Jon Jones’ jiu-jitsu coach Roberto “Tussa” Alencar insists that Stipe Miocic deserves respect, and shouldn’t be ignored forward of UFC 309, however many 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 combat we needed since day one. [Jones] went to heavyweight aiming at Stipe, the heavyweight GOAT. I consider some followers need to see Jon’s downfall, and Stipe is able to successful this combat on the toes and on the bottom. He’s confirmed that, knocking out a number 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 want to compete in “superfights” after UFC 309, and even advised 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 needs that,” Alencar stated. “If the UFC needs to do a superfight, he’s keen to entertain megafights. Francis in Abu Dhabi, which has a ton of cash and might do a megafight like that, or ‘Poatan’, who I consider is a combat that pursuits Jon for the legacy.”
Ngannou not too long ago 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 mild 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 believe ‘Poatan’ has extra weapons than Francis. You’ll be able to sort of guess what Francis will do. He has the left hook and the best hand mixture, however ‘Poatan’ has the expertise on the toes. To me, he’s essentially the most harmful [than Ngannou and Aspinall], for certain, for being lighter and having that huge knockout energy.”
On the bottom, nonetheless, “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 consider Tom Aspinall, along 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 believe that Tom Aspinall provides Jon extra work [on the ground].”
