Yorgan de Castro was one of many males enlisted by Jon Jones to assist the all-time nice put together for his heavyweight debut at UFC 285, battling Ciryl Gane for the vacant title, and had a style of what “Bon Gamin” will face contained in the octagon in Las Vegas.
De Castro, a UFC veteran who’s now scheduled to face 2022 PFL heavyweight champion Ante Delija on April 1, stated on Trocação Franca podcast that Jones is carrying extra weight and energy after his transition to heavyweight with out dropping his velocity, making him a way more harmful athlete.
“I’ve fought at mild heavyweight as an newbie and in my first skilled fights and I couldn’t knock anybody out, even the outdated woman from throughout the road,” de Castro stated with fun. “After I moved as much as heavyweight, that [power] comes with you. You’re carrying extra [than] 35 kilos. I’m telling you, he’s about to do some injury at heavyweight and may finish this battle by knockout.”
“The Mad Titan” has solely been knocked out as soon as in 12 skilled MMA bouts and is pleased with his chin, however stated that being within the cage with Jones is an entire different recreation.
“His punch has extra energy,” stated de Castro, who has been coaching with Jones for a 12 months in New Mexico. “I can take a punch however it’s f****** laborious to spar with him [laughs]. I’m telling you, he’s on level. He was all the time a heavyweight and skilled with guys like [Andrei] Arlovski and Frank Mir. He has no drawback preventing at heavyweight. This man is obsessed. He’s unbelievable. I’ve by no means seen somebody as obsessed as hm. He trains f****** laborious and is obsessed about every thing. He wouldn’t be preventing at heavyweight if he wasn’t prepared.”
“He’s coaching for this for 3 years now,” he continued. “I got here right here final 12 months and he was already at 253 kilos. Very sturdy, shifting effectively. I feel he’ll haven’t any drawback at heavyweight. You’ll see that on March 4. He’s quick, cardio is on prime. I’ve skilled with a variety of heavyweights my whole life and he’s distinctive. His battle IQ is on one other stage, he can adapt between rounds. He’s doing rounds with seven totally different heavyweights and has no drawback doing it.”
Gane is a former UFC interim heavyweight champion with a document of 11-1 that features victories over Junior dos Santos, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Alexander Volkov, Derrick Lewis and Tai Tuisava, however his sole defeat, a choice to Francis Ngannou in 2022, has proven a attainable path to victory for Jones.
“All people thinks Ciryl Gane was the hardest match-up. Ngannou is harder, he’s stronger and has knockout energy,” de Castro stated. “Ciryl Gane, when was the final time he knocked somebody out? He beat Tai Tuivasa, however his different fights had been by determination. He doesn’t have that energy. Francis Ngannou is fixed hazard.
“Ciryl Gane can transfer, he’s a singular heavyweight due to that. He strikes and modifications the best way he fights, has good kicks, however we’ve seen he has no wrestling. Francis Ngannou did what he needed with him, so think about that Jon Jones will do together with his wrestling — and his jiu-jitsu and floor and pound, these elbows. He’ll shut the gap, and it’s going to get ugly for Ciryl Gane. It’s the proper battle for Jon Jones.”
