Glover Teixeira shared the cage with Jon Jones eight years ago for the UFC’s 205-pound title, and now expects the former light heavyweight king to find success in his new division.
As a man who bounced back from his 2014 loss to Jones and ultimately became the UFC champion, Teixeira feels “Bones” has the ideal fighting style to compete among heavier opposition, starting with his UFC 285 clash with Ciryl Gane for the vacant title.
“There’s a few fights where you could say, ‘Oh he lost that one. It was close’, like those with Dominick Reyes and [Thiago Santos] but he sustained no damage,” Teixeira said to MMA Fighting in an interview given by Stake, his sponsor. “He hasn’t done much, but he didn’t get hit much either.
“I think that’s a great style for heavyweight because he doesn’t get hit often, doesn’t make mistakes to get countered. He’s more cautious in terms of not getting hit and coming out unscathed, and I think he’s winning the decision.”
Jones defeated most of his UFC opponents in the early stages of his career, before going on to a series of decision-making runs that included Teixeira. “Bones” stopped Daniel Cormier and Alexander Gustafsson in rematches before more decisions versus Anthony Smith, Santos, and Reyes.
It remains to be seen how Jones will perform at heavyweight, and Teixeira wonders if Jones “might get tired” carrying that extra weight.
” “I believe Jon Jones’ wrestling will make the difference,” said he. “He studies the fights a lot, especially the last ones at light heavyweight, and can end the fight at any moment, but he goes to a decision a lot.”
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/3/4/23623783/glover-teixeira-jon-jones-fighting-style-great-heavyweight-ufc-285?rand=96749
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