"We think we're bada**" - UFC Hall-of-Famer casually dismisses NBA player James Johnson claiming he could beat Jon Jones
UFC Hall-of-Famer Michael Bisping has weighed in on James Johnson's claim of possibly beating Jon Jones.
'The Count' recently uploaded a video to his YouTube channel, during which he shared his thoughts on the NBA star's huge claims. Bisping argued that Johnson might have let his imagination get the better of him. The former UFC champion then labeled the whole debate as 'stupid':
"Give me a f**king break! 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 done it. 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 shadow-boxing, we think we're a bada**. You go down the pub, you have a few beers, you think you can take this on... the list goes on... That's like me saying, 'Listen, give me a year. I will learn how to play basketball, even though I've only got one eye and no depth perception whatsoever. I've got the feet, I've got the skills, I've got the cardio, I've got the will to win.' It's nonsense. It's stupid," said Michael Bisping.
Check out Bisping's comments from the 1:30 mark below:
The entire controversy surrounding Jon Jones and James Johnson started when the latter said in an interview that he could get the better of the UFC heavyweight king after taking defense training for a year.
James Johnson: Does the basketball player who called out Jon Jones have a MMA background?
NBA star James Johnson, who recently made headlines for saying that he could defeat Jon Jones, has prior experience in MMA.
Before joining the NBA, the 36-year-old was an MMA fighter with seven professional fights to his name. Johnson also has an impressive kickboxing record of 20-0. In addition to that, the basketball player also holds a black belt in karate and a second-degree black belt in martial arts.
Johnson has also gone on record to express interest in joining the UFC after he is done with his basketball career:
“I’ve been fighting my whole life… That’s my first love, my first passion. 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.”
Catch Johnson's comments here (1:00):