- James Johnson is a black belt in karate and has fought in MMA
- Johnson believes he has what it takes to beat Jon Jones if he trains for a year
- Jones is currently the UFC Heavyweight champion
NBA forward James Johnson believes he can beat the iconic Jon Jones, provided he trains for their fight for a year. Johnson made those bold comments, which have now gone viral, during an appearance on the NBA Rookie Life podcast.
“I think I could beat him, for real,” Johnson said. “But like I said, with a year of training defense. I just need ground defense.”
Johnson then explained why he believes he can beat Jones.
“Yeah, and the opposite is, he started learning how to use your hands and your feet – what? – After college? Like, I’ve been punching and kicking since I was five, six years old,” Jones continued. “So the same thing for me is the opposite for him because he’s been wrestling for that long. Learning all his wrestling moves and things like that for so long.”
The 36-year-old then revealed what would be key for him to win.
“For me, I started learning the wrestling game and all that in middle school,” Johnson added. “The jiu-jitsu. He has a big advantage there but no one wants to get on the floor, but as long as I can keep him from going on the floor, I win.”
James Johnson believes he could beat Jon Jones in a fight pic.twitter.com/floGAE4TWo
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 17, 2023
Johnson, who stands at 6’7″ and weighs 240 pounds, is a karate black belt and claims to have a 20-0 record in kickboxing. He has taken part in seven MMA bouts as well, but I’d have to say he is being too optimistic here.
Jones is widely regarded as the greatest UFC fighter ever, and someone who hasn’t dedicated their whole life to that line of work isn’t going to beat him. Training for a year is great, but he’s going up against someone who’s been doing it for a lot longer at a very high level.
Jon Jones’ Incredible UFC Career
Jones became the youngest champion in UFC history, aged just 23, when he won the Light Heavyweight Championship by beating Mauricio Rua in 2011. Since then, he has recorded the most title defenses in the light heavyweight division and possesses the longest win streak as well.
He vacated that title back in 2020 and, after a three-year break, made his return in UFC 285. Jones beat Ciryl Gane there to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship. It improved his record to 27-1-0 (1 NC).
His only loss came against Matt Hamill in 2009, and even that was a controversial disqualification. So, if no one in the world has really beaten Jones yet, I really have no reason to believe that Johnson could do it after training for a year.
James Johnson’s NBA Career
Johnson might have some time on his hands to train now, as he is currently without a team. If this is indeed the end, he’d have had a pretty solid career.
Johnson was drafted with the 16th pick of the 2009 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls but didn’t have much of an impact with them. They traded him to the Toronto Raptors in 2011 and that was where he became a regular starter for the first time.
Spells with the Sacramento Kings and Memphis Grizzlies followed, after which he returned to the Raptors in 2014. After two seasons, he joined the Miami Heat in 2016 and that was where he really became somewhat of a household name among basketball fans.
He had the best season of his career in 2016-17, averaging 12.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game. The Heat would trade Johnson in 2020, and he has bounced around the league after that.
In the 2022-23 season, he played for the Indiana Pacers and averaged 2.8 points, 1.7 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.4 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game.
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