Maynard: Jon Jones hasn’t had a ‘real fight’ yet
“Obviously (Jon Jones) is doing a great job, but he’s hasn’t gotten punched yet,” Gray Maynard said. “And there’s going…
“Obviously (Jon Jones) is doing a great job, but he’s hasn’t gotten punched yet,” Gray Maynard said. “And there’s going to be a fight were he’s gonna get punched, so until then… He’s had performances where he’s looked great, but he hasn’t had a ‘real fight’ yet. I think Rashad would be the best match up for him, and of course I’d go with Rashad on that one. The guy’s an athlete. He’s in a groove and he’s looked unreal, so I can’t wait for him to beat Jones.”
“I think Gil (Melendez) is great, I think he’s a tough kid. I want the top guys in the world. As of now, I’d say Gilbert is. They’re talking about Jim Miller, he wants a chance. I beat him. They’re talking about Denis Siver, I already beat him. I think Gilbert would be a great fight. It’s really up to [the UFC]. They know how to do that stuff, and for me I’ll go up against whoever they choose.
“I think he’s good, I think he’s been doing a great job for a long time, but he did have a year off whereas Jim Miller, Edgar, me, we’ve all been going at it hard. There’s a few others that are in there as well, but we’ve been going probably three times a year against all the top guys so only time will tell. We just got to get in there and fight and figure it out.”
“I had two shots, I beat (Anthony Pettis) one time. He hasn’t beat me yet. The champ hasn’t beat me yet, period. Anthony got lucky as hell to have a chance [at a title shot], because really who has he fought? Ben Henderson? That’s the top of his list. And I’m not saying that he’s not there yet or he’s not good, but look at all the guys that I’ve gone up against: Florian, Nate Diaz, Miller, Edgar, Denis Siver, Rich Clementi, Huerta in the past three years. Those guys are around the top 10 so who’s gone up against the top guys in the world? I think that proves it.
“And then you get Anthony Pettis who gets a title shot off of going up against Roller, Castillo, Ben Henderson and… I can’t even think of the other names. They haven’t even touched the top 10. Anthony, he wanted Edgar. That’s a better match up for him so of course he’s going to say that.”
“Melvin Guillard he’s doing a great job, but who has he fought. Evan (Dunham) was a great win, that kid is tough, but before that he eked out a win against Jeremy Stephens; Tibau was a tough fight too. But not top 10 guys, you know.
“He’s good though. I watched his fight against Jeremy Stephens. It was alright. You know, if he catches you, yeah, he’s got heavy hands. He’s got more KOs in round one than two or three, and for me looking at that, it’s like, ‘Alright, be careful with that part, but then he starts to slow down.’ I don’t judge guys off of the quick fights, I judge them off of three round scraps that are back and forth. That’s hard. Does he have heart? Is he there for the whole fight? That’s how I look at a guy.”
“I don’t really put (Eddie Alvarez) at the top, just because, you’ve got to beat the best. That’s who I’ve asked for the past three years and that’s who I’ve had. Top guys. It’s easy to look good going up against a guy who isn’t good. It’s like, ‘Oh my God, did you see his striking? Wow, that was a knockout!’ Well who’d you fight? That’s all it is. But I think Eddie’s tough. He has skills and he’s tough, but you gotta go up against the best and then you’ll know for sure.”
“Obviously he’s doing a great job, but he’s hasn’t gotten punched yet. And there’s going to be a fight were he’s gonna get punched, so until then… He’s had performances where he’s looked great, but he hasn’t had a ‘real fight’ yet. I think Rashad would be the best match up for him, and of course I’d go with Rashad on that one. The guy’s an athlete. He’s in a grove and he’s looked unreal, so I can’t wait for him to beat Jones.”