Jon Jones is the top mixed martial artist in the world, and the reigning champion of UFC's light heavyweight division. That does not mean he's an expert in all forms of fighting though. In fact, he's a mere white belt in jiu-jitsu.
"Before anything else he needs to learn the principles of jiu jitsu, understand the rules, the philosophy, he has to spend some time. I can't just give him the belt because he's Jon Jones," his coach Robert Tussa said.
According to Tussa, it doesn't matter that Jones has knocked off jiu-jitsu stars like Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort. He won't shoot up and grab higher belts by winning in the Octagon without truly mastering the craft.
"So, about that classic photo where he's got the white-belt, I said 'Jon, I'm going to put the white belt on you because you never trained in the gi. You're good as hell, you caught a black-belt in a guillotine and all, but that doesn't make you a black-belt.' So, I want him to put in work.
"It's a way of forcing him to put on the gi and take some lessons, the same way my other students do. I don't think it's fair to my students who work one or two years to get a blue-belt for Jon - because he's a UFC star - to get the blue belt without knowing the philosophy, without knowing who my master is. That's how I think and he respects that a lot."
This might be a signal for his UFC 187 opponent, Anthony "Rumble" Johnson, to brush up on his jiu-jitsu, but it's unlikely the challenger will stray from his lethal striking and ground game. Johnson believes he will be the hardest puncher Jones has ever faced in his career.
"I think I'll be the hardest puncher he's ever faced, and he's faced a lot of top-quality guys," Johnson said. "Hopefully I can just do things that nobody else has done to him. Alex gave him the worst beating he's ever had. Hopefully I can give him 10 times worse."
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