"When you drive home with a headache, it’s a terrible thing" - Jon Jones clears stance on hard sparring, urges fighters to rethink training habits

Jon Jones recently shared that he no longer likes to engage in hard sparring sessions, explaining that they often lead to headaches and negatively affect a fighter’s reaction time.

Jones successfully defended his heavyweight title by securing a TKO victory against former champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 309. He is expected to unify the title against interim champion Tom Aspinall; however, the bout remains uncertain. Jones has stood firm on his stance for not wanting to grant the opportunity to the Englishman.

'Bones' recently went to Thailand, where he conducted a seminar at Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA, located in Phuket. During a Q&A session, he discussed the drawbacks of engaging in intense sparring sessions and how they can negatively impact a fighter's performance.

"I think sparrings should be respectful. When you drive home with a headache, it’s a terrible thing. I think it’s one of the main things fighters don’t realize. The more they spar hard — it’s your reaction time that goes away."

He added:

"You feel like you’re getting tougher and stronger, but your reaction time will start to be the first thing which goes away. Once your reaction time starts to go, it’s going. So I would stay away from the sparrings."

Check out the post below:

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Dana White reveals Jon Jones agreed to fight Tom Aspinall

UFC head honcho Dana White has stated that Jon Jones accepted the deal to fight Tom Aspinall. White was interviewed at the UFC 316 post-fight press conference, where he was questioned about the ongoing saga involving Jones and Aspinall. The UFC CEO reiterated that he has always believed that the highly anticipated fight will ultimately materialize.

"I've been saying it since the beginning. Jon Jones agreed to do the fight. Jon Jones was offered the deal and accepted the deal."

Check out Dana White's comments below (20:20):