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.
“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.”
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.
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.
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