Jon Jones made sure he had a special move ready for UFC 309, and surprisingly, it wasn`t for his opponent, Stipe Miocic.
At UFC 309 in New York`s Madison Square Garden, Jones successfully defended his UFC heavyweight title by decisively defeating Stipe Miocic. It was Miocic`s first fight in three and a half years. Apparently, Jones was so confident of winning that he dedicated part of his pre-fight preparation to perfecting his victory celebration.
With former President Donald Trump in attendance near the octagon, Jones performed Trump`s iconic dance right in front of him. According to his cornerman, Gordon Ryan, Jones invested significant time to ensure the dance was executed perfectly.
“A funny story about Jon Jones that hasn`t been widely known is that during his last fight against Stipe, when we learned Trump would be there,” Ryan shared on the Joe Rogan podcast. “For about 15 to 20 minutes of his warmup, while preparing to fight for the championship belt, he dedicated roughly 20 minutes to practicing the precise movements of the Trump dance.”
“We even looked it up on YouTube,” Ryan continued. “He was watching videos and practicing the Trump dance in the locker room as part of his fight preparation.”
Despite it being only his second heavyweight appearance, Jones, at 37, is very familiar with title fights. During his reign in the light heavyweight division, he secured 14 championship victories, including an impressive streak of eight consecutive title defenses of the 205-pound belt from 2011 to 2015.
Rogan laughed at Ryan`s anecdote, commenting, “How confident do you have to be of victory to be practicing your victory dance beforehand?”
Ryan mentioned that Jones`s team fully supported the champion`s playful rehearsal, even providing feedback to refine his technique, as if they were coaching him through a fight-ending combination.
“The best part was that we were all encouraging it,” Ryan said. “We were giving him pointers like, ‘No, your hands need to be a bit higher, or a bit lower.’ We were actively coaching him through the dance as he practiced.”
