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Tristar Gym head coach Firas Zahabi has revealed that he backed out of cornering Jon Jones’ first light heavyweight title fight at the request of Georges St-Pierre.
Jones is set to make his return to the cage at UFC 285 in a fight for the UFC’s vacant heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane. The 35-year-old last fought when he won a controversial split decision against Dominick Reyes at UFC 247, which was the thirteenth time he’d successfully defended the light heavyweight belt.
“Bones” established himself as arguably the greatest fighter in the history of the sport during his run as light heavyweight champion, and he first won the title be defeating Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128. According to a story shared on his YouTube channel, Zahabi was supposed to be in Jones’ corner for the fight that saw him become the youngest champion in the history of the UFC.
“I love Jon, me and Jon used to be really close friends,” Zahabi said. “Back, before he became world champion, before he fought ‘Shogun,’ I trained him many, many, many times. He used to live in Montreal. We spent a lot of time training together. However, when he fought ‘Shogun’ – I was supposed to be in his corner – Georges St-Pierre also had a title fight coming up, and Georges asked me ‘Don’t go. Because I need you here, I don’t have anybody to replace you.’ So I stayed. And that kind of put a rift between us, a little bit. I have to prioritize Georges over Jon.”
Firas Zahabi Knew Jon Jones Would Win Title
St-Pierre is one of the few fighters in the conversation alongside Jones as MMA’s possible GOAT, but Zahabi went on to say he was confident that “Bones” would become champion with or without his corner work.
Jones became the youngest champion in UFC history when he stopped Rua at UFC 128. (Zuffa LLC)
“I knew, I was so confident he was gonna win. I was so confident Jon Jones was gonna crush ‘Shogun.’ So confident. I even talked to him, I said ‘You don’t need – there’s nobody in the world that’s going to change the result of this fight. I don’t care who’s in who’s corner.’ Lo and behold, he wins. Guys, don’t forget he’s the youngest man to ever become world champion in the UFC. Don’t forget, I told you about how talented he is.”
The greatness of “Rush” was established during his lengthy reign as the UFC’s welterweight champion, but the 41-year-old added a significant accolade to his record when he also claimed the promotion’s middleweight title by submitting Michael Bisping at UFC 217.
Jones might be able to take some inspiration from St-Pierre ahead of his own bid to claim a second title at UFC 285, as the Canadian was also returning from a significant layoff when he took on Bisping. There are plenty of question marks around how “Bones” will look in his debut at heavyweight, and he won’t have much time to adjust to the weight class when he steps into the cage against a former interim champion in Gane.
What’s your reaction to the fact that Zahabi didn’t corner Jones for his first title fight because of a request from St-Pierre?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
[embedded content]
Tristar Gym head coach Firas Zahabi has revealed that he backed out of cornering Jon Jones’ first light heavyweight title fight at the request of Georges St-Pierre.
Jones is set to make his return to the cage at UFC 285 in a fight for the UFC’s vacant heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane. The 35-year-old last fought when he won a controversial split decision against Dominick Reyes at UFC 247, which was the thirteenth time he’d successfully defended the light heavyweight belt.
“Bones” established himself as arguably the greatest fighter in the history of the sport during his run as light heavyweight champion, and he first won the title be defeating Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128. According to a story shared on his YouTube channel, Zahabi was supposed to be in Jones’ corner for the fight that saw him become the youngest champion in the history of the UFC.
“I love Jon, me and Jon used to be really close friends,” Zahabi said. “Back, before he became world champion, before he fought ‘Shogun,’ I trained him many, many, many times. He used to live in Montreal. We spent a lot of time training together. However, when he fought ‘Shogun’ – I was supposed to be in his corner – Georges St-Pierre also had a title fight coming up, and Georges asked me ‘Don’t go. Because I need you here, I don’t have anybody to replace you.’ So I stayed. And that kind of put a rift between us, a little bit. I have to prioritize Georges over Jon.”
Firas Zahabi Knew Jon Jones Would Win Title
St-Pierre is one of the few fighters in the conversation alongside Jones as MMA’s possible GOAT, but Zahabi went on to say he was confident that “Bones” would become champion with or without his corner work.
Jones became the youngest champion in UFC history when he stopped Rua at UFC 128. (Zuffa LLC)
“I knew, I was so confident he was gonna win. I was so confident Jon Jones was gonna crush ‘Shogun.’ So confident. I even talked to him, I said ‘You don’t need – there’s nobody in the world that’s going to change the result of this fight. I don’t care who’s in who’s corner.’ Lo and behold, he wins. Guys, don’t forget he’s the youngest man to ever become world champion in the UFC. Don’t forget, I told you about how talented he is.”
The greatness of “Rush” was established during his lengthy reign as the UFC’s welterweight champion, but the 41-year-old added a significant accolade to his record when he also claimed the promotion’s middleweight title by submitting Michael Bisping at UFC 217.
Jones might be able to take some inspiration from St-Pierre ahead of his own bid to claim a second title at UFC 285, as the Canadian was also returning from a significant layoff when he took on Bisping. There are plenty of question marks around how “Bones” will look in his debut at heavyweight, and he won’t have much time to adjust to the weight class when he steps into the cage against a former interim champion in Gane.
What’s your reaction to the fact that Zahabi didn’t corner Jones for his first title fight because of a request from St-Pierre?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Click here to view the article.
Jones is set to make his return to the cage at UFC 285 in a fight for the UFC’s vacant heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane. The 35-year-old last fought when he won a controversial split decision against Dominick Reyes at UFC 247, which was the thirteenth time he’d successfully defended the light heavyweight belt.
“Bones” established himself as arguably the greatest fighter in the history of the sport during his run as light heavyweight champion, and he first won the title be defeating Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128. According to a story shared on his YouTube channel, Zahabi was supposed to be in Jones’ corner for the fight that saw him become the youngest champion in the history of the UFC.
“I love Jon, me and Jon used to be really close friends,” Zahabi said. “Back, before he became world champion, before he fought ‘Shogun,’ I trained him many, many, many times. He used to live in Montreal. We spent a lot of time training together. However, when he fought ‘Shogun’ – I was supposed to be in his corner – Georges St-Pierre also had a title fight coming up, and Georges asked me ‘Don’t go. Because I need you here, I don’t have anybody to replace you.’ So I stayed. And that kind of put a rift between us, a little bit. I have to prioritize Georges over Jon.”
Firas Zahabi Knew Jon Jones Would Win Title
St-Pierre is one of the few fighters in the conversation alongside Jones as MMA’s possible GOAT, but Zahabi went on to say he was confident that “Bones” would become champion with or without his corner work.
Jones became the youngest champion in UFC history when he stopped Rua at UFC 128. (Zuffa LLC)
“I knew, I was so confident he was gonna win. I was so confident Jon Jones was gonna crush ‘Shogun.’ So confident. I even talked to him, I said ‘You don’t need – there’s nobody in the world that’s going to change the result of this fight. I don’t care who’s in who’s corner.’ Lo and behold, he wins. Guys, don’t forget he’s the youngest man to ever become world champion in the UFC. Don’t forget, I told you about how talented he is.”
The greatness of “Rush” was established during his lengthy reign as the UFC’s welterweight champion, but the 41-year-old added a significant accolade to his record when he also claimed the promotion’s middleweight title by submitting Michael Bisping at UFC 217.
Jones might be able to take some inspiration from St-Pierre ahead of his own bid to claim a second title at UFC 285, as the Canadian was also returning from a significant layoff when he took on Bisping. There are plenty of question marks around how “Bones” will look in his debut at heavyweight, and he won’t have much time to adjust to the weight class when he steps into the cage against a former interim champion in Gane.
What’s your reaction to the fact that Zahabi didn’t corner Jones for his first title fight because of a request from St-Pierre?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
[embedded content]
Tristar Gym head coach Firas Zahabi has revealed that he backed out of cornering Jon Jones’ first light heavyweight title fight at the request of Georges St-Pierre.
Jones is set to make his return to the cage at UFC 285 in a fight for the UFC’s vacant heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane. The 35-year-old last fought when he won a controversial split decision against Dominick Reyes at UFC 247, which was the thirteenth time he’d successfully defended the light heavyweight belt.
“Bones” established himself as arguably the greatest fighter in the history of the sport during his run as light heavyweight champion, and he first won the title be defeating Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128. According to a story shared on his YouTube channel, Zahabi was supposed to be in Jones’ corner for the fight that saw him become the youngest champion in the history of the UFC.
“I love Jon, me and Jon used to be really close friends,” Zahabi said. “Back, before he became world champion, before he fought ‘Shogun,’ I trained him many, many, many times. He used to live in Montreal. We spent a lot of time training together. However, when he fought ‘Shogun’ – I was supposed to be in his corner – Georges St-Pierre also had a title fight coming up, and Georges asked me ‘Don’t go. Because I need you here, I don’t have anybody to replace you.’ So I stayed. And that kind of put a rift between us, a little bit. I have to prioritize Georges over Jon.”
Firas Zahabi Knew Jon Jones Would Win Title
St-Pierre is one of the few fighters in the conversation alongside Jones as MMA’s possible GOAT, but Zahabi went on to say he was confident that “Bones” would become champion with or without his corner work.
“I knew, I was so confident he was gonna win. I was so confident Jon Jones was gonna crush ‘Shogun.’ So confident. I even talked to him, I said ‘You don’t need – there’s nobody in the world that’s going to change the result of this fight. I don’t care who’s in who’s corner.’ Lo and behold, he wins. Guys, don’t forget he’s the youngest man to ever become world champion in the UFC. Don’t forget, I told you about how talented he is.”
The greatness of “Rush” was established during his lengthy reign as the UFC’s welterweight champion, but the 41-year-old added a significant accolade to his record when he also claimed the promotion’s middleweight title by submitting Michael Bisping at UFC 217.
Jones might be able to take some inspiration from St-Pierre ahead of his own bid to claim a second title at UFC 285, as the Canadian was also returning from a significant layoff when he took on Bisping. There are plenty of question marks around how “Bones” will look in his debut at heavyweight, and he won’t have much time to adjust to the weight class when he steps into the cage against a former interim champion in Gane.
What’s your reaction to the fact that Zahabi didn’t corner Jones for his first title fight because of a request from St-Pierre?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Click here to view the article.
