Tito Ortiz believes he could have beaten Jon Jones in his prime – UFC News
Tito Ortiz, former UFC light heavyweight, believes he would have beaten the reigning light heavyweight champion in his prime time. Ortiz believes Jon Jones is not invincible but a tough opponent is needed to crush him.
Ortiz, who has suffered with knee injuries throughout his career, is one of UFC’s most respected fighters of all time. In his recent interview, he spoke about his knee injury and defeating Jones. He said, “An injury-free Tito Ortiz is very, very dangerous.
When I’m injury-free, I’m very dangerous. If I was the same guy, but without the surgeries, then I’d still be the champion. When I look back at my loss to Couture, that’s when I had my first back problem. I was suffering right through that fight camp, and
I suffered for seven years with that back problem.”
Ortiz also put forth a blueprint of defeating Jones. According to him, opponents need to neutralize Jones’s reach advantage by coming close. He said, “Pressure, Don’t let him use that reach – try to close down the space with tons of pressure. Use my strength,
use my wrestling.”
Ortiz will be fighting Forrest Griffin for the third time at UFC 148, whereas Jones will be defending his title against Dan Henderson.
Jon Jones is currently considered as an invincible fighter, who is highly favoured by the UFC. In his last match, Jones was specially sponsored by the UFC. It was the first time the organisation sponsored a fighter for their event. For many, this was a bias
decision on UFC’s behalf but the organisation saw Jones as the face of MMA fighting and someone who represents the sport well enough to be granted with such facilities.
For now, Ortiz believes that Jones is beatable, only if an opponent can neutralize his long arm and leg reach. Jones is famous for his elbow and knee shots. As he has long arms and legs, he is able to get his opponents at a distance, when they are just planning
to get in and beat the person. The only way to defeat Jones is get close to him, according to Tito.
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