UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has admitted that he doesn't possess the knockout power of his UFC 187 opponent Anthony "Rumble" Johnson, and a common opponent has weighed in with his thoughts--Alexander Gustafsson.
"Oh, he hits harder than Jones, yeah," Gustafsson said. Gustafsson took Jones the distance and lost a very narrow unanimous decision. Against Johnson, Gustafsson lost by TKO in Round 1.
"Rumble, when he connects, you feel it. That's what Jones has to be careful of, his power. When he comes with the pressure, he has really good pressure. He's really dangerous as a light heavyweight."
Jones won't be offended. He said as much in recent interviews, and brought up comments made by Quinton "Rampage" Jackson about not being able to "bust a grape."
"He has much more striking power than I do. That's pretty obvious. I haven't knocked out anything," Jones admitted. "Rampage said I couldn't bust a grape, and I think that is true.
"I have a great staff of people around me, really smart coaches. We're not naïve to our strengths and our weaknesses. We'll come up with an appropriate strategy to be successful."
Gustafsson is inclined to agree with Jones' assessment. Johnson's striking advantage is clear, but striking isn't the only aspect of mixed martial arts. Jones' game is so well-rounded, he has a number of ways to go about defeating all kinds of opponents.
"It's a tough call," Gustafsson said. "I think Jones will win the fight, because he has more leverage and he has a little bit more, he mixes things up, as everyone knows. So I think he will win this fight. But that said, Rumble is a great fighter, and a great person and he's heavy handed. So, you know, anything can happen in a fight. You have to keep your chin down and your hands up. I'm very excited for that fight."
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