We take a look at the reason why Jon Jones crawls towards his opponents

Jon Jones’s trademark practise of crawling towards his opponents in the opening moments of a fight has become standard operating procedure. It’s an intriguing sequence on ‘Bones’ part and the reasoning behind it is fascinating as well.

This coming Saturday in Las Vegas, Jones, 35, returns to the octagon to compete for the vacant UFC heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane. Many fighters now use the technique popularized by “Bones,” who was among the first to crawl towards his opponent at the beginning of the fight.

Jones was set to make his first defence of his UFC title against MMA legend ‘Rampage’ Jackson not long after he became the youngest champion in UFC history by knocking out Shogun Rua in 2011. In the beginning of the fight, Jones was seen crawling towards Jackson out of fear that he would be knocked out in the first 30 seconds.

Speaking on Steve-O’s Wild Ride, Jones stated:

“I kept having these nightmares before fighting Rampage Jackson that I would get knocked out, no matter how the fight played out I would get knocked out in the first 30 seconds. One scenario he ran at me threw an overhand right, the other was a right uppercut and another dream was a left hook. I couldn’t avoid this inevitable knockout that I was going to experience.”

“On fight night, I felt like I was going to get knocked out. So I had this super deep prayer and touched my body from my head to my toes. As I was praying and touching myself, I noticed looking at myself that I was covered in white feathers. It was very real to me, there were like small feathers in between my fingers and they came up to my neck. I felt I was this fighting thing that wasn’t earthly.”

Tom Aspinall weighs in how well Jon Jones will fare in the heavyweight division

Ciryl Gane will compete against UFC legend Jon Jones for the vacant heavyweight title. “Bon Gamin” is a former interim champion who lost the opportunity to win the undisputed title in January to former champion Francis Ngannou, who recently left the UFC and vacated his title. Tom Aspinall, a surging contender in the division, recently offered his take on Jones’ move to the heavyweight division.

Tom Aspinall wonders if the physical attributes of Jon Jones will afford him the same advantages at heavyweight. Now that Jones is making his heavyweight debut against Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight title at UFC 285 on March 4, Aspinall is uncertain whether he will be able to utilize his wrestling as effectively against the Frenchman, despite having a significant reach advantage.

“Jon Jones is an amazing wrestler,” Aspinall said in an interview with Jamal Niaz. “The massive advantage he has amongst the light heavyweights is he’s got a massive reach advantage. So he gets a lot of his takedowns with the length of his arms and the leverage that he gets behind his takedowns. I’m not discrediting his wrestling – his wrestling is amazing. But I’m saying the leverage he gets with his size advantage is incredible at light heavyweight, whereas at heavyweight, he’s an average size heavyweight.” [via/ MMA Junkie]

“He’s 6-(foot)-4, I think, so he’s pretty much average size, average height heavyweight, at least. I don’t know if he’ll be able to get the same leverage against someone his height. It’s yet to be seen. But Gane is a niche heavyweight. He’s not a standard heavyweight. Like, his footwork is really good. His judge of distance is really good.”

Gane’s speed, technique, and footwork are unparalleled among heavyweights, which has rendered all his opponents immobile. Although Jones is returning from a layoff of more than three years, Aspinall believes the promotion to a higher division could be a factor:

“I don’t think the inactivity would affect someone like Jon Jones because he’s had like 50 million title fights,” Aspinall said. “He’s had so much experience, a few years off won’t affect him. I think more (that will) affect him is carrying his own weight and carrying someone else’s weight who’s really mobile like Ciryl Gane. If Ciryl Gane was more of a plodding heavyweight, more of a flat-footed guy, he would have a lot of an easier time than he would someone like Ciryl.”

More MMA news

• Conor McGregor calls Khabib Nurmagomedov “homophobic” in crazy deleted rant
• Kamaru Usman open to Middleweight move after UFC 261 but on one condition
• Jiri Prochazka says Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor and others inspired him
• Follow our dedicated MMA page for instant MMA news and updates