Tito Ortiz Confident He Could Beat Jon Jones With A Proper Training Camp

Tito Ortiz makes his MMA return later this year when he takes on former WWE champion Alberto Del Rio under the Combate Americas promotion and it didn’t take long for the outspoken former UFC light heavyweight champion to make the news.

The 44-year-old Ortiz claimed in a recent interview on the Domenick Nati Show that his bout with Del Rio is just start of his re-emergence in MMA as he has his sights set on an even bigger target in current UFC 205-pound champion Jon Jones.

“The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” who is never short on confidence, boldly claimed that he would fare better in an MMA fight against Jon Jones compared to Daniel Cormier given “DC’s” body shape and size (transcribed via Bloody Elbow):

“I think I would do a lot better against Jon Jones than Daniel Cormier, because Cormier is just a shorter guy (with) bigger legs, bigger torso. He’s just a big, big guy. Jon Jones is long and lengthy. I’m going to get in the inside and try to overpower some of the positions. But if it would be Jon Jones, I would think I’d have a great chance against (him).”

Ortiz is confident that with the right camp and preparation, he could be the man to finally unlock the puzzle that is Jones and that pressure is the key to beating arguably the greatest light heavyweight of all time.

“Yup, I think I could. If I have a camp like I did the last one of 18 weeks, 100 percent,” he said. “There really hasn’t been anybody to fight Jon Jones, to get in his face, and stay in his face. Everybody else, they want to strike on the outside with him. He’s too damn long, you cannot do that. You got to get in the inside of him. That’s the way to fight him.

“As a coach and as a fighter, that’s the way to beat him. Someone should be aggressive enough to keep the fight, pushing him around. Make him feel uncomfortable.”