Jon Jones’ jiu-jitsu coach Roberto “Tussa” Alencar insists that Stipe Miocic deserves respect, and shouldn’t be missed forward of UFC 309, however a lot of the pre-fight chatter in New York is centered round who would “Bones” face if he doesn’t retire this weekend at Madison Sq. Backyard.
Alencar feels that some followers have forgotten how nice Miocic is given his lengthy layoff since dropping to Francis Ngannou in March of 2021, however “the heavyweight GOAT” can upset Jones — and deserves respect for that.
“We are able to’t take into consideration [Tom] Aspinall or [Alex Pereira] ‘Poatan’ proper now,” Alencar stated. “We’re requested about it and we reply, however our focus is on Stipe. We respect the champion he’s. That is the struggle we needed since day one. [Jones] went to heavyweight aiming at Stipe, the heavyweight GOAT. I imagine some followers wish to see Jon’s downfall, and Stipe is able to profitable this struggle on the ft and on the bottom. He’s confirmed that, knocking out a variety of heavyweights and taking Francis down for 5 rounds. Stipe has a well-rounded recreation, and we respect how harmful he’s.”
Jones has talked about a need to compete in “superfights” after UFC 309, and even instructed vacating the heavyweight belt to chase “enjoyable fights,” and his coach stated there’s no probability Jones locations his glove on the octagon to announce his retirement with a win over Miocic.
“It gained’t be the tip, until the UFC desires that,” Alencar stated. “If the UFC desires to do a superfight, he’s prepared to entertain megafights. Francis in Abu Dhabi, which has a ton of cash and may do a megafight like that, or ‘Poatan’, who I imagine is a struggle that pursuits Jon for the legacy.”
Ngannou lately returned to combined martial arts after a brief and profitable — however winless — expertise in boxing and dismantled PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira inside one spherical in Saudi Arabia. Nonetheless, Alencar calls Pereira — the UFC gentle heavyweight king and former UFC middleweight and two-division GLORY champion — “extra harmful” than Ngannou.
“Francis has the boxing, ‘Poatan’ has all the things,” Alencar stated. “[Pereira] has the sharp boxing, he has the kicks, the flying knees and all the things else. I feel ‘Poatan’ has extra weapons than Francis. You’ll be able to type of guess what Francis will do. He has the left hook and the best hand mixture, however ‘Poatan’ has the expertise on the ft. To me, he’s probably the most harmful [than Ngannou and Aspinall], for certain, for being lighter and having that large knockout energy.”
On the bottom, nevertheless, “Tussa” sees the UFC interim titleholder as a trickier match-up.
“Within the jiu-jitsu space, Tom is [more dangerous] as a result of he has an aggressive jiu-jitsu and submissions,” Alencar stated. “I’m a fan of Alex for all the things he’s doing in his profession, however I imagine Tom Aspinall, together with his credentials… We all know ‘Poatan’ comes from a kickboxing background and is coaching arduous on his takedown and judo, I noticed a video of him coaching with Kayla Harrison, however for being heavier and youthful and having that have on the bottom, I feel that Tom Aspinall offers Jon extra work [on the ground].”
