Before facing and defeating Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida in the mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday, UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon “Bones” Jones spent some time meditating at a scenic waterfall on the Ball’s Falls conservation area on the Niagara Peninsula.
“It was really beautiful but it was so cold out there I could only meditate for about maybe 15 minutes because I didn’t want to get sick,” Jones said Saturday night after defeating Machida.
“I got a good 12 minutes in but the job was done,” he added. “We felt really refreshed and our spirits were lifted on the ride back to the hotel. So mission complete.”
Both fighters on Saturday night are into meditation. “The fact that [Machida’s] into meditation like I am, the fact that he’s a student like I am — he has my utmost respect,” Jones said.
This isn’t the first time that Jones has been spotted meditating at a scenic spot before a big fight. In March, Jones was en route to Great Falls Historic Park in Paterson, New Jersey, to meditate ahead of his fight against Maurício “Shogun” Rua, along with his coaches Mike Winkeljohn and Greg Jackson. As their driver prepared to drop them off, Jones observed an elderly couple screaming for help. The woman informed Winkeljohn that a man had smashed her car window and run off with her GPS. The 205 lb Jones, along with his two coaches, chased after the robber, caught and tripped him, and held him down until the police arrived.
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