Jon Jones explains why he was rooting for Dustin Poirier at UFC 242

Jon Jones made an accurate prediction for the UFC 242 main event, but was rooting for Dustin Poirier in the run-up to Poirier’s lightweight championship opportunity against Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The lightweight stars faced off at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi. The undefeated champion Nurmagomedov was a clear favourite. So, it was no big surprise when he sealed the victory and submitted Poirier in the third round.

Nevertheless, Jon Jones was hoping the underdog would take home the championship belt, as he described at a press day earlier this summer.

“I’m rooting for Dustin, me and Dustin, we’ve worked together. We’re both sponsored by PureKana CBD…so he’s one of my business partners and I, quite frankly, don’t like Daniel Cormier teammates,” Jones said (via MMA Junkie). “So I am rooting for Dustin Poirier.”

Jon Jones has a long-standing beef with Daniel Cormier. ‘DC’ trains at American Kickboxing Academy with Javier Mendez, the same location where Khabib Nurmagomedov trains. Cormier and Nurmagomedov are very close, so Jones would unsurprisingly root for Poirier.

However, when asked who he had his money on to win, Jones made an informed decision.

“Khabib’s a wrestler,” he said. “I’m a wrestler, and wrestlers, oftentimes get to dictate where the fight goes…If I had to bet the house, I would lean on Khabib’s side, but I am hoping that Poirier can pull it off.”

Jon Jones is currently ranked, No. 1 in the UFC’s official pound-for-pound rankings. However, many are arguing that Nurmagomedov has proved he deserves the number one spot since he beat Poirier and maintained his 28-0 title reign.

Jones prediction proved that using your head over your heart is the usually the best way to make fight predictions. Who do you want to see Jones fight next? Let us know in the comments below.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 9/9/2019.