Jon Jones might be the light heavyweight champion, but you wouldn’t know it if you check out his upcoming match against Daniel Cormier.
“Bones” says he won’t be bringing the light heavyweight strap with him to the Octagon at UFC 182 on January 3 and won’t be carrying the belt with him for any future matches in general.
Why?
He doesn’t want his opponent to see what they are competing for. Jones says he was inspired by ‘Shogun’ Rua’s brother bringing the title out before he won the belt at UFC 128 in 2011.
“When I fought Shogun, his brother Ninja Rua brought the belt out to the cage,” Jones said. “And when I was in the cage and I saw Ninja was holding the belt over Shogun, I remember feeling this feeling in my heart that there was nothing in the Octagon that could happen where I wouldn’t leave without that belt. It reminded me why I was there, what I was there for.”
Jones wants to prevent his opponents from being as motivated as he was (finishing Rua by TKO in the third round).
“I’m watching Shogun, and then I just see that belt and all my nervousness went away,” Jones said. “Everything went away. I was like, ‘whoa, the belt is right there. I can view this. It’s so close. I’m probably going home with the belt.’ I just became superhuman after that and that’s probably why Shogun lost so much. That belt, I got to see it right before the fight. You dangled it over me.”
With hype for his match against Cormier reaching a fever pitch, Jones said he doesn’t want to add any fuel to the fire.
“For the contender, just to see that right before the match?” Jones asked. “It’s like drinking a gallon of water right before walking into the desert, you know what I mean?”
