Jon Jones was originally scheduled to fight Daniel Cormier in his last fight, but when the champion withdrew due to injury, Jones fought Ovince Saint Preux for the interim light heavyweight title.
Although Jones won a decision over Saint Preux, some fans and media criticized his performance against the late replacement. Jones however had a couple things to say to those critics:
“I think a lot factored into that last performance. I had a lot going on in my personal life. I was in jail earlier that month and my mom got her leg cut off in the same week. I hadn’t fought in over 15 months, I had a last minute opponent change, a bigger, stronger, knockout artist as opposed to a grinder. Just a lot of factors, re-factored into that performance,” Jones told FOX Sports on Wednesday.
“I felt just slightly off my game because of all those different factors and it resulted in a not very entertaining performance.”
“To a mixed martial artist, to a trained eye, that fight was masterful in some ways,” Jones continued. “Did I get a big knockout and get drunk people off their seats? No, but did I hit and not be hit? Yes. I’ve fought many different martial artists and as a martial artist myself, I look at it as being masterful. I fought with no agenda. I wasn’t trying to be entertaining. I wasn’t trying to finish the fight necessarily. I was just out there fighting. I was just out there enjoying my art and I’m really happy with the performance.”
