Coach Winkeljohn Says He Can’t Change Other People’s Opinions On Jon Jones

Jon Jones recaptured the UFC Light Heavyweight Title at UFC 232, defeating Alexander Gustafsson by third round TKO.

The fighter is a controversial one among the UFC fan base and coach Mike Winkeljohn says that he can do nothing to change the haters opinions of Jones.

“There’s not much response because if you already hate Jon, or if you already don’t like him, you’re one of those haters, I’m not going to change anything,” Winkeljohn said on The MMA Hour. “If you like Jon, you like Jon. So I’ve kind of given up on all of that through experience.”

Jones garnered a lot of dislike in the lead up to the event after the show itself was moved from Las Vegas, Nevada to Inglewood, California after the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) discovered an abnormality in the fighter’s drug test.

Winkeljohn thinks that the dominant champion can continue to improve his fighting game and get even better in the long run.

“I think he could get a lot better,” Winkeljohn said. “He needs those distractions, everybody does in life so you don’t get burnt out on whatever you’re doing. But it’s the constant repetition that I think will help him out even more, he does a lot of reps already. That’s when we’re going to start getting one punch, one kick knockouts, that’s when they’re going to start coming. And then proper timing on his takedowns, so the constant reps will definitely help, no doubt about it. Everybody needs distractions, because otherwise you find yourself getting kind of lazy with your training and kind of complacent. Jon’s all in, he’s fired up, that’s the difference with Jon. When he does train, he trains hard. He shows up on time, he works his butt off. He stays late and he trains harder than anybody else in the gym.”

Up next for Jones is UFC 235, as the light heavyweight champion is expected to defend the gold against Anthony Smith at the event.