Jon Jones Watched His Own Fights on Mute to Prepare for Matt Hamill
(Fun Fact: Jon Jones has the longest recorded reach in UFC history. Deal with it, Lesnar.)
Jon Jones always seems to come up with creative ways to get himself mentally prepared for a fight. If you had read this Fight Magazine cover story, you’d know all about his decision to mark out Stephan Bonnar’s physical dimensions with pieces of tape on the wall of his home, just as a daily reminder of where Bonnar’s head would be when they finally got in the cage together. To get ready for Matt Hamill, he says he decided to go back and watch some of his own fights with the sound off, and it actually helped him gain a little extra understanding of his deaf opponent:
“I’m trying to put myself in his head, see what he sees,” said Jones. “It also helps to not be influenced by the commentary. Sometimes you hear [UFC color commentator Joe Rogan] say stuff like, ‘What a huge right hand,’ and it changes the way you see things. I want to know what he’s seeing when he looks at me and figure out what he might try to do. Without the sound, you really see a lot more of the details that you usually miss.”
That’s one way of getting in your opponent’s head. Jones also talked about his grueling training camp at Greg Jackson’s gym, saying he now feels like Rashad Evans and Keith Jardine are his “big brothers.” Guess that means there’s one more Jackson’s camp guy who absolutely, positively won’t fight his teammates for any amount of money. Somewhere, steam is coming out of Dana White‘s ears.
