"He's got more f***ing t-shirts than you've had hot dinners" - Michael Bisping staunchly defends Jon Jones' decision to leave light heavyweight
Michael Bisping believes Jon Jones did the right thing by stepping away from the light heavyweight division. Jones relinquished the light heavyweight title following his win over Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 back in March 2020. 'Bones' has 11 successful title defenses to his name, the highest in UFC history alongside Demetrious Johnson.
Jon Jones' victory over Dominick Reyes tonight further cements his UFC legacy:
14 title fight wins, most in UFC history.
11 title defenses, tied with Demetrious Johnson for most in UFC history.
20 victories in a single division, 1st fighter in UFC history to accomplish this. https://t.co/WKFtvMTc0M
Despite having lost just one fight in the 205lbs division since 2009, Jones decided to move to the heavyweight division in search of a new challenge. According to Bisping, leaving the light heavyweight division made sense for Jones because he had nothing left to conquer in the division.
In a recently shared video on his YouTube channel, 'The Count' said:
"To be fair, he had done everything he needed to do in the light heavyweight division, Jon Jones. He'd gone through multiple generations of fighters. I know what critics say, critics say, 'Well, Thiago Santos, I think Thiago Santos beat him and he blew out his knee, I think Dominick Reyes almost beat him' but the reality is they didn't beat him and what's Jon gonna do? Just keep fighting at light heavyweight time after time until eventually somebody does [beat him]? He's been been there, done it, got the t-shirt, sold the t-shirt, got more t-shirts. He's got more f***ing t-shirts than you've had hot dinners, okay?"
Watch the video below:
Jon Jones' coach believes fighter will conquer the heavyweight division
Jon Jones is expected to make his much-anticipated heavyweight debut later this year. He is rumored to be fighting either reigning champion Francis Ngannou or former champion Stipe Miocic next. Although Jones has been out of action for over two years now, his coach Brandon Gibson believes that 'Bones' will impress in his divisional debut.
I’ve been hearing whispers about November but honestly I have no clue. Been hearing that Francis could possibly be back on the table though twitter.com/LegendDaddyBea…
During a recent interaction with Submission Radio, Gibson claimed that the 35-year-old possesses the ability to beat both Miocic and Ngannou inside the cage. He claimed that Jones' fight IQ is second to none in the sport and that the former light heavyweight champion is more dynamic and fast compared to other fighters on the heavyweight roster:
"There’s nobody like Jon at heavyweight. Nobody as dynamic, as fast, as gifted in all the disciplines like Jon is. And his IQ is off the chart. Not to say that these other guys aren’t smart, brilliant fighters, but Jon Jones’ IQ and comprehension of his game is unlike anybody else’s in the world."