“When I heard the show was going to get canceled, I offered myself,” Belfort told MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. “I said ‘Lorenzo, you know me, I come from the old school, if you need me to save the show to fight Jones … if somebody got hurt, if you need me, just let me know.’”
“I have a lot of respect for Jon Jones,” said Belfort. “I’m very grateful for opportunity. Stepping into this fight, its old lion vs. young lion, so it’s pretty cool.”
“I’m an old lion, I have tricks, you know what I mean?” asked Belfort, who will prepare for the fight with the Blackzilian camp. “I’ve been around. I’ve take all kinds of beatings in life, not just inside Octagon, but outside as well. It’s just using my experience and using my knowledge and getting ready. … I like him as well, he’s very nice, very polite, so soft spoken, and a great athlete. That’s good, the sport’s getting bigger. How many guys from my era are around. Not much? How many guys from when I was fighting and winning my first title in ’96, I don’t know what Jon Jones was doing [then]. I’m privileged to fight a guy like him, It’s a privilege to me. I never thought I’d be around that much, 17 years of a career, and having this chance for the light heavyweight title. It’s a title that I had before in 2004. Here I am again with this opportunity.”
