Jon Jones Speaks On Dead Mother After First UFC Heavyweight Title Defense

Jon Jones had a wild Rollo coaster of a training camp coming into this weekend’s fight with Stipe Miocic and was not in the best condition for the fight.

Nonetheless, he still battered, knocked out and destroyed a six-time heavyweight champion in MMA with ease — showing the ability of Jones at 37 is really in his prime now at heavyweight.

Speaking after the fight at the post-fight UFC press conference Jones said:

“My stylist made me wear those goofy sunglasses, but they work, they work. Yeah, you’re feeling it, I roll with it. Alright, cool. Well, John, congratulations on a successful title defense at heavyweight. So, I guess, you know, like you mentioned at media day, fighting at Madison Square Garden was important to you—fighting in New York and fighting Stipe. Now that you’ve gotten through it in such an impressive fashion, what are the emotions now?
I feel really great. You know, I haven’t watched the fight yet, but based on my team’s reactions, they said, ‘John, you performed great out there.’ You want things to go perfectly, but nothing ever does in the cage. You’re not going to land every shot; you’re going to get hit. But I feel really good, and I can’t wait to watch it. It’s hard to say what my reaction is right now. I’ve won a lot of world championships, so this is a very familiar feeling. But I am incredibly grateful—so grateful. Not everything goes perfect in there.
So, relative to the game plan you guys put together, and how it played out, is that pretty much how you saw it? Like, the trip at the beginning, the elbows, the 12-6 elbows we saw in there?
Yeah, the coaches definitely wanted me to find that 12-6 elbow. I wish I could’ve landed it more cleanly. Stipe did a really good job with his defense. As for the trip, that was completely unexpected. It was a takedown that just kind of came to me in the moment, and I’m really grateful to have pulled that off. One thing I’m really excited about was the spinning back kick—that’s the one thing I’m really pumped about. I have amazing coaches—Brandon Gibson, Greg Jackson, Coach Alex, Coach Aaron. And I want to give a special shoutout to my Taekwondo coach, a guy named Paige Bates from Albuquerque, New Mexico. His family owns Bates Taekwondo, and we started working on the spinning back kick about six months ago. He would come to my house three days a week, and I’d work that same kick from both stances, three hours a week, for several months.
Bruce Lee said he doesn’t fear the man who’s practiced 10,000 kicks, but the man who’s practiced one kick 10,000 times. I put a lot of work into that spinning back kick. It’s just getting faster and more unpredictable. There’s really no tell when it’s coming, and it’s a devastating shot. I didn’t hit Stipe’s liver, I hit him on the opposite side, but it sends shockwaves through a person’s body. It can break a rib—it’s just a really powerful shot. So I’m really proud to land that shot after all the hours of work. Big shoutout to Paige.
And throughout the fight, especially in the beginning, it looked like the jab was really frustrating him, and then the kicks to the body. By the end, it seemed like he was slowing down. Was the plan to methodically break him down like that?
Yeah, my goal was to frustrate Stipe and break him down. He beat Daniel Cormier with that left hook to the liver, over and over again, and I really wanted to land that same shot. But once I felt his punching power, I didn’t want to lean to my right (my left), and I didn’t want to be in range of his right hand. A clean straight right could end your night. So instead of working the left hook to the body like we planned, I worked my kicks to the body, the spinning kicks, and jabbed to the body, and it worked out great. I watched his fight with DC, and we noticed that Stipe can take punishment—he’s a nightmare. You can hit him and hit him, and he shows no emotion. That’s why he’s a six-time world champion. But we put him down, and I’m grateful. He announced he’s retiring, said, ‘I’m hanging it up.’
Did you get a chance to talk to him after the fight?
No, I didn’t get a chance to talk to him. I spoke with his coaches at different times—some in the octagon, some backstage. They’re all really respectful guys, and you can see why Stipe’s had such a long career. He has a solid team around him.
Dana was in here, and he mentioned if you want the Tom fight, you’ll need to be well compensated. He also said he probably won’t hear from you until you’re ready to talk. So what’s your plan moving forward?
I’m not really focused on the Tom fight right now. I’m really focused on the Pereira fight—that’s what I want. I think if the UFC wants to have me back, that’s the fight they’ll make. I’ve been pretty clear about my intentions. I want that fight. If I have to retire the heavyweight belt to make it happen, then so be it. At the end of the day, I feel like I’ve created something much bigger than belts. I want to fight Pereira.
Dana mentioned that he doesn’t think the Pereira fight is a good idea for me because he believes my wrestling and size would outweigh what Pereira has to offer. What do you think about Dana’s take on that?
Well, styles make matchups. Pereira’s knockout power transcends weight. He’s a special fighter. For me, though, fighting Pereira would be worth it. People can call me a coward or whatever, but at the end of the day, I’m going home with a big check. So if they want to call me a ‘duck’ or a ‘chicken,’ I’m still getting paid. It’s funny. I’m not worried about that.
And if it doesn’t happen, I just want to express my love for Jesus and how proud I am to be an American champion. If that was my last fight ever, I’m cool with that. It was a great way to go out—fighting in front of my president, Donald Trump.
You mentioned earlier about sometimes hitting Stipe, and he didn’t react to the elbows or anything. Were you surprised by his lack of reaction, especially with how tough those elbows were?
Yeah, it was weird, man. His head seemed massive, seriously. And I’m not trying to insult him, but it looked like something out of a video game. I had to get past that, but then when I would hit him, he didn’t react. It was like he didn’t feel anything. A lot of fighters would have quit after taking that level of ground and pound, but Stipe’s just different. I realized pretty early that his body would be my way to victory, and I started really focusing on the body shots.
Two more quick ones. You’ve mentioned before the disrespect Stipe showed you, and there’s a clip that’s been circulating of him talking about your children. Is that the clip you were referring to?
No, it wasn’t that one. It was a clip of him in his living room. I don’t remember exactly what he said, but it was something like, ‘When my kids look back at me, they won’t think I’m a p****’ MMA fans will find it, I’m sure. I’m not making it up. Even if I did, it’s the fight business. If I need to hype myself up, I will, but the truth is he called me a p****. And tonight, I made him pay for it.
And last one: You mentioned training the spinning back kick for three hours a week. Did you train it because you thought it would work against Stipe, or did you just want to add something cool to your arsenal?
I realized I had the spinning back kick down pretty naturally, but I wanted to make it better. It’s a devastating move, in my opinion, the most powerful kick in martial arts. I don’t have one-punch knockout power, so I figured, why not develop a technique that could stop any man? The spinning back kick could drop anyone. If I catch you just right, you’re going down. I’ll keep working on it, and I’m sure all future opponents saw that and know it could easily happen to them. So, I’ll just keep improving it.
Both your brothers were in the NFL, and you’re considered the greatest of all time. Honestly, who’s the best athlete out of you and your brothers?
The best athlete? Chandler, my little brother. Chandler’s an extraordinary athlete—really special. I love him to death. If he decided to be an MMA fighter, he’d do really well. He’s a freak.
And speaking of family, your mom would be so proud of you today. Looking back from when she passed to now, how much have you grown as a person, and how proud do you think she’d be?
My mom used to worry about me a lot. I was the one son she stayed up all night for, the one who started staying out at parties and not coming home. She used to pray for me a lot. I know she’d be incredibly proud of the man I’m turning into. And I shouldn’t say ‘would be’—I know for a fact she is proud. I had a dream about her this morning, and it was like she was telling me I can still talk to her. It was really beautiful. I felt her with me today, and it was a really special moment.
Thank you for letting me acknowledge her.”