So, did Belfort turn out to be a worthy fight on Jones' championship legacy?

I think so. :smoke

Initially, I was disappointed in this fight because I viewed it as noncompetitive. I expected to see Jones annihilate Vitor. And he did, to an extent. Which was good.

But who would have thought that Belfort would be the one guy so far who would seriously threaten to comprehensively beat Jones?

I mean, he pretty much couldn't get any closer. We all thought Jones was done when Vitor was clinging on to him. We've seen a lot of top guys tap quicker than Jones gave himself. And it looked like he was not even going to get the chance to continue anyway, since his arm would be snapped. But he kept his head, staunched the **** up and escaped. And then dominated the fight with a fairly serious injury.

So we learned for the first time that Jones really isn't just a frontrunner. He is prepared to gut it out and be tough. He showed us something new, that we hadn't seen from him before, so IMO it turned out to be a very worthwhile defence. Certainly better than Rampage.

And what a great fight for Vitor's legacy it turned out to be as well. That armbar was as close as you could get to the greatest upset in UFC history. He only lost it when Jones' arm hyperextended.

:hat

 

Don't understand how this could be dismissed as not being a worthwhile defence, when Jones came infinitely closer to losing than he did against Machida, Shogun and Evans put together. :conf

We've never seen Jones pushed or challenged. Belfort took him right to the brink. That's a worthwhile defence IMO. And it's Vitor Belfort, not Chris Leben.

:hat

 

Anybody can get trapped in an armbar. :good

Jones showed toughness and heart against Belfort. I don't think that he showed "weakness" - anybody can get hit with a surprise armbar or a KO punch. I think Jones showed strength, by demonstrating composure and toughness in an adverse situation. He's still a young fighter, never been in trouble before, and he demonstrated impressive cool-headedness.

That's a worthwhile title defence. We didn't see a noncompetitive execution. We saw a fight. Every one of us was yelling at the TV when the armbar was sunk in. We all thought we were seeing Belfort achieve one of the greatest victories in MMA history. We were emotionally involved in the fight.

Last week I thought this was a crap fight. But watching it, I was on the edge of my seat. So I can't watch that and then come online an hour later and ***** that the fight was worthless and meaningless and a total waste of time. :good


EDIT: Not referring to you, who seems somewhat civil and able to consider differing points of view. But a lot of guys, there is never any middle ground. Hate it or love it. Mostly hate it.

:hat

 

Also Tito cutting Jones with his signature gnp would require that he put Jones on his back and controlled him. Which would be a story in itself.

Vitor grabbed an armbar in a flash while Jones was on top of him beating his ass. If Jones had tapped to it, he wouldn't have been controlled and beaten up. He would simply have lost control for five seconds in a fight he was winning, and been stopped because of it. Anybody can suddenly lose an MMA fight by sub or KO, especially when it's against someone as experienced and talented as Belfort. :conf

Whereas if Tito took him down and cut him up with some serious ground and pound in the first, Jones would have been in a position where he was losing the fight even before he was cut. Not the case with Vitor and his armbar. :good

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There is something to be said for establishing true long-term dominance though. Jones is only 25, and only beat Shogun 18 months ago. He's done a lot very quickly at a young age. Now he should spend the next couple of years laying down an Anderson-style iron fisted rule. One more win will tie Tito's all-time UFC LHW title-defence record. Jones can rack up many defences.

Why not? He still makes weight easily, he's still learning things and getting better. He wants to be prepared when he steps up to heavy, because the last thing he wants is to be too raw, not strong enough, and get steamrolled by a Stipe Miocic or a Shane Carwin. Jones is still pre-prime. Give him a couple of years to reach his prime, before he jumps up and challenges the likes of Cigano, Overeem and co. :good

:hat