Thus far, I've refused to get involved in the rampant showering of adulation on Jon Jones, primarily because I don't believe he has beaten a bona fide top opponent yet. Bader: Mediocre Rua: Like we have all clearly seen before in his career, Rua is out of shape and simply not the same fighter at all after long lay-offs due to injury/surgery Rampage: Lost his mojo years ago, has failed to stop the likes of Matt Hamill and Keith Jardine in a run of fights without his old signature KO wins stretching back to December 2008 However, I am saying right now that there are no reasons, no excuses, no mitigating circumstances, no nothing about Jones vs Machida that I would cast up afterwards if Jones dominates Lyoto the way he did to flabby Rua and toothless Rampage. Lyoto Machida has been one of my absolute favourite fighters since I first saw him fight at UFC 84, and I think he is a sensational talent. If Bones can destroy him, all of my doubts will be erased. I am looking forward to this fight so, so much!
I agree with that too, but im already sold on him. Rua walked through Machida. Bones will do the same
I agree that Rampage is a one trick pony who still lives on power that hasn't been displayed for a while. I also agree that Rua was out of shape and gassed ridiculously early. The other fighters are all just good fighters, nothing to write home about. However the manner of his victories have been really impressive. Machida is just another amazing step up. In the UFC (and in fighting), you are expected to peak every time or you lose. Eventually Jones might slip up because he is human AND because his level of competition is always the very best available. If he was to dominate Machida like he did Quinton and Mauricio then it would be scary.
You don't think his mix of speed, cardio, variety, grappling prowess, and quality striking will make him a very difficult proposition for many big, lumbering, (by comparison) one-dimensional heavyweights? I think he could have a lot of success in with the big boys, primarily because he is a better athlete and more versatile in terms of skillset than the fighters they are accustomed to facing. And when it comes to size, don't forget that the top two hw's in the world right now are Cain and JDS. Cain is 240-245lbs, 6ft 1in, 77in reach. Junior is 235-240lbs, 6ft 4in, 77in reach. Therefore, if Bones can get up to around 230lbs or more (which I believe he could), he'd still wield useful size advantages over them (7.5 inches in reach).
As it stands both Cain and JDS beat JJ if they were to fight tomorrow. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here
What are you basing this off on? Aside from his reach, there's nothing remarkable about his size for the division he's in. He's never come close to missing weight or even come in looking visibly drained from a weight cut. By all accounts, he cuts down to the LHW limit from under 220 lbs. after every camp. Again, that's totally normal for the division. Re the thread topic and the other posts in this thread, you guys are pretty tough to please. If Jones beats Machida, it will be his fourth victory over a top ten opponent in an 11-month span and his third victory in a title fight against a top 5 opponent in an 8-month span. In my eyes, that's on par with Shogun's rise to prominence in the 2005 GP. I find it funny that the lot of you are essentially saying that he has to complete one of the best runs in the history of the sport ever before getting any real credit.
I think that he loses to the cream of the division now, but if he were to move up, he'd easily be one of the top guys based on skill level alone. The fights from UFC 135 showed what a huge gulf there is in talent between the top guys at HW and everybody else. There are only about 8 decent fighters in the division IMO.
i was wrong to say he would be a nobody but he will have nowhere the same impact as he does at 205, i think his main strenght along with his wrestling is his size and reach, he hasnt displayed any confidence in me that he can take a strike well, when he goes to hw when his size is less a factor we will see him get hit a lot more, add to that he will need to gain some size which will affect his all round athleticism, his stamina might suffer carrying the extra weight, he doesnt seem to have a naturally high body fat so a lot of his weight will be extra muscle (especially in his legs)all these changes will be a big shock to his body and will require more energy, i aint jumping on any bandwagon his true test is in 2 years when his body will eventually fill out to the point where he has no choice but to move up
This +10 He's been ragdolling 205'er with leverage not power. Against guys 240+ it will be a different story. At least until he fills out Physically at around 28/30 years old The leverage goes for the striking to. The force he can generate is due to the velocity he can gain with his strikes with those limbs, not genuine HW power. He's not a one punch ko artist, all his stoppages come due to attrition. And he doesnt have the power or work in combinations to gain the respect he's been getting at 205 against the likes of Cain and JDS. Both have taken harder shots than anything JJ can replicate Seriously!
But they won't fight him tomorrow. That's the point. By the time Jones is ready to fight them, he could easily be a formidable proposition of a hw.
I'm not sure why we'd jump to that conclusion. Jones have the same height, reach and speed advantages that his fighting style uses to such good effect. Neither Velasquez or Junior Dos Santos are big enough to the point that they'd have a ridiculous weight advantage over Jones even today. And he's been deliberately de-emphasizing weight and strength training to avoid putting on muscle mass that would stop him making weight.