Jon Jones: Fulfilling a Dream

From MMAMadness.com: When Jon Jones first signed with the UFC, his sights were set on UFC 100.

 “My fiancée has been saying, ‘Baby, how funny would it be if you made the main card for UFC 100?’” Jones told MMAMadness.com. “It’s just been thrown around my household so many times.”

 Jones is indeed fighting at UFC 100. While he might not be on the main card, Jones is just excited to showcase his skills at what could be the biggest mixed martial arts event ever.

 “It’s once in a lifetime,” Jones said. “There’s people that have been training at this sport for years that have never made it. I’ve dedicated my life to it and now I’m making it, it’s just a blessing.”

 Jones will face off against Jake O’Brien, a former heavyweight with strong wrestling skills.

 “[Jake and I] actually shared locker rooms our last fight so I got to see him work pads and see a lot of what he does and I realized how big he was, so I’ve been training really hard in the weight room,” Jones said. “I don’t think him being stronger than me is going to be an issue.”

 In preparation for the bout, Jones has been training with the Cornell University wrestling team, who took third in the NCAA  wrestling tournament last season.

 “Jake has a really strong double leg dive, and I’m sure he’s a really smart wrestler,” Jones said. “I’m working a lot of moves from the front headlock position, a lot of submissions from the front headlock, a lot of attacks from the front headlock.”

 “If people thought I was a great wrestler in the [Stephen] Bonnar fight, I’m really going to be much sharper in this Jake O’Brien fight,” Jones said.

 Undefeated at 8-0, Jones had yet to have a fight go past the second round when he entered the UFC. He has yet to finish an opponent in the octagon, winning decision victories against Andre Gusmao and the aforementioned Bonnar, but Jones is actually happy that he has now fought to the final bell.

 “I actually love the fact that I have two decisions,” Jones said. “Going 15 minutes against Gusmao, at the time that was the toughest opponent I’d ever faced, and it showed me that I could do it, and I could go 15 minutes. Now that I have that jitter out, I know that I can do it”

 “I don’t mind not finishing people,” Jones said.

 Another jitter that Jones won’t have is protecting his undefeated record.

 “I realize that Fedor Emelianenko, Georges St. Pierre, Anderson Silva, my idols, they all have losses on their records,” Jones said.

 “I hear a lot of people say, once you lose, it really elevates you to another level, so I’m not really worried about taking a loss,” Jones said. “I know that I’m going to train as hard as possible, and I’m going to go into the fight with sheer confidence, and if a loss happens, obviously that guy was better than me that day and I won’t come up with excuses.”

 “But do I see that happening anytime soon?” Jones asks. “No way.”

Cameron Gidari is the Associate Editor at MMAMadness.com. He can be reached with questions and comments at [e-mail].