Despite all his troubles, many people believe that Jon Jones could still be the greatest fighter ever to step into the Octagon – yet his striking coach Brandon Gibson believes he could actually be even better if and when he next gets the opportunity to fight.
It seems that the 31-year-old has been hard at work with Gibson on improving his striking power, and his coach believes that the benefits of that will show in the Octagon.
“I think there’s still a lot of growth possible,” Gibson said on The MMA Hour. “Jon’s in his 30s now, I think he’s really starting to develop the one-strike knockout power, we saw that in the last (Daniel Cormier) fight. Before that, Jon was like a break ‘em down, break ‘em down, break ‘em down, finish, where guys were never just out cold, unconscious. I think now Jon’s really developing a lot of power for 205 and he’s gonna really start putting guys to sleep.”
With that in mind it’s no surprise that Gibson also believes that Jones will regain the 205lb title, and perhaps even at heavyweight too if things go according to plan.
“He’s a special champion, he has a very special mindset, and he’ll get in there and I believe reclaim everything that he ever had and more. I told him the other day that I think greatness and his legacy continue to await us. We’re not there yet.
“I think the goal right now when he returns would be to claim back the light heavyweight crown,” he said, “But Jon has a frame and definitely the technique and the size to compete at heavyweight. And who knows, maybe they make a 225 cruiserweight some day, or 195. I think Jon would have a lot of interest in different weight categories, not just heavyweight.”
