FULL INTERVIEW AT HTTP://LEGACYFIGHTS.TV
On July 19th, AXSTV Fights fans will witness two of MMA’s most currently talked-about women colliding in the Legacy FC cage. In one corner, we have 18-time former boxing world champion, Holly Holm [3-0 MMA] and in the other, a feisty 2-2 firecracker who rose to fame after taking on one of the sport’s most controversial fights to date at Champion Fighting Alliance 11. Despite her third round submission loss, Allanna Jones is more determined than ever to make her mark in WMMA…a mark she hopes to leave on her opponent’s face.
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Legacy: What is your normal workout and training routine these days?
Allanna Jones: My normal routine is eat breakfast, two-mile run, train in the morning. In the afternoon, eat lunch then go back to the gym and train, relax a little bit then I go back to evening class. I'm up here in Chicago right now training at Team Toro, a Muay Thai gym. I'm there till about seven, basically. That's the daily routine: train and train!
Legacy: I want to talk a little bit about coming back from your last fight at CFA (Champion Fighting Alliance). What made you want this fight against Fallon Fox when so many others publicly refused to ever consider it?
Allanna Jones: The main thing was because I didn't want to leave my spot in the tournament [CFA] just because of the situation that she had gone through. I didn't want to give up my chance and I wasn't going to run from her. I look at it as, "a fight's a fight," and that's what I do is fight. I wasn't going to back down and that's basically it.
Legacy: I read that Carla Esparza [Invicta Fighting Championships' Strawweight champion] was quoted after the fight as saying, "It seemed like a B.S. fight" and that it "looked fake." How do you respond to that?
Allanna Jones: There was nothing fake about it. I went out there and I gave it my all. I'm not going to lie, there were mistakes I made and things I didn't capitalize on that would have changed the outcome, but there was nothing fake about the fight.
Legacy: Walk me through Fox's shin choke and what you would have done differently to defend it in hindsight.
Allanna Jones: I will admit that was something I had never seen before and really didn't have a defense to it, so I was forced to tap. I've gone back to the gym and learned that choke since then; that was a cool choke. I'm not going to lie. I feel like maybe I could have pushed her knee out and turned in to her to get out of it. I've been working around that, but I am sure there are going to be people training solely around that and using that in fights. We've been working on the defense if it ever happens again and learning how to do it myself.
Legacy: Now that the fight is over, can you give us your observations, as a woman, on fighting someone that was born a man? Did you feel a difference at all, physically?
Allanna Jones: The only time I saw the difference was when we went to the ground and Fallon Fox was lying on top of me; she was heavy. She was strong, but there wasn't too much of a difference. I was fighting a woman that was very strong. It kind of made it a little bit hard to move around and defend her takedowns.
Legacy: Did you feel uncomfortable, sexually, at all during the fight?
Allanna Jones: No, I didn't think about that. I didn't think about that at all.
Legacy: Tell me about your walkout song choice, "Dude Looks Like A Lady" by Aerosmith. Was it meant to be a funny joke or did you mean it as a jab at your opponent?
Allanna Jones: I thought it was hilarious; I thought it was funny. It fit the occasion, you know..."dude looks like a lady..." and he did start out as a dude and turned himself into a lady. I just thought it was a good choice of song. It got me pumped up, it got the fans pumped up and everybody liked it. Except Fallon, she didn't like it. I don't know; it was funny. That's what we do, every fighter in the sport, is entertain.
Legacy: There are those that would call Holly one of the greatest women's boxers of all time. Is that intimidating to you at all?
Allanna Jones: No. No, it's not. She's a great boxer and I know that. I think it's very exciting and a great opportunity for me since she's a legend at it. I thought it would be cool.
Legacy: Do you think it would be wise to try and stand and bang with her, or take her down before she has a chance to strike? What's your plan?
Allanna Jones: Likely, the wise choice would be to try to get her down to the ground. She is more experienced in striking, but I am confident I could stand and bang with her. We'll see how the fight goes!
Legacy: Tell me what you know about Holly's boxing: is it her hand speed that is her biggest strength, or perhaps the power behind her punches?
Allanna Jones: She's quick and she's on her toes a lot, always moving in her fights. She will throw some good kicks as well.
Legacy: What are you focusing on primarily during this camp?
Allanna Jones: Mostly all-around…tightening up on my boxing, learning from the mistakes I have made. I made sure to watch the last fight video and work on all the things that Holly Holm would pick out and pick up on. She's been doing this for a long time; way longer than me, so I want to make sure I do everything I can to prepare. I'm in the gym working on my ground game and takedowns, working on takedown defenses. I'm always trying to focus on a little bit of everything in order to pull out this win.