With Jon Jones’ return to the UFC on the horizon, the UFC heavyweight champion is being talked about a little more than usual.
On November 16th, Jon Jones will finally make his return to action in what could be his last fight inside the UFC Octagon when he takes on Stipe Miocic in a highly anticipated heavyweight title bout in the main event of UFC 309.
The two were originally scheduled to face each other last November, but “Bones” tore his pectoralis major muscle during training, resulting in an extended period of time away from competition.
NBA star James Johnson claims he can beat Jon Jones in mixed martial arts
During Jones’ timeouts, he is constantly approached by interim champion Tom Aspinall, who expects the greatest fighter of all time to stay after the Miocic fight and fight him if he wins.
But Aspinall isn’t the only sports star to make headlines for abusing a champion. James Johnson, a power forward for the NBA’s Indiana Pacers, claimed he could beat “Bones” in an MMA match.
Last year, the NBA star made the bold claim that he could beat Jones inside the Octagon after a year of MMA training. The 37-year-old recently doubled down on his bizarre claims, sparking a reaction from the heavyweight champion.
Johnson, who claims to have a background in kickboxing, said he has a 20-0 record in the ring, but martial arts sites that track records list no evidence of his undefeated record.
“I truly believe (I can beat Jon Jones). I’ve been doing this all my life. Real training is about laying that foundation. I think I’m going to have an advantage in terms of going into a fight. I feel like I’ve become,” Johnson claimed on the OG podcast.
Jon Jones responds to ridiculous claims from NBA stars
With just over a week left until his long-awaited return, Jones took some time out of camp to respond to Johnson’s ridiculously bold comments.
“I never knew basketball players could get CTE, too. This guy seems crazy,” Jones cheerfully replied.
The 37-year-old champ isn’t the only UFC fighter to fire NBA players in the comments section of the post, as former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya also had a comical reaction to Johnson’s claims.
“I see my red brother!” Adesanya commented.
Johnson is said to have an MMA record of 7-0, but like his kickboxing record, it is not tracked on major MMA record-tracking websites.
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