mixed martial artist into question, noting that there is absolutely no record backing up his claims.

“I had a little look on Tapology. Tapology registers all fights, okay?” he said. “You don’t have to be an NBA player, someone famous, you can be anybody and have one fight and you will be on Tapology. You will be on the Sherdog database. But when I go to Tapology, there’s lots of James Johnsons … there’s none that are 7-0, there are none that are 6’8”. There’s none that are basketball players. This guy’s having a laugh, he’s out of his goddamn mind.

“It’s nonsense, it’s stupid. This guy’s fights can’t be found anywhere. Even if he is 20-0 in kickboxing, we all know someone that’s a British kickboxing champion or a regional kickboxing champion, and when you look at their fights it’s seven people in a sports hall and the opponent was well out of shape and never trained in his life. They get given a big shiny belt and all of a sudden ‘They’re a champion!’”

Michael Bisping Dubs Jon Jones the Greatest of All Time

Bisping also took issue with Johnson’s insinuation that Jon Jones is a ground fighter with little to offer on the feet. A completely ludicrous statement considering ‘Bones’ has 10 career knockouts and has spent the majority of his UFC run piecing up some of the biggest names in the sport’s history.

“Jon Jones is the greatest of all time, Jon Jones is undefeated,” Bisping said. “Jon Jones is fighting Stipe Miocic in Madison Square Garden, against the greatest heavyweight of all time … And Jon Jones is a little around the bend. Jon Jones is crazy. He’s got that nasty streak in him, and whether you want to criticize him for it … he’s put on some amazing fights, and that meanness, that f*cking craziness that he has, that helps you in a fight.”

“I’m sure this basketballer has flipped out on the basketball court. I’m sure he’s got a real reputation. But you ain’t going up against Jon Jones. No way. Stick to your court: the basketball court,” he said. “No one’s bouncing balls in Octagons. The only thing that’s getting bounced is your head all over the place by vicious elbows from Jon Jones when he takes you down with relative ease.”

Jon Jones will be back in action at UFC 295 this November as he is set to defend the heavyweight world title against the man many consider to be the division’s greatest fighter, Stipe Miocic. The pair will headline the promotion’s 30th-anniversary showcase scheduled to emanate from the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden.

Bradley Martyn starts new trend as 6’8? NBA star James Johnson says he could beat up UFC icon Jon Jones

Bodybuilder Bradley Martyn has seemingly started a trend in the world of mixed martial arts.

In recent months, Martyn has drawn the ire of the MMA community after regularly questioning whether some of the sport’s biggest names could survive i…

Martyn

Bodybuilder Bradley Martyn has seemingly started a trend in the world of mixed martial arts.

In recent months, Martyn has drawn the ire of the MMA community after regularly questioning whether some of the sport’s biggest names could survive in a street fight with him. Sean O’Malley, Alex Pereira, Demetrious Johnson, and Nate Diaz are just a few of the names that Martyn has targeted on his popular podcast, Raw Talk.

Well, now 6’8″ tall NBA journeyman James Johnson is getting into the act, suggesting that he could beat reigning UFC heavyweight world champion Jon Jones. All he needs is a year to work on his takedown defense.

“I think I could beat him for real. But like I said, with a year of training defense. I just need ground defense,” Johnson said in a video clip shared by Bloody Elbow.

He continued, “He started learning how to use your hands and your feet, what? After college? Like, I’ve been punching and kicking since I was five or six years old. The same thing for me though is the opposite for him because he’s been wrestling for that long learning all these wrestling moves and things like that for that long. For me, I started learning the wrestling game and all that in middle school. The jiu-jitsu. You know, he has a big advantage there because no one wants to get on the floor, but as long as I can keep him from going on the floor, I win.”

Unlike Bradley Martyn, James Johnson does have a background in combat sports, amassing a 20-0 record in kickboxing before transitioning to mixed martial arts. Johnson reportedly holds a 7-0 record in MMA and is more than open to competing in the sport once his NBA career wraps up.

“I’ve been fighting my whole life… That’s my first love, my first passion, Johnson told Fanatics View in a 2019 interview. “I would love that [to fight for the UFC after my NBA career]. The fighter mentality, the fighter heart it never goes. I still see guys right now still trying to kick away, [like] Chuck Liddell, [Anderson] Silva. You got guys that just can’t get away from the game.”