Despite Jon Jones’ initial doubts found in the following story, Thiago Santos proved that he was a worthy opponent when he took the LHW GOAT to the only split decision of his career three years ago. Tonight at UFC Vegas 50, Santos will go up against another dominant light heavyweight in Magomed Ankalaev in the main event.
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[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JUNE 25, 2019, 1:37 PM]
Jon Jones is no more worried about Thiago Santos’ knockout power than he is that of his fiancée.
At UFC 239 Jon Jones will defend his light heavyweight championship against the dangerous Thiago Santos. The story leading up to the fight is that the power Santos possesses in his limbs could be the key to someone finally defeating Jon Jones. Though this might be an area of concern for some fans and betters of Jon Jones come July 6, it isn’t to the man himself, who believes that power is universal; execution is not:
“No, I’m not worried about him at all,” Jones said in an appearance on The Ariel Helwani MMA Show on Monday. “I feel like my fiancée’s strong enough to knock me out if I put my hands behind my back and let her punch me right in the chin. A lot of people hit hard. Everybody has the power to knock out anybody. My manager can knock me out if I let him punch me in the face. It’s about being smart enough to land that punch.”
Of course, one glaring difference between Thiago Santos and Jon Jones’s fiancée is that, unlike his fiancée, Santos has 15 wins by knockout. But Jones maintains that it isn’t the heavy hitters like Quinton Jackson, Glover Teixeira, Vitor Belfort he has fought in the past that concern him, it is those who can test his fight psychology:
“Everyone hits hard,” Jones reiterated. “The fighters that concern me the most are the intelligent fighters, the guys who can set up those punches or set up a solid game plan. So I’m not too worried about Thiago. I’ve fought many guys with big muscles and big knockout power. I started doing that at 23 years old.
“So, no, I’m not worried about anything. I’ve just got to go out there, have faith in my abilities, and my team that’s around me, my intelligence towards the game, and everything else will fall into place.”
Do you believe Jon Jones should be worried about Thiago Santos’s knockout power?
