Jon Jones explains why he is “not worried about cardio” ahead of UFC heavyweight debut

By Harry Kettle - January 15, 2021

UFC legend Jon Jones has explained why he isn’t particularly concerned about cardio playing a negative role when he moves up to heavyweight.

Jon Jones, Dana White

The former light heavyweight king has vacated his throne at 205 pounds, and now, he’ll be attempting to achieve something that very few other fighters have achieved—he will try and win a world title at two separate weight classes.

When asked about whether or not the extra weight will have an impact on his cardio, “Bones” had the following response.

“No I’m not worried about cardio,” Jones wrote. “I hold myself to a very high standard. A light heavyweight standard. Some of these guys may be stronger, but they can’t possibly push as hard as I can. I’ve been able to outwork literally every LHW, i’ll do the same at heavy… It’s called heart”.

The likelihood is that Jones will fight the winner of Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou 2 for the UFC Heavyweight Championship, and during a recent interview, he made it clear that he’s confident in going up against either of them.

“I’ve been feeling so alive lately in my training,” Jones told Bleacher Report. “I’ve been feeling so motivated. So inspired. It’s just a great feeling. I know this motivation and this liveliness I’ve been feeling is going to translate into dominating victories.”

“I’ll be ready for either of them,” Jones added. “Both fights are extremely challenging. Stipe, he’s the greatest heavyweight of all time. He has all the stats and records to prove that. And then Francis is just a freak when it comes to his knockout power, and he’s improving constantly.

“Both fights are gigantic challenges, but that’s what I’m here for in this stage of my career: to go big and see what I’ve got.”

Who out of Miocic and Ngannou poses the biggest threat to Jon Jones in his heavyweight debut?