Jon Jones: "I Should Be The Underdog.."
Jon “Bones” Jones, UFC Light Heavyweight prospect, has difficulty understanding why he’s been favored in his past fights and his upcoming fight at UFC 126 this Saturday, against undefeated Ryan “Darth” Bader, winner of The Ultimate Fighter 8.
At the UFC 126 pre-fight conference, Jones said, "I should be the underdog in every situation. I'm 23 years old. All these guys are older than me. I've only been training for three years. Everyone has been training longer than me that I've fought so far.” Jones made reference to Vladimir Matyushenko, Jake O’Brien, Matt Hamill and Stephan Bonnar in regards to their long lists of credentials in the sport.
While stating the worth of some of his opponents, Jones also confirmed his own confidence in himself and his team, "I always believe in my own capabilities because if you don't believe in yourself, who's going to believe in you? I feel as if I take the time to study any opponent, I can come up with enough confidence and enough tactic and strategy to pull off a win against anyone. I have a lot of faith and confidence in the people who train me. Training with Team Jackson, I know in my heart that there are not too many camps that can compete with that. I have people that make me go to work, and I feel like they've made me work. The work is already done, and now it's time for me to go out there and do what we're capable of.”
"Hype doesn't get you a win. Hard work gets you a win. I'm sick of the hype train. Hopefully after Feb. 5 when I'm in the middle of the octagon, I'm sweating, I'm doing my interview, you'll see a 23-year-old boy who's worked his ass off to be standing there in front of Joe Rogan to be giving that interview. Hopefully I can derail the Jon Jones hype train by showing people that I'm serious, and I work hard to be where I'm at."
