Jon Jones greeting his parents before the weigh-in

UFC 128 Fight Card: Jon "Bones" Jones...Before, During, and After Weigh-Ins

Ari LeVaux

Jun 7, 2018

Jon "Bones" Jones faces Maurico "Shogun" Rua for the light heavyweight title at UFC 128 on March 19. His parents made the trip from upstate New York to support him. In the picture, he greets his parents before his weigh-in.

Jones' habit in past fights of staring off into the distance, rather than at his opponents, during pre-fight staredowns has helped him "get into the heads" of previous opponents, he has said.

At the staredown following the pre-fight press conference on March 16, Shogun's response to Jones' staredown tactic was unusual. Instead of watching Jones as he stared off into the distance, Shogun appeared to direct his gaze in search of what Jones was looking at.

“It was a mixture of things," Shogun's manager Eduardo Alonso explained to me. "At first it was confusion. Shogun wasn’t sure if he should face off or not. Then when he realized that Jon was doing his bullshit, he played along.”

Alonso predicted that at the weigh-ins, Shogun would face his rival, even if Jones again looked past him. Sure enough, during the staredown following the weigh-in, Shogun stared at Jones' midsection as Jones stared off into the distance - perhaps making a mental note of where to aim one of his legendary liver kicks.

It remains to be seen who got into who's head, and if it matters.