Jon Jones was so star-struck before one of his biggest fights that he struggled to sleep ahead of stepping into the octagon.
Before becoming a legend and capturing world titles in two weight divisions, Jones was focused on breaking the record for the youngest UFC champion. Jones managed to achieve this in March 2011, when he faced Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson in his first title defence.
Jones’ brother, Chandler shared how they would watch Jackson’s fights in preparation, both trying to figure out how to defeat him. Despite the challenge, Jon secured a submission victory in the fourth round, becoming the youngest UFC Champion ever.
Jon Jones Opens Up About Nightmares and Spiritual Experience Before Rampage Jackson Fight
It is no secret that Jon Jones found his fight against Rampage Jackson to be one of the most stressful of his career. In an episode of Steve-O’s Wild Ride podcast, Jones revealed how the pressure affected him. Jones even admitted he even altered his opening fight strategy to avoid the nightmare scenarios he kept having.
“I kept having these nightmares before fighting Rampage Jackson that I’d get knocked out,” he shared with the famous stuntman and prankster. “No matter how the fight played out, I’d get knocked out within the first 30 seconds.”
Jon Jones described various scenarios from his dreams, like Jackson throwing an overhand right, a right uppercut, and a left hook, each landing to an inevitable knockout. On fight night, the fear felt all too real.
Jones recalls having to deep prayer before the fight, touching his body from head to toe as he prayed. Speaking about this Jones said;
“I noticed that I was covered in white feathers,”
“It felt so real, like there were small feathers between my fingers, up to my neck. I felt like I was this ethereal, fighting being, something not of this world.”
He held onto this surreal feeling all the way to the cage. Jones even thought of himself as the “featherman” as he walked toward the fight. His decision to crawl toward Rampage, at the start, was a strategy unlike anything he’d dreamed of, as every fight in his nightmare began standing.
Jon’s Brother Reveals How Nightmares and Fear Affected Him Before Rampage Jackson Fight
The extent of Jon Jones’ fear was revealed years later. This was when his brother Chandler shared just how intense the build-up to the fight was. During an appearance on Jackson’s podcast, Chandler explained that the nightmares were causing Jon to lose a lot of sleep. Speaking on the podcast he said;
“I’m Jon’s little brother, so I know who he fanboys over,” Chandler told Jackson during the interview. “And before y’all’s fight, he couldn’t sleep. And I don’t give a f*** who he fought, or who had a bigger name—whatever—I’m talking about, to this day, he couldn’t sleep.”
“We were all fans of you before Jon was a UFC fighter. We used to pick you in the UFC game. I just want you to know that.”
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
