Jon Jones Calls Holly Holm G.O.A.T. And Aims To Be The Same
Jon Jones declared Holly Holm the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) in women’s combat sports, via Facebook following her victory over Ronda Rousey on Saturday, November 14 before a stadium crowd of 56,214 in Melbourne, Australia. Former Ultimate Fighting Championship Light Heavyweight title-holder Jones, 28, released his comment to address questions about his comeback after a hit-and-run case disqualified him in April 2015.
According to Fox Sports, Jon Jones and Holly Holm, 34, have been close teammates under coaches Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn at the at Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Considered Holm’s secret weapon for helping to train her, Jones had this to say on Facebook.
“She was considered the greatest female boxer to ever compete in the sport and now she has defeated the greatest female mixed martial arts fighter to date.”
Holm herself has given Jon credit for her fight-preparedness at UFC 193 where she took the belt away from Rousey, 28, with a second-round knockout. In a promotional conference call transcribed by MMA Fighting, Holm referred to Jones’ influence as she prepared for the event at Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium on November 14 (November 15 local time in Australia).
“Obviously, he’s not going to be sparring with me the way he would with the big heavyweights. But we have the same coaches, we have the same team and I love to hear his input, because he’s obviously been able to take what our coaches teach and put it together perfectly. So I love to hear his input on it and he has been very helpful and very instrumental in this fight camp.”
With his name being bandied about as an MMA icon, Jon Jones is trying live past the Albuquerque accident on April 26 in which his vehicle struck a car driven by a pregnant woman and he fled the scene, leaving her with a broken arm. According to the Vancouver Sun, a police report based on the testimony of witnesses accused Jones of running from a crash resulting in the hospitalization of the other driver, who was pregnant. Jones then reportedly doubled back to his rental car to “grab a wad of cash,” but left behind a pipe with marijuana in it and rental car documents in his name.
Jon Jones’ case was resolved with a guilty plea to a charge of leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in injury to the other driver. While he was ordered to serve up to 18 months of supervised probation, his plea deal kept a felony conviction off his record. The plea agreement led to him being officially reinstated by the UFC in October.
The light-heavyweight title Jon Jones vacated was assumed by Daniel Cormier, who won it by submitting Anthony Johnson at UFC 187 in May. Cormier then successfully defended the title by besting Alexander Gustafsson in an October five-round match at UFC 192.
According to Fox Sports, the ex-champ has not fought in the Octagon since January when he defeated Cormier by unanimous decision, before the April accident finally stripped him of his belt. Jon Jones’ aim is to be ready by April 23, 2016, the date of UFC 198, scheduled to take place at Madison Square Garden if the UFC is able to get MMA sanctioned in New York on time. However, Cormier has told the press several times that he does not want to fight in Jones’ home state of New York.
“Started powerlifting June 1, 2015. In just about seven months of training four days a week, my body has made a complete transformation. Off season 2013 vs off season 2015. Five more months to prepare for this win. I’ll be sure to be at my best April 23rd.”
The sweet victory enjoyed by teammate Holly Holm seems to have inspired Jon Jones to aim for a similar high when he returns to the Octagon.
[Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images]
