Next month Jon "Bones" Jones will step into the octagon against Glover Teixeira to defend his light heavyweight title at UFC 172. The pound-for-pound king of mixed martial arts was severely tested in his last fight, and now Teixeira is making bold claims about the outcome of their upcoming bout.
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Clearly Alexander Gustafsson shattered Jones' aura of invincibility, because Teixeira is gunning to put him down before all the rounds are done. "He's the champion, but I believe in my skills," Teixeira said. "I believe that April 26 I'm going to go over there and knock this guy out."
Indeed Teixeira is well-known for his prodigious power, and because of that he expresses little fear of Jones' technical prowess. "I have the power to beat him, I have these skills... People always tell me, 'Oh, are you bringing this guy or that guy to simulate Jon Jones?' But I don't really worry about him. In my mind, man, he has to worry about what I'm going to do with him," Teixeira said.
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One of the key words Teixeira said was skills; going through his record is to see that his game is more well-rounded than advertised. He's won two of his last five fights via submission, two by stoppage, as well as a unanimous decision win over Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.
Additionally, Jones thrives on the ground, especially when he is atop his opponent. Teixeira has a 100 percent success rate when defending takedowns, according to UFC.com. After showing vulnerability vs. Gustafsson, some are feeling more confident about Glover's chances. Jones, however, thinks that the Gustafsson war was not something he could fully control..
"I honestly believe, as an artist, as a creative artist, that it's not always in our control the way our performances are," Jones said.
"I believe there's an energy that comes over an artist that watches over them. Like being in the zone, you can't always control being in the zone or even getting into the zone. You can be a person that trains every day, eats healthy, (be) so dedicated and just not get in the zone the right way, and that zone is something that's kind of out of my control."
Can Glover get the KO? Predict it @SportsWN
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