Champ Jamelle Jones all in ahead of CFFC 96, entering title defense with 'bad intentions'

On the surface, CFFC heavyweight champion Jamelle Jones' recent run of success would seem to be the product of moving up a weight class, forgoing weight cuts down to 205 pounds.

But "The Beast" believes that's only a small part of the equation that has seen him earn back-to-back first-round knockouts and claim CFFC gold.

"Like my coach was saying recently, what he was basically telling me is I'm all in," Jones said. "I'm all in now, and he was telling me I was halfway in before."

That was before Jones decided to commit his life fully to his dream of competing in the UFC, walking away from his day-to-day paycheck in order to become a stay-at-home dad and full-time fighter. Jones admits it made a massive difference in his development.

"I really wasn't halfway in, I just had a job," Jones said. "I was working a full-time job at Verizon. I was selling phones, and you know, my dad also told me, 'Jamelle, you've got to stop being 50-50. You're being 50-50 at your job, and you're being 50-50 fighting.'

"I actually took it as an insult. I'm like, 'I'm not 50-50 because I am running. I am lifting.' But when I really think about it, my whole aspect is different now. My mind is different. My training is different. My cardio is different. My preparation is different. Now I can wake up and think about what's ahead of me all the time, and then also I'm critiquing my technique. I'm getting better. I like to stand. I love to wrestle. I've got jits. I hit hard, and I'm finding myself out a lot better."

Jones' investment in himself has paid dividends in the cage, as witnessed by his title-winning performance at March's CFFC 93. Now the key is to keep getting even better. Jones said his vision isn't simply about making it to the UFC, but accomplishing something special once he's there.

"I started looking at the UFC champs, and I started thinking about how they get down and how they fight, you know, because ultimately that's the next step I want," Jones said. "I don't want anything else besides the UFC, so that's what I mimic. That's what I want to mimic and be like, and I want to be rare, man.

"I started looking early at Jon Jones' career, how he was finishing everybody, how he was so hungry. He wasn't as technical, but he was a beast. He was Jon 'Bones' Jones. And then I started looking later in his career and it turned into this thing: 'You've got to beat the champ,' you know? But with me, I still have a killing mentality. I have bad intentions. So any time I sign that contract, it's kill or be killed."

Jones (10-6) has signed the contract to return at Friday's CFFC 96 event, which streams live on UFC FIGHT PASS from Philadelphia's 2300 Arena. He'll put his title on the line against the incredibly experienced Rakim Cleveland (21-13-1), who has been competing professionally since 2010, facing the likes of Houston Alexander, Tanner Boser, Derrick Lewis, Vinny Magalhaes, Viktor Nemkov and many others along the way.

Jones said he respects Cleveland's time in the sport but feels the challenger simply doesn't match up.

"He's been around," Jones said. "He has a lot of fights. I respect the man because of everything he's been through. At one point, he had a losing career, and now he's sitting pretty well.

"I know he boxes. I know he likes to stand up. I know he's left-hand dominant.I know he likes to finish, and I know I do, too. I know I'm better at what I do than he is. I know I'm better at what I do than what he's good at."

Jones hopes to prove that on Friday night, in the headlining bout of the first card of back-to-back nights for CFFC. After that, he's hoping a UFC call comes next. He had a chance to score a UFC deal once before, falling short in a 2017 light heavyweight bout on Dana White's Contender Series. But things are different now, and with Jones finally all in, he's ready for the next stage.

"My goal is to finish this guy in dramatic fashion with bad intentions and have the UFC say, 'We need this guy in the UFC,'" Jones said. "I'm going to be electrifying. I'm going to keep showing my personality and I just hope the UFC likes it. I just hope Dana White sees that, sees it and goes, 'Who the f*ck is that guy? I want him,' or he goes, 'Is that that guy from the Contender Series? Holy sh*t, he's got better. We want him.' Because that's where I want to be.

"I got bad intentions, and I'm prepping myself for victory."