I actually made that comparison directly after the Hamill fight. The reaction then was rather hilarious.
Define "rocked." Did he land some solid kick and punches? Yes, but it didn't look like Jones was in any real danger of going down. Machida caught Jones with a couple of good shots, but Jones stood right back in the pocket with him each time.
Machida hit him with a left i believe and Jones wasnt expecting it and it connected and his legs crumbled a bit and he tried to keep his balance and recover while he was backing and he did so to
If his legs were wobbly, it was only for second. His movement looked fine after he stood back in the pocket with Machida. It's also hard to tell how much of that was him being hurt rather than being off balance because his wont is to backpedal quickly to avoid pressure.
I don't think you can say that had any effect. Machida was throwing the left also and showed no unsteadiness on his feet. Jones was standing in a southpaw stance when he landed the left which had more to do with it catching Machida than any effects of the elbow. The thing is, Machida is probably the best striker at 205 in terms of ability to hit and not get hit. He doesn't have ridiculous power but he is very, very effective and he got dropped by Jones. Jones striking isn't his best asset and he just mixed with it with Machida and you saw what happens once it goes to the clinch. 2 clinches in the fight 1st one Jones gets a massive TD and opens a gash on his head. 2nd clinch and machida ends up asleep.
You're wrong then. Machida has already said he had blurred vision after that, and Jones has already said it changed the fight. If you've ever took an elbow to the head which cuts you open and sends blood into your eyes, you'd probably know this already.
Watch it again. Machida looked in good shape and was in the pocket and throwing. He was beaten to the punch by speed not because he couldn't see it. Everything in a fight has an effect from leg kicks to feints. But I think people are trying to look for holes in Jones game that just aren't there.
Machida said he had blurred vision after the elbow, Jones said he felt the elbow changed the fight. Argue with the two fighters, not me. :good
I think Mike Winklejohn's advice to Jones in the corner between rounds had more to do with his victory then the elbow. He noticed Lyoto was looking to tag Jon with a straight left everytime Jon threw a leg kick. He told Jon to fake the leg kick, lean off on an angle, and throw the straight left down the pipe. Jon made the adjustment and thats how he ended up dropping Machida.
There's only one guy capable of beating Jones right now. His name is Dan Henderson, he's the only person heroic enough to pull it off