Coach Henry Cejudo gives Jon Jones his final piece of advice before UFC 285
Henry Cejudo has given Jon Jones a piece of advice ahead of the former light heavyweight champion's highly anticipated return against Ciryl Gane at UFC 285. Jones recently completed his UFC 285 training camp under the guidance of longtime head coach Greg Jackson (of the Jackson Wink MMA Academy) and Cejudo (of the Fight Ready gym).
In a video posted to his YouTube channel, former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo put forth his final advice in the training camp to Jon Jones ahead of his heavyweight debut.
'Triple C' appeared to hark back to the superfight between UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski that transpired earlier this month. While Makhachev won the closely contested fight via unanimous decision, many felt Volkanovski was more deserving of the judges' nod.
Freestyle wrestling Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo indicated that as a wrestler, he felt Volkanovski did a better job at making himself look impressive against Makhachev, while the Dagestani fighter didn't do that. On that note, the MMA legend insinuated that Jones does well at making himself look impressive.
Henry Cejudo emphasized that 'Bones' ought to stick to his strength, which is being a competitor, and focus on winning rather than just being a fighter. Addressing Jones, Cejudo stated:
"You look f**king sharp, and you've got the best looks. Just go back to that competitor that you are. Remember, you're a better competitor than you are a fighter. You're a winner. You know what I'm saying? And now, we stick to that, and go back to that, with all the gifts that you have."
Henry Cejudo added:
"It's like what my brother said – 'Pull the bi**h out of him.'"
Check out Cejudo's comments at 1:26 in the video below:
Dan Hardy discusses Jon Jones' potential weakness that Ciryl Gane could exploit
Ending his three-year hiatus from MMA competition, Jon Jones will face former interim UFC heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane for the vacant UFC heavyweight title at UFC 285 on March 4.
MMA fighter-turned-analyst Dan Hardy broke down the much-awaited matchup on episode #253 of The War Room podcast. 'The Outlaw' opined that while Jones has significantly bulked up, his ankles are still skinny.
@ciryl_gane is ON for the UFC Heavyweight Championship! 
𝗕𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦. 𝗜𝗦. 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞! 🤯
@JonnyBones 🆚 @ciryl_gane is ON for the UFC Heavyweight Championship! 🏆
#UFC285 https://t.co/3V0gElgjrJ
Recalling Ciryl Gane's fight against Francis Ngannou, Dan Hardy implied that Gane might have to fight off his back against Jon Jones too. Hardy believes 'Bon Gamin' could attack Jones' ankles with heel hooks and ankle locks off his back.
The former UFC welterweight pointed out that Gane could exploit Jones' stance and skinny ankles to defeat him. Besides, 'The Outlaw' foresees Gane's striking troubling 'Bones':
"There might be some wildcards to pull out the back pocket and the ankle lock might be one of those things because if I'm looking at Jon Jones and I'm trying to find a physical weakness, his ankle is probably the easiest thing to attack." [21:35 - 21:47]
Watch Hardy's assessment below: