Against Shogun, Jones Will Fight the Body, Not the Name

---

Fresh off a Feb. 5 submission win over Ryan Bader, Jon Jones will be back in the cage March 19 to challenge Mauricio “Shogun” Rua for the UFC light heavyweight championship.

Jones discussed the matchup and more Tuesday during an appearance on Bruce Buffer’s “It’s Time” show on the Sherdog Radio Network. Quick quotes from Jones follow.

On getting a title shot: “I’m just embracing this moment and trying not to be intimidated by any of it. I’m excited. I’m trying to remember that no fight’s a big fight and not to fight anyone’s name or face but fight the body. Fight the body and do the things that I’m normally doing in training camp. I feel really great.”

On fighting again just six weeks after beating Bader: “Usually I spend the first two weeks of my training camp getting in shape. I’m already in shape, so I have a great base to start off [from] physically. I can even make myself that much better physically. I’ll have an eight-pack instead of a six-pack my next fight hopefully.”

On the role of film study in his preparation for Shogun: “I think studying is going to be the biggest piece. Know what I’m doing. That’s something I take very seriously.”

On transcending MMA: “I think the biggest difference between being considered a great fighter and being remembered like a guy like Ali, those guys change the world in a way. Guys like Ali, he stood for something outside of fighting. Guys like Bruce Lee -- no one ever remembered Bruce Lee as being that Chinese guy. He’s that brilliant guy who changed the world in a way. I’ve got to figure out what my passion’s going to be outside of fighting to really make a major impact on society.”

On his endorsement deal with K-Swiss: “I’ll be the first MMA athlete to have a shoe. That’s something we’re going to start designing after this fight. … I think it’s going to be like a whole brand. There’s going to be shoes and sweaters and jeans and all types of really cool things.”

On whether he would have accepted a fight against Anderson Silva as quickly as he accepted the Shogun offer: “No. No, because my goal is to be the UFC light heavyweight champ, not to fight superfights. Even though it would be an honor to fight Anderson and I would definitely take a fight against him, no. I would have had to put more thought into training properly and studying because there’s a lot that would go into fighting the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. With Shogun, he has something I want. I have nothing to lose by fighting Shogun.”

Listen to the full interview (beginning at 15:30) with Jones.

Reader comments are active below. Register an opinion by signing in with your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Yahoo! account.