The UFC 165 conference call took place this afternoon, and there was quite a bit of information to take away from the 45-minute question-and-answer session. While Jon Jones saw the most questions, it was good to hear both the other fighters and Dana White answer some key questions heading into the September 21st event.
UFC 165 Pre-fight press conference call: Dominick Cruz’s health, potential return and Jon Jones’ record chase
With regards to the Renan Barao and Eddie Wineland matchup, Dana White was asked when he believes Dominick Cruz would be ready to fight again. White replied that Cruz should be ready to go early next year, but if he isn’t, he went on to say that something would likely be done with the Bantamweight Championship. Barao, the UFC’s Interim Bantamweight Champion, has waited quite some time to get his hands on Cruz. When asked about his “interim” status, Barao was quick to reply that “I already feel like the champ”. With this being his second title defense, it’s quite hard to argue with the young Brazilian. If he wins, and Cruz remains unable to fight early in 2014, the UFC will have a difficult decision to make regarding their bantamweight title. Barao’s opponent for his second title defense is against bantamweight contender Eddie Wineland.
UFC 165 is headlined with Jones taking on the young Swedish challenger Alexander Gustafsson. When asked what he’s worked on to beat Jones, Gustafsson replied that he’s been working on his wrestling and submissions, but plans to win the fight by keeping his distance and striking from the outside. He seems very confident in his abilities, but it will take a lot for Jones to lose his belt. When Jones was asked about the similarities being made between the two, he replied “the only comparisons between us are that we are 26 years old, and we are both over six feet and three inches tall.” Jones’ confidence is always at an all-time high, and he seems poised to continue his reign as the pound-for-pound best.
If Gustafsson didn’t have enough motivation before, he also has the chance to play spoiler. Jones has been quite open about his desires to break UFC records and become the best fighter in history. Going into this fight, Jones is tied with Tito Ortiz for the most consecutive title defenses at Light Heavyweight with five. If Jones beats Gustafsson, he will become the all-time leader in consecutive title defenses for his division. Gustafsson has the opportunity to stop Jones in his tracks, but some tasks are easier said than done, to say the least. When asked about moving to the heavyweight division, Jones replied “I’ve set a lot of goals for myself as a light heavyweight”, indicating it could be some time before we see the Light Heavyweight champ move up in weight class. Clearly, owning individual records at his current weight class is a major aspiration of Jones, leading us to believe that he will remain there for the near future.
Catch UFC 165 live on pay-per-view September 21st, 2013, or follow the MMASucka live update article, coming straight from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario.
