Jon Jones won the biggest fight of his life last night against Ryan Bader and seconds later he had to put thrill of victory behind him as he was booked to face his next tough challenge, the UFC light heavyweight champ Mauricio "Shogun" Rua on Mar. 19 at UFC 128.
Right before he spoke with UFC analyst Joe Rogan, the 23-year-old Jones was asked to accept the fight.
"I had no clue my title shot was coming. Would I have asked for it? Sure, you know my goal is to be considered the best fighter in the light heavyweight division," Jones said during the UFC 126 postfight press conference. "One of the reasons I look up to Jose Aldo (UFC featherweight champion) so much is because he’s a 23-year-old world champion."
Dana White found out Rashad Evans would be unable to go against Rua and booked his replacement main event cageside in Las Vegas.
"I was driving to the arena around 2:30 this afternoon when I found out Rashad was out," White said.
The idea for Jones to step in, was unhatched shortly after that.
"We did the deal literally (next to the Octagon). We told Shogun 'hey, listen if this kid wins, we want to put him in there for the fight.' Right before Jones and Bader walked out, (Rua) and his team accepted it," said White.
White was careful to make sure Jones knew nothing about the opportunity that was at stake.
White said, "This kid has enough pressure on him already, you don’t want to sit there and say ‘hey if you win this fight, how you’d like to face Shogun?’"
Once Jones submitted Bader, White walked into the Octagon and offered the fighting prodigy a chance at the world title. Without hesitation Jones, who only has seven UFC fights under his belt, accepted.
The fight is less than six weeks away, but that doesn't worry Jones.
"I feel as if it's my time. My confidence is very high. I'm already in shape and I've got six weeks to make myself even better," Jones (12-1, 6-1 UFC) said. "That’s what I'm excited about. It should be great."
That seems like a short turnaround to face a veteran champion who has 23 fights under his belt.
"Absolutely not," Jones said. "I usually spend my training camps getting in shape. I'm already in shape."
Jones has to make sure he dials it down and can then peak again in six weeks. He said his trainer Greg Jackson wants him to take some time off.
"I'm not going to take any time off. I've got a lot of studying to do. Physically, I'll probably take a little time off. Six weeks is more than enough time especially because I already have a six pack," joked Jones.
Rua doesn't back down from anybody. After a win at UFC 93, he was offered Chuck Liddell and accepted on the spot in the locker room. Taking the Jones fight is no different, especially since he's now the champ.
"I face it as motivation to train even harder. I'm a fighter and I've never picked my opponents. I have to fight everybody as a champion," Rua said through his translator Eduardo Alonso.
Rua said his training camp will remain the same.
"Jon Jones is a good striker. He has a good muay thai and wrestling base. It’s pretty much the same type of work I was training for Rashad Evans. I was training a lot of wrestling, a lot of muay thai. It doesn’t change that much," said Rua.
Rua was impressed with Jones' win over Bader and said he deserves the shot over everyone else in the division. There is one big difference between Evans and Jones, "Bones" is five inches taller. Rua said it'll be similar to facing past opponents like Alistair Overeem (6-foot-5) and Cyrille Diabate (6-6).
Drea de Matteo Drew Barrymore Ehrinn Cummings Elena Lyons Elisabeth Röhm Elisha Cuthbert Eliza Dushku
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