Open Workouts: Jon Jones and Vitor Belfort get ready for UFC 152 (UPDATED WITH VIDEO)
Posted on September 19, 2012, 04:03 PM by Anton Gurevich
UFC 152 is just three days away, as Jon Jones and Vitor Belfort are having their final preparations to what can be easily become a fight for the ages.
The scrap between Jones and Belfort headlines the card, while Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez battle it out for the inagural UFC Flyweight title. Also at UFC 152, Michael Bisping and Brian Stann meet in a potential number one contender bout in the UFC Middleweight division.
UFC 152 combatants participated in an open workout session, which took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Fighters shared their expectations for this Saturday's Octagon action at the Air Canada Centre. Here are the quotes, via official press release:
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones said: “Vitor Belfort is a UFC original, a real, true legend. He has so much experience at so many different weight classes and I cannot underestimate him. He will have something planned for me, and I’ve prepared to react to anything he does.
“He’s a very powerful striker, but in this situation, I feel I am the more versatile striker in the fight. I won’t shy away from a striking battle just because he has a punch. He’s got a unique style and I enjoy matching up against guys like that. There are so many styles in MMA and, being the champion, you have to face all of them.
Vitor Belfort, challenger, said: “Everyday, I have the chance to be the best of myself. Every day I have a day to improve. I know I can win this fight and shock the world. I can bring the old guys some pride back (laughs).
“I am so ready in my mind, it is hard for me to explain. I am so ready to be the champion again. My brain, my body, they are so ready. That’s how I live my life, with belief. I am a winner. I am ready to win. As you get older you learn about yourself. I have the same abilities as I had when I was younger, but now I have more sense of myself. I know how I respond and learn. Whenever someone says something like ‘Can you speak French?’ I don’t say “no” I say “Not yet”.
Moving to the second UFC world title fight at UFC 152, the clash for the newly created UFC flyweight title, Joseph Benavidez said:
“The main goal in my career is to be the UFC champion. I would take that however it comes – but to be the first UFC champion is extra special. If I wasn’t a fighter, and I was just a fan, I would be a fan of DJ. He’s got a great all-action style and I love watching him. My coaches have broken his style down and we got a plan to beat him. My eye is on the prize but I am planning a long reign.
“It was frustrating to wait since February for this fight because DJ had a draw against (Ian) McCall but it was just extra time to get better. Most fighters train when they are fighting, I train to get better all the time. You get better as a fighter when you don’t have a fight but you in the gym – and you’ll see the best version of me yet on Saturday.”
And Demetrious Johnson added: “I first walked into Matt Hume’s gym after seeing Rashad Evans on the Ultimate Fighter (season two, 2006) and I said ‘I saw this guy who is a wrestler, like me, doing well, and I think I want to try it’. I had no idea I was too small for the smallest UFC division back then, but as they kept adding more and more smaller classes I started to believe I would fight at 125lbs in the UFC.
Comments
I like Belfort, I think he's a class act who deserves a ton of credit for taking this fight on short notice.
While he's still a very good fighter, it will take more than that to beat Jones. I think going up to 205 on three weeks notice is a bad idea.
Adding another 20 pounds of muscle means either he's not going to be able to cut as much weight as normal or his gas tank will be impaired.
Tough circumstances to fight for the belt.
there is no way a person can add 20lbs of MUSCLE even in a year unless your juicing the steroids.
Vitor is coming 20lbs heavier than he has in the last couple of years...There is no way in 6weeks he is going to have a gas tank. He thinks he is fooling everyone to say he is ready...He might even be trying to fool himself.... Jones will finish him in 2rounds or less....
Adding 20lbs of muscle in a year is albsolutely possible. Especially when you are a professional athlete your testosterone levels are naturally higher than the average man. That being said it won't be lean, very lean muscle. It'll be unflexible and very powerless muscle.
Homie: Jesus. I'm also somewhat concerned about Vitor's gas tank, Jones will be extra patient in this one, and he's already one of the most patient fighters in the game. However, Vitor seems 100% charged up and on some intense trip that I'm liking a lot.
Anyone catch Bisping throwing the heckler out lol? Guy was talking crap on a professional fighter get real
Alsoit was nice to see Jones get a Champion's welcome
Double Shot. Of KFC. Yeah.
JDnextchamp... your comment might of been the dumbest thing i have ever read lol
vitor has always and i mean always folded like a lawn chair against fighters he cant bully its like some kind of mental block with him he just stops like a deer in headlights. before you mention it the only way he came back from rumble was that rumble completely gassed and practically gave up from exhaustion
Reach, height, strength, youth, and Kimbo beard vs Heart, determination, experience, and speed. I respect Jones as a skilled athlete, I respect Vitor as a man. GO VITOR!!