Why, because Jones subbed Ryan Bader in round 2? :huh In Rua's last fight he knocked out Lyoto Machida in round 1.
Do you think that Shogun will come in 100% considering he is coming off of another surgery and will not have fought for ten months? Or will Jones jumping right into another training camp so quickly affect his performance?
If Jones beat Shogun then throw him to the heavies because there is nothing anyone at 185 or 205 for him.
This content is protected " I see you. I know you think I'm looking at my next opponent... but, I see you... all you doubters. I see you. I know you. I pay attention to you. I just want you to know.
What? There are loads of top guys at 205 for him to fight. Don't move him to HW before he even gets a chance to defend his title, that is ludicrous. There are plenty of other 205ers that present different, if not harder, challenges than Shogun.atsch
Hard to say when it comes to the injury but Shogun does seem to be giving himself much longer to build up his fitness again than he did vs Coleman when if I remember correctly he'd only been back training after the second sugery for a couple of months. I don't think ringrust by itself is that much of an issue for him since he doesnt seem the kind of guy to slackoff between fights, the two Machida matches were afterall what 8 months apart?
I gotta go with Jones. 6'4" tall 84.5" reach and possibly the most athletic guy in MMA. Add to this his calmness, unorthadox techniques and the ability to either keep it standing or take it to the floor with unbelievable ease. I think JJ will get a GNP TKO or Shogun will spend 5 rounds on his back.
There are still questions about Shogun's stamina too. Sure, he can kickbox for five rounds no problem but in his fights with Forrest and Coleman he gassed badly. A result of not being able to grapple for long periods without gassing or is it just the surgery I don't know.
I don't know if Jones reach is THAT big of an issue either, not only is he facing on the the best low kicks in the division but I'm not sure he has the technique to really exploit it. Agenst someone like say Forrest who looks to keep people at arms lenght the reach could help Jones land big shots but Rua likely isnt going to be doing that, he's going to be looking to make the standup as aggresive as possible. Jones while certainly dangerosu standing doesnt look like he has the technique to use the reach to keep Shogun at bay with the jab. Granted he's much better standing but it reminds me of what people were saying about Brock's reach vs Carwin and Cain, having it is one thing but being able to use it is quite another.
JJ's reach is an advantage as he uses it in an unconventional way. Watch the first takedown against Bader. JJ shoots, bader goes to sprawl but JJ reaches out and grabs Baders ankle. If it was a K1 fight I'd pick Rua, but in MMA the guy that decides when to stand and when to go to the matt usually wins. And when they are on the floor JJ is one of those freaks that appears to weight 300 pounds, he looks really heavy on top. Bader is a top wrestler and it was a total mismatch on the ground.