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Post by Kliquid on Mar 20, 2011 4:03:12 GMT -5
UFC 128 Results: Does Anyone Match Up Well with Jon Jones?If the results from UFC 128 told us anything, it is that Jon “Bones” Jones is the real deal. Using his tremendous strength, impossible reach advantage, and inventive technique, Jones made one of the greatest fighters of all time—in any weight class—look like a person who is just learning the sport. Like no other fighter before him, Jones has cut through the light heavyweight division like a hot knife through butter, having never really even been in any trouble at any point during his 14 professional mixed martial arts fights. Though he does have the one “loss” on his record against Matt Hamill, it has been well documented that Jones was completely crushing “The Hammer” in that fight before he was disqualified for the use of illegal elbows. It might have gone on the record book as a loss, but much like Fedor Emelianenko’s first loss, truly knowledgeable fans and experts pretty much disregard what the record book said that night. Jon Jones is a freak among men. He’s an animal that is so incredibly unique and spectacular that he may very well be the person who carries mixed martial arts during this decade as many of the previous decade’s best fighters are nearing the end of their careers. But as we marvel at what Jones has been able to do at just the age of 23, we should also take a look at some of the competition he still has in the light heavyweight division. Is there anyone out there who can stand up to the new champion? Rashad EvansIt looks like Jon Jones’ first title defense is going to come against his soon-to-be former teammate, Rashad Evans. Jones replaced Evans in what would have been his UFC Light Heavyweight title shot at UFC 128, so it is only fair that Evans gets the title shot that he earned. At 15-1-1 in his career, Evans has only ever been defeated once despite having fought some of the best light heavyweights on the planet. He has wins over Stephan Bonnar, Michael Bisping, Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, and Thiago Silva. Aside from Jones and Shogun, Evans and the aforementioned Machida, has pretty much wiped out the competition at 205 pounds. Evans may very well be the most interesting opponent for Jones in the light heavyweight division, considering his experience in training with Jones. A seven year veteran of the sport, Evans has shown that he knows how to pick out and exploit his opponent’s weaknesses. With that said, Jones has also had the opportunity to train with Evans and his coaches have been working with Evans for years. Rashad is a great fighter, but he will be a big underdog in the upcoming battle with Jon Jones. Advantage: Jon JonesRead more!
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Post by James Hetfield on Mar 20, 2011 4:39:20 GMT -5
No one will ever match up with Jones, at leased not in a good while. His reach ALONE is a HUGE issue and will be a problem for EVERYONE. It's almost an unfair advantage, actually. Hah.
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Post by sandmanecw on Mar 20, 2011 8:45:25 GMT -5
*cough* Anderson Silva *cough*
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Sonnen
Main Eventer
Joined on: Aug 16, 2010 8:42:36 GMT -5
Posts: 3,261
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Post by Sonnen on Mar 20, 2011 10:07:55 GMT -5
Anderson would kill him in the stand up battle if he moved up.
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Deleted
Joined on: Sept 29, 2024 17:35:27 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2011 10:48:42 GMT -5
I'm not sure if he is your number 7 as i can't seem to access it. However i would like to see a Phil Davis with a bit more fights under his belt take a shot at Jones. However until then i will fully embrace this title run as he is going to devastate a few guys
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Post by Happy Pizza on Mar 20, 2011 12:57:15 GMT -5
WE READY
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Post by Kliquid on Mar 20, 2011 13:51:30 GMT -5
*cough* Anderson Silva *cough* *cough* read the article *cough*
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Post by Kliquid on Mar 20, 2011 13:51:58 GMT -5
WE READY I actually agree with you. If anyone can beat Jones, it's Davis. Dude is a stud.
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Post by James Hetfield on Mar 20, 2011 16:01:19 GMT -5
LMAO. Phil Davis beating Jones. That's kinda funny.
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Post by SteveHulk on Mar 20, 2011 17:22:07 GMT -5
Going by last night's performance, I can't really see anyone beating Jones (outside the HW divison)...
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Post by sandmanecw on Mar 20, 2011 18:30:24 GMT -5
*cough* Anderson Silva *cough* *cough* read the article *cough* lol, nah, but thanks anyway
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Post by 1992 on Mar 20, 2011 19:26:36 GMT -5
*cough* read the article *cough* lol, nah, but thanks anyway He clearly mentions Anderson Silva in the article. Had you of read the article before blindly responding trying to be cute, you probably wouldn't have looked like such an ass.
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Post by Neos on Mar 21, 2011 1:22:53 GMT -5
I would love to see Jones fight Rampage,Machida,and even Anderson SIlva. He would kill Machida since his reach would give him an advantage over Machida's stratergy of just defending and striking from a distance. As the article stated,Jackson may have been a match for him once upon a time but now seems to be losing interest in fighting. Silva would stand a chance against him but it is really a toss-up. I think Jones is unbeatable at 205...for now.
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Post by sandmanecw on Mar 21, 2011 5:01:12 GMT -5
lol, nah, but thanks anyway He clearly mentions Anderson Silva in the article. Had you of read the article before blindly responding trying to be cute, you probably wouldn't have looked like such an ass. yeah, but i'm fine with that
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Post by Kliquid on Mar 21, 2011 9:35:17 GMT -5
He clearly mentions Anderson Silva in the article. Had you of read the article before blindly responding trying to be cute, you probably wouldn't have looked like such an ass. yeah, but i'm fine with that I'm glad that I can know in advance, when I see your username, that what you type is going to be completely pointless.
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Post by v/\v on Mar 21, 2011 9:50:08 GMT -5
Machida, Jones would annihilate him unless Lyoto can rediscover his agility - he was for a while invisible but the fights with Shogun he was there to be hit, like he gave up once he got the belt. I can't think of anyone right now. Rashad is going to be overwhelmed with strikes till he drops.
Anderson is the one man who looks like he could but then last summer with Sonnen's domination enters your mind, Jones could pace himself with that in mind and send it to judges if he can't keep Silva down/(extremely unlikely) put him away with strikes.
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Post by sandmanecw on Mar 21, 2011 17:33:33 GMT -5
yeah, but i'm fine with that I'm glad that I can know in advance, when I see your username, that what you type is going to be completely pointless. lol, chill brah. It's all good
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Post by Swarm on Mar 22, 2011 4:30:32 GMT -5
Well, if I were to break down how he compares to the top six..
Shogun - I would say the key to his win there really was his speed on the feet. On the ground, the fight kinda went as I thought it would in that Jones would be able to get the takedown and likely land some good GNP, but Shogun's BJJ would be good enough to avoid getting completely stifled as Matyushenko, Hamill, and so on were and also be able to at least threaten with submissions and sweeps which, in turn, would keep Jones from being able to make a lot of progress toward finishing there. Shogun's historically been really good at closing the distance and I felt before the fight like that would be the key on the feet, but Jon Jones was lightning fast and was able to cut corners as Shogun advanced which I think was ultimately what sealed the deal. So with that said, unless Shogun can greatly improve his takedown defense, cardio, and/or speed on the feet, a second fight would likely go the same way. I do think though that Shogun's knee surgery and year layoff probably hindered his speed a little so it's possible in a second fight that the standup game might not be so much in Jones' favor.
Rampage - I think it's kinda silly people knocking Rampage's work ethic and relevance when he just beat the, at the time, number two LHW in the division. Rampage is a very good boxer who covers up well and has serious KO power. I think on the feet it's a pretty close fight with Jones being more dynamic, having the reach advantage, and ultimately posing a larger number of threats, but with Rampage having the power to where, if he connects, it could be a bad night for Jones. The wrestling is really the deciding factor, however, as Rampage hasn't really shown to have a great game off his back so if Jones were to get the takedown, I don't know if Rampage would be able to defend himself as well as Shogun did which would be really problematic for him both in taking damage and using up a lot of energy. So ultimately, if Rampage can defend or even initiate the takedowns and either keep it on the feet or end up in top position, it's definitely a close fight, however if Jones takes him down and can keep him there, I think at that point it strongly favors Jones.
Machida - This is a really interesting fight IMO. Machida's shown to have phenomenal takedown defense. He's obviously most known for being really elusive and hard to hit, and against Evans and Thiago Silva showed that he can really put on the hurt against the right opponent. However Jones poses two significant problems in his skill and aggression on the feet as well as the reach advantage, which would force Machida to be even sharper in engaging and avoiding attacks. Machida also has somewhat of a bad habit, shown in the second Shogun fight, of not really defending his head very well which Rua really capitalized on en route to putting him to sleep. So I'm kinda thinking whoever is the quicker of the two is probably going to win this one. If Machida is quick enough to avoid Jones' strikes I think he'll be able to get inside and counter and that certainly leans the fight in his advantage. However if Jones can attack quicker than Machida can avoid, because of Machida's past lack of covering his head or fluid head movement, I think he'll probably end up getting beaten up.
Evans - This one's pretty simple; If Rashad Evans can take Jones down and control him for at least a little while, it's a fight I could see him winning. However if Rashad can't take the fight down and it becomes a standup fight, I've got all the love in the world for Rashad but he's gonna get killed.
Griffin - Interesting opponent for Jones. He's one of the only guys at 205 who Jones doesn't have as significant of a size advantage over. Griffin's 6'3 and has long legs as well as really good leg kicks which can theoretically allow him to control the distance. He's good at submissions however is likely to get taken down by Jones and, on the feet, I think inevitably Jones would probably connect on him and put him in danger. So all-in-all while I think Griffin would give him a competitive fight, I don't really see how he wins it unless he can survive a couple of tough rounds and Jones gasses, allowing Forrest to maybe secure a takedown and get a submission.
So just kinda looking at it I guess, I'd say Jones is either the favorite or possibly the favorite depending on how they match up against all of those guys. However I definitely think they all pose some major threats and the fights could each go the other way if things work out just right for them.
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Post by sandmanecw on Mar 22, 2011 17:36:30 GMT -5
I would love to see Jon Jones against Lyoto Machida. I think their styles would clash well. Machida with the grappling advantage (imo, but mainly for the submissions, as I believe Jones has better takedowns) and Jones has better striking.
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Post by Kliquid on Mar 22, 2011 18:25:04 GMT -5
Thanks for the thoughtful response, Alex
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