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Few fighters win like Jon Jones.
Now, or ever.
Which is why, to a man, every single Canterbury player turned up to Belmore Oval on Friday morning despite having themselves a rostered day off.
And the reason?
Bones was in the house.
Not only spending over two hours with Bulldogs players, or pushing them through a range of physical challenges, but speaking openly about the secrets driving what just may be the greatest UFC career.
“And the impact of that,” Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo says, “incredible”.
In one of the truly great pre-season coups, Fox Sports Australia can reveal UFC heavyweight champ Jones arrived in Australia Friday, slowly cleared customs, and then headed straight to Belmore for a meeting with the entire Bulldogs NRL squad.
Despite the day having already been declared training free, every player still attended the session that, initially slated for Tuesday, and then rescheduled after Jones’ arrival Down Under was delayed, saw the champ spend several hours inside Dogs HQ talking largely about “mindset”.
I feel like the most impactful part of today was our Q&A,” the 36-year-old American superstar said when briefly quizzed on his appearance. “Just letting the players in on the mindset of a champion athlete.
And hopefully something I said today sticks with them.”
Certainly Ciraldo has no doubt.
Asked to describe the day, the Dogs head coach told Fox Sports Australia: “Once in a lifetime.
“For the players to hear about the effort that goes into mental preparation … Jon made it really clear that he spends more time on the mental stuff than the physical side of fighting.
“And to hear him speak about how he gets ready for a UFC title fight, how much he values those techniques, it was really cool for our guys to listen to.”
Which is something so often forgotten about this fighter who, apart from being among the UFC’s most gifted athletes, and once its youngest champion, has most recently spent three long years preparing for his second title in a new weight class.
“Jon’s been at the top of his game for so long,” Ciraldo continued.
“And you can’t do that unless you have a real strong grounding in who you want to be and what you want to do.
“So for him to go through and explain all that – in real detail, too – it’s been an incredible experience for our guys.
He not only spoke about how the great athletes do extras, but then explained to the boys what his extras look like.”
Which matters.
Because our guys at the moment, they’re training really well,” Ciraldo said. “We’re physically prepared.
“So our biggest improvement area will be between the ears.”
The Jones experience continues Ciraldo’s long, and successful, partnership with UFC fighters, given it was the coach who brought Australia’s first UFC champ Rob Whittaker onto staff during his time at Penrith.
Whittaker, fellow UFC fighter Jacob Malkoun and their esteemed head coach Alex Prates were all part of the Panthers defensive crew through two premiership seasons and are now with Ciraldo at Belmore.
Currently, Team Whittaker is camped in California, with the fighter dubbed ‘Bobby Knuckles’ set to throw down against Brazilian Paulo Costa at UFC 298 in Anaheim this Sunday (AEST).
The hyped card will be topped by Australia’s UFC featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski, who looks to defend his title for a sixth time against Ilia Topuria, while Brisbane heavyweight Justin Tafa is also chasing another highlight reel KO.
Asked about having his players mix in with Whittaker and co. Ciraldo said: “We have a great relationship with those guys and often have Rob training alongside us (at his Smeaton Grange gym).
“We’ll be out there training and he is right alongside us working too.
“And we’re so lucky to have that.
“For our players to also see his level of preparation.
“And to then get Jon Jones into camp … it’s been a great experience.”
Arriving in Sydney for the first leg of a brief Australia tour, Jones teamed up with Lifecykel Labs, a biotechnical company, and Better Breathing Devices to also host a performance challenge with the Dogs players.
Each challenge was specifically designed to test a player’s focus and effort under pressure, with Jones then giving feedback on each individual’s performance and insight into how they could improve.
Challenges included push ups, sprints and max effort on an Echo bike, while there was also a unique “gas in the tank” challenge testing lung capacity.
Said Bulldogs CEO Aaron Warburton: “I know I can speak for all of us when saying there’s a lot our players and staff will take out of today.
“Learning from Jon’s mindset, how he prepares mentally and physically and how he manages to reset when facing adversity.
“It’s an honour to have him here.”
Now, or ever.
Which is why, to a man, every single Canterbury player turned up to Belmore Oval on Friday morning despite having themselves a rostered day off.
And the reason?
Bones was in the house.
Not only spending over two hours with Bulldogs players, or pushing them through a range of physical challenges, but speaking openly about the secrets driving what just may be the greatest UFC career.
“And the impact of that,” Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo says, “incredible”.
In one of the truly great pre-season coups, Fox Sports Australia can reveal UFC heavyweight champ Jones arrived in Australia Friday, slowly cleared customs, and then headed straight to Belmore for a meeting with the entire Bulldogs NRL squad.
Despite the day having already been declared training free, every player still attended the session that, initially slated for Tuesday, and then rescheduled after Jones’ arrival Down Under was delayed, saw the champ spend several hours inside Dogs HQ talking largely about “mindset”.
I feel like the most impactful part of today was our Q&A,” the 36-year-old American superstar said when briefly quizzed on his appearance. “Just letting the players in on the mindset of a champion athlete.
And hopefully something I said today sticks with them.”
Certainly Ciraldo has no doubt.
Asked to describe the day, the Dogs head coach told Fox Sports Australia: “Once in a lifetime.
“For the players to hear about the effort that goes into mental preparation … Jon made it really clear that he spends more time on the mental stuff than the physical side of fighting.
“And to hear him speak about how he gets ready for a UFC title fight, how much he values those techniques, it was really cool for our guys to listen to.”
Which is something so often forgotten about this fighter who, apart from being among the UFC’s most gifted athletes, and once its youngest champion, has most recently spent three long years preparing for his second title in a new weight class.
“Jon’s been at the top of his game for so long,” Ciraldo continued.
“And you can’t do that unless you have a real strong grounding in who you want to be and what you want to do.
“So for him to go through and explain all that – in real detail, too – it’s been an incredible experience for our guys.
He not only spoke about how the great athletes do extras, but then explained to the boys what his extras look like.”
Which matters.
Because our guys at the moment, they’re training really well,” Ciraldo said. “We’re physically prepared.
“So our biggest improvement area will be between the ears.”
The Jones experience continues Ciraldo’s long, and successful, partnership with UFC fighters, given it was the coach who brought Australia’s first UFC champ Rob Whittaker onto staff during his time at Penrith.
Whittaker, fellow UFC fighter Jacob Malkoun and their esteemed head coach Alex Prates were all part of the Panthers defensive crew through two premiership seasons and are now with Ciraldo at Belmore.
Currently, Team Whittaker is camped in California, with the fighter dubbed ‘Bobby Knuckles’ set to throw down against Brazilian Paulo Costa at UFC 298 in Anaheim this Sunday (AEST).
The hyped card will be topped by Australia’s UFC featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski, who looks to defend his title for a sixth time against Ilia Topuria, while Brisbane heavyweight Justin Tafa is also chasing another highlight reel KO.
Asked about having his players mix in with Whittaker and co. Ciraldo said: “We have a great relationship with those guys and often have Rob training alongside us (at his Smeaton Grange gym).
“We’ll be out there training and he is right alongside us working too.
“And we’re so lucky to have that.
“For our players to also see his level of preparation.
“And to then get Jon Jones into camp … it’s been a great experience.”
Arriving in Sydney for the first leg of a brief Australia tour, Jones teamed up with Lifecykel Labs, a biotechnical company, and Better Breathing Devices to also host a performance challenge with the Dogs players.
Each challenge was specifically designed to test a player’s focus and effort under pressure, with Jones then giving feedback on each individual’s performance and insight into how they could improve.
Challenges included push ups, sprints and max effort on an Echo bike, while there was also a unique “gas in the tank” challenge testing lung capacity.
Said Bulldogs CEO Aaron Warburton: “I know I can speak for all of us when saying there’s a lot our players and staff will take out of today.
“Learning from Jon’s mindset, how he prepares mentally and physically and how he manages to reset when facing adversity.
“It’s an honour to have him here.”
