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Eventually training with Jon Jones is probably a dream for any martial artist who is starting out in the business. However, Georgian middleweight Roman Dolidze has already done it in the early parts of his career. The promising UFC fighter trained at Jackson Wink MMA and had a great opportunity to mix it up with the light heavyweight GOAT.
He spoke to RT Sport MMA about his experience, and the channel also provided the translated subtitles for the interview, which was originally in Russian. The interviewer asked Dolidze about the most important lesson he learned from his time at Jackson Wink MMA.
"First of all, I trained and sparred with Jon Jones. So, what I realized back then was that I could fight anybody, even if it's Jon Jones. It was the main lesson for me. I always looked to test myself."
Dolidze further added that the quality of training he received at Jackson Wink academy helped him in his motivation to make further progress.
"So testing myself against Jon Jones and training with coaches of that caliber was a great motivation to make further progress. This experience played a major role in shaping myself as a sportsman, discovering my true potential and making it to the UFC."
Dolidze has had a relatively good stint with the UFC, winning 2 of his three fights to take his overall record to 8-1. However, the same cannot be said of Jon Jones.
Jon Jones and his controversial move up to heavyweight
The former champion finally moved up to heavyweight after dominating light heavyweight for years. This was preceded by Stipe Miocic successfully defending his belt against Daniel Cormier, and hence, Jon Jones' name was immediately thrown into the title picture.
However, Francis Ngannou got the title shot first and beat Stipe Miocic after a spectacular performance. This, in turn, ignited rumors of a super fight between Jon Jones and Ngannou.
However, Jones priced himself out of the fight, and UFC president Dana White has said that Derrick Lewis is likely to get the title shot first. In a bid to rescue the situation, Jon Jones changed his management team and appointed former Golden Boy promotions CEO Richard Schaefer as his advisor.
It will be interesting to see whether this move helps him get the title shot. Moreover, his fans would love to see him back in action again. Whether Jon Jones can beat Francis Ngannou, however, is another question entirely.
