Jon Jones reveals whether he’ll ever compete in IBA Bare Knuckle… ‘It’s so intense’

EXCLUSIVE: Jon Jones has opened up about the chances of him throwing down in IBA Bare Knuckle.

The combat sports legend, who’s fallen in love with the company, will be sitting front and centre on Saturday evening when Umar Kremlev brings the major promotion to the James L. Knight Centre in Miami, Florida, USA.

Jon Jones says IBA Bare Knuckle is too intense for him to fight in

Jon Jones adores watching IBA Bare Knuckle, with the ambassador of the business recently travelling to Moscow and Saint Petersburg in Russia, where he witnessed firsthand the entertainment the company is delivering.

Having experienced the brutality of the sport up close, rather than wanting to compete inside the ring himself, ‘Bones’ intends on helping grow the business by bringing eyes to what he’s calling the wildest promotion in all of martial arts.

In an exclusive interview with Sporf, he enthused: “I really enjoy my smile and my face. It’s so intense. One of my close friends, Mike Perry, who’s one of the faces of bare-knuckle, ‘The King of Violence’, he’s handsome from afar, but when you get up close, you see Frankenstein. So, my main job is to promote the fights, and to make sure every fan gets to really see how approachable we fighters can be. When it comes to fighting, I’m more into coaching these days and supporting other fighters’ careers and seeing as many dreams come true as possible.

“We’ve got a bunch of crazy men from all around the world competing with no gloves on. At the UFC, the slogan is, ‘We’re as real as it gets’. The slogan that I’ve come up with for the IBA is that ‘We’re as wild as it gets’. IBA is a lot like other organisations, but I think it’s much wilder. These Russian fighters carry their regions on their back. A lot of the fights seem to go past the ring—these are the sorts of guys who need to be broken up once the fights are over. Their beefs have a long history. It’s quite the spectacle to watch. There’s nothing quite like it on the planet.”

The event this weekend, is headlined by Elvin ‘El Bandito’ Brito vs UFC veteran Viacheslav ‘Slava Claus’ Borshchev, and features an eagerly anticipated clash between ex-WBA boxing World Champion Javier ‘El Abejón’ Fortuna and Alejandro Munera.

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