Following Anderson Silva's knockout defeat at the hands of Chris Weidman, light heavyweight champion Jon "Bones" Jones has assumed the mantle of UFC's undisputed pound-for-pound champion.
Jones has run wild over every fighter in his path, but something about his next opponent, Alexander Gustafsson, has the light heavyweight champ concerned.
"The thing that excites me the most about Alexander is that he's young, and I'm sure he has an ambition to win this fight that I maybe haven't seen in a few opponents," Jones said while promoting the September 21st event.
"All the guys I have fought are a lot older. A lot of the guys I've fought have had the life, have been there, done that already. Alexander doesn't have that, and he wants that. Me knowing that, I've got to train my butt off to destroy any thoughts he has of destroying my life."
Gustafsson has an impressive record that nearly matches Jones', 15-1-0, 9 KO, and at six feet, four inches can match up with "Bones" in the height department. "It's all about working hard every day," Gustafsson said. "It's going to come down to who's working the hardest."
Jones sounded calm when asked about finding someone to train with that can mimic Gustafsson's height and style.
"I don't try to bring in anybody to fight like Alexander Gustafsson," he said. "He has a very unique style between his standup and the way he holds his hands, throws his punches and his kicks and things. My biggest thing is to just become the strongest and most fit I can become and make sure that I'm aware of his tactics, aware of his defenses, aware of where he's obviously spent more time and where he hasn't, and just put it all in a very honest perspective and come up with a formula."
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