Craig Jones recently shared the reasons behind his desire to compete against Rafael Lovato Jr. at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 6, scheduled for March 3.

Jones first spoke about looking for a “strategic advantage” in his classic tongue-in-cheek fashion:

Promoters have said: “Hey who do you want to face?”
I wanted to face Lovato.

And that’s not because I see a strategic weakness in Lovato.
If anything, it’s because I checked his age and he’s a little older.

You might see that as vulnerability, but my counterargument would be I think we both probably have the same aged heart given the damage and mileage mine has on it.
My lifestyle is a great equalizer, it’s the reason we look the same age, me and Lovato.

But he is 40 and I’m 32, I think.

Beyond that, of course, lies the “other” reason behind Jones’ motivation – and it’s got to do with admiring what Lovato has accomplished:

The reason I want this match is because there’s key names that are pivotal when you’re coming up.

Sometimes if you ask a grappler who has influenced you the most, it’s gonna be based on who was famous and who was doing well at a lower belt for these guys.
Who was a big-name competitor when you were a purple belt? When I was a purple belt, guys like Lovato were, they were the big names of my generation.

So for me, when I was a purple belt aspiring professional competitor, those are the names that I was like: “Holy f*ck, it would be sick to have a match against these guys, beat these guys.”

And now, as I get older in the grappling world, these guys are retiring so there’s not too many opportunities for me to face these gentlemen.