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Jon Jones vs. Cain Velasquez Superfight Biggest Fight to Make in 2015

It’s been a few years since the talk of “superfights” inside the Octagon was at its most fevered pitch. When Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva were both reigning supreme as untouchable UFC champions, fans were salivating over the idea of the two of them coming together for a massive champion vs. champion fight. Now as we kick off 2015, a potentially bigger superfight lies on the horizon.

Jon Jones vs. Cain Velasquez would be the biggest fight the UFC can put together in 2015. In a year where we could see the returns of former champions Brock Lesnar and Georges St-Pierre as well as a possible soccer stadium show featuring Conor McGregor, and Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz, the sky seems to be the limit on big fights. The biggest of them all could be Jones vs. Velasquez.

The UFC is finally in a position where its most dominant champion is a pay-per-view and television draw. The promotion of his fight with Daniel Cormier has seen both Jones and the UFC embrace the champion’s role as a bad guy and someone fans either love or hate.

Jones has beaten the brakes off of several former UFC champions, but his last three performances have sent his popularity much higher than in the past.

His UFC 165 performance against Alexander Gustafsson was 2013’s “Fight of the Year” and was a star-making performance for both champion and challenger. Jones then dispatched a very dangerous and highly touted Glover Teixeira at UFC 172 in dominant fashion. And now on the heels of one of the most anticipated fights in UFC history, his grudge match with Cormier, Jones is approaching superstar status.

If the UFC wants to continue Jones’ upward trajectory, where does it go from here?

The heavyweight champion has always been dubbed “The baddest man on the planet.” Velasquez fits that bill perfectly. He will have a unification fight with Fabricio Werdum upon his return from a lengthy injury layoff, and should he remain champion, the time is near for a Velasquez vs. Jones superfight.

One thing that was common of UFC stars in the past was their fights each seemed to be bigger than the previous. Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz and Brock Lesnar all found themselves in increasingly important fights as they climbed the UFC ladder. Silva’s unbeaten streak became so legendary (and fragile) that he attracted more and more fans with each fight.

The next opponent for Jones will most likely be the winner of Gustafsson vs. Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, which takes place later this month in Stockholm, Sweden. A rematch between Jones and Gustafsson would be huge, as Gustafsson pushed the champion to the brink in their first encounter. A matchup with Rumble Johnson would be the last viable threat at light heavyweight for Jones.

At a time when MMA is looking to untested, outside sources to draw eyeballs, why not book the greatest heavyweight of all time against the greatest light heavyweight of all time?

The fight would sell itself, especially given the utter disrespect shown by Jones to Velasquez’s teammate Cormier, even after the fight.

If we have learned anything from the UFC’s inability to book Silva vs. GSP, or Silva vs. Jones, it should be that the iron won’t be hot forever, and we need to strike hard when the opportunity exists. Someone will lose, or someone will retire. New contenders will inevitably pop up. Should Jones and Velasquez make it to the second half of 2015 still holding their titles, they need to fight.

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Jones vs. Cormier Results: What Went Right for the Champ at UFC 182

At UFC 182, Jon “Bones” Jones retained his UFC light heavyweight title and defended it for a record eighth time. He proved once again why he is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world in defeating one of his most formidable foes…

A lot went well for the champion at UFC 182. Many wondered if Cormier would be able to get past the 12-inch reach advantage and either knock Jones out or score a big takedown. Jones used his sizable reach advantage to keep the challenger at bay, and his long arms helped when Cormier did close the distance, as Jones was able to avoid enough of Cormier’s onslaught in the clinch to win the fight.

The thing that worked best for Jones was his game plan throughout the fight. He implemented it very successfully and never strayed into a wild brawl with Cormier. There were a few certain aspects of his game plan that proved to make the difference in this fight.

Leg Kicks

One of the reasons why Alexander Gustafsson was able to do so much damage to Jones was because he effectively avoided the diagonal kicks to the leg that Jones has hurt so many past opponents with. He moved laterally and threw kicks of his own to keep the champion guessing, which was a strategy that didn’t work for the much-shorter Daniel Cormier.

Cormier chose to move forward more than circle throughout the fight, which left him walking right into kicks that were meant to bend his leg backwards in the most unethical of ways. Jones repeatedly nailed DC with kicks that undoubtedly frustrated the challenger. Jones’ legs were just too long, and he used his kicks too well for Cormier to come up with any real countermeasures.

Takedown Defense

Daniel Cormier embraces the grind. His walkout shirt read “King of the Grind,” and his plan was to “Break Bones.” With this fight being fought in such close quarters, Jones was able to use his underhooks to avoid being taken down by Cormier.

Cormier is known for being able to find the takedown regardless of where the fight is positioned. He wasn’t able to shoot in for single-leg attempts, and he couldn’t use his trips when in close with Jones.

Cormier finally scored a huge takedown late in the fifth round, but it was too little, too late against the prolific light heavyweight champ.

Strikes to the Body

Throughout the fight, Jones landed some hard punches and kicks to the body of Cormier. It helped keep the challenger guessing. At the points where he was able to time and avoid the oblique kicks, Jones would hammer Cormier to the body.

Jones wasn’t able to use his signature elbow strikes as much, but he sure wore down DC with strikes to the body. He chipped away at the challenger, and while in the clinch, Jones landed some well-placed knees to the midsection of Cormier.

As was evidenced in the fight, Cormier presented a very difficult challenge for Jones. Had Jones done anything other than thoroughly prepare and implement his game plan to a tee, he very well could have lost to DC at UFC 182.

Jones never lost his focus throughout the fight and never strayed away from his game plan. He did eat some punches from Cormier, but the champ was just too effective with his offense to be beaten.

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Jones vs. Cormier Results: Recapping the Pivotal Moments from UFC 182 Main Event

At UFC 182, Jon Jones faced one of the toughest tests of his prolific mixed martial arts career in Daniel Cormier. After fighting five hard rounds, Jones came out with the victory, leaving no doubt that he is the greatest light heavyweight f…

Throughout the fight, Cormier showed perseverance and championship grit that truly tested Jones. Most of the contest was fought “in a phone booth,” which is to say close and personal. This was more because Cormier needed to be that close to Jones to mount any semblance of an effective offense, as the champ had a 12-inch reach advantage over Cormier and used his leg kicks very well.

It was a dogfight for nearly the entire 25 minutes, and there were a few pivotal moments that changed the course of the fight. There were plenty of hard shots and significant strikes landed by both men throughout the fight, but none of them really changed the direction of the contest. Both men have great striking resiliency, and they did seem affected by any shot landed by the other.

Most of the defining moments of the fight came in the struggle for grappling supremacy, which was a constant theme of this fight. Cormier avoided the unorthodox strikes that Jones has shown in the past, and Jones used his reach to avoid Cormier’s striking from distance, keeping the fight mostly standing.

Cormier Suffers His First Takedown in MMA

There was no feeling-out process in this fight. Cormier immediately attempted to get inside the reach of Jones and avoided a few hard kicks thrown by the champ. Cormier threw a left kick to the body, which was caught by Jones, allowing the champ to trip Cormier and, within the first minute of the fight, become the first person to take DC down in MMA.

The challenger got right back to his feet and kept up the pressure on Jones, but the sting of being taken down so quickly put the momentum on the side of Jones very early on in the fight.

DC Takes Round 2

Towards the end of the first frame, Cormier started to find a bit of rhythm in getting past the arms and legs of Jones. The second round gave us his best offerings in the fight, as he worked hard in the clinch to tag the champ with uppercuts and punches to the body. He even landed a hard body kick in the final minute and briefly had the champion staggering.

Two of the three judges scored the close second round for Cormier, making it the only round he would officially win in the fight. This was a pivotal moment because after a solid first round for Jones, Cormier was able to make it a tie going into the third round and show glimpses of how to effectively negate the reach of Jones.

Jones’ Emphatic Takedowns in Round 4

A lot of the lead-up to this fight involved both men claiming they would be able to take the other one down in the fight. The most significant takedowns of the fight came in Round 4, when each fighter needed to pull ahead strongly, as the previous rounds were all very close and could have gone either way.

Cormier was exhausted going into the championship rounds, and about one minute into the fourth frame, Jones lifted DC off his feet against the fence for a big takedown. The challenger popped back up just to get taken down again.

Mike Goldberg commented right afterwards that the momentum of the fight was “rapidly rising for Jones,” and it was. This was the point where a Jones victory became the clearest, as Cormier was extremely tired and getting dumped on his back twice was the mental setback that allowed Jones to pull ahead in the fight.

Cormier’s Last-Minute Takedown

Joe Rogan said in the final round that Cormier was looking for a “moral victory” by continuing to try to take Jones down. It wouldn’t win him the fight, but he seemed to need to prove that on at least one front, he wouldn’t be completely outclassed.

With 53 seconds left in the 25-minute battle, Cormier picked Jones up and walked him towards the center for a big last-minute slam. Jones got right back up, but in that single moment when Cormier had Jones up off the ground, he was in charge. It was a very close fight, and Cormier was competitive throughout. As he looks forward to the climb back towards title contention, he can at least say that he scored a takedown on the greatest fighter of all time.

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UFC 182: Grading Paul Felder and Cody Garbrandt’s Debuts

On a UFC 182 main card that was populated by names such as Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier, Hector Lombard and Donald Cerrone, it’s a surprise to many that there wasn’t a Performance of the Night candidate to be found when it was all said and done.
How…

However, it was the fighters in the prelims who had everything to gain and put on a spectacle for those in attendance at the MGM Grand. The debuting Paul Felder and Cody Garbrandt skillfully picked apart their respective opponents before putting a stamp on near-flawless victories. Felder picked up a performance bonus for his spinning backfist knockout of Danny “Last Call” Castillo. Garbrandt, who missed out, should still be feeling pretty good about himself.

Felder, known as The Irish Dragon, continued his undefeated streak and added another impressive knockout to his expansive resume. The 29-year-old former Cage Fury Fighting lightweight champion has seven knockouts to his name including this one. Felder, a longtime friend of fellow lightweight Donald Cerrone, had been training with Cowboy for the latter’s co-main event bout against Myles Jury.

Felder, already 1-0 inside the Octagon, drew Team Alpha Male member Castillo in his second bout. Castillo has been known to wrestle and clinch his way to victory, which he does to compensate for his average boxing skills. The 35-year-old Castillo had his legs battered by Felder‘s kicks; perhaps he could have used those against him by threatening for more takedowns. Instead, that allowed for Felder to continue pushing forward, growing his confidence in time for this beauty.

But before we hand Felder the owner of most vicious knockout of the night, let’s take a look at the fight that preceded his. As one Team Alpha Male fighter fell, one rose, and he goes by the name of No Love. Garbrandt, undefeated like Felder, came into Saturday night’s debut against the Marcus Brimage on a five-fight win streak, winning each fight by knockout or TKO.

For the entire fight, Garbrandt marched forward and was clearly the aggressor of the two. He also seemed to have an answer for everything the American Top Team fighter threw at him and employed an efficient counterstriking attack. But while the 23-year-old Garbrandt landed several counter lefts and punishing hooks, Brimage was quietly making this more of a fight than it may have appeared.

The third round marked a turning point, when Garbrandt was able to put away the stumbling Brimage via several left and right hooks. Garbrandt‘s power went unmatched throughout the entire fight, as the Bama Beast never was able to tee off and put him in danger. If it weren’t for Felder‘s propensity for the unorthodox, UFC President Dana White may be writing a different name on the check.

Garbrandt‘s victory, while it may have seemed one-sided, had the feeling of a somewhat competitive fight. When compared to Felder‘s win, it pails in comparison. The Irish Dragon’s striking was light years better than Castillo’s. He also stuffed two of Castillo’s takedown attempts. Top 15 bantamweights and lightweights have all been put on notice.

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Daniel Cormier Next Fight: 4 Options After UFC 182 Loss to Jon Jones

At UFC 182, Daniel Cormier came up short and was handed his first defeat in mixed martial arts in a close, five-round fight against Jon Jones. He is now in the position of being a title challenger coming off of a loss, and his next matchup will b…

He will need to put together a sizable winning streak to get another crack at Jones and the light heavyweight title, but his performance in the bout proved that he can certainly hang with Jones for five rounds and is still a legitimate threat to the rest of the 205-pound division.

Where does “DC” go from here? Let’s take a look at four options for Cormier after losing to Jon Jones.

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Following UFC 182, Donald Cerrone vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov the Fight to Make

Donald Cerrone is clearly on a tear within the Ultimate Fighting Championship. At UFC 182, he dominated Myles Jury to earn his sixth straight win, dating back to UFC 167 in 2013. With this win, Cerrone has entered a peculiar place where he’s a major draw within the division but just outside the place to demand a title shot. With that in mind, the UFC matchmakers should place him against Khabib Nurmagomedov, with the winner getting the next shot at the title.

Donald Cerrone is one of the most active athletes on the UFC’s roster. His fight on Saturday was his 16th fight since moving to the UFC in 2011. He has put together a very impressive 13-3 record during that run.

Unfortunately for Cerrone, two of those loses come to current lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and recently tapped Rafael dos Anjos, who will fight Pettis at UFC 185 in March (via Sherdog). With that fight being set up, Cerrone now has the opportunity to wait for Nurmagomedov or stay active, which he is prone to doing.

During the post-fight press conference, Cerrone mentioned that he would like to fight at the UFC event planned for Denver, Colorado on February 14.

“Denver, Colorado in a couple of weeks would be pretty cool,” Cerrone said during questioning (video via MMA Fighting).

Yet, from a rankings standpoint, the fight against Nurmagomedov makes the most MMA sense. Nurmagomedov is currently ranked No. 2 within the lightweight division, while Cerrone sits in the No. 4 spot. Gilbert Melendez recently competed for the title and was defeated, which would eliminate him as the only other man ranked above Cerrone to potentially face at this time.

The question is whether or not the UFC can convince “Cowboy” to wait on the sideline instead of trying to cash in more paydays. Nurmagomedov is currently out with a knee injury that he suffered back in June (via MMA Junkie). Recent reports have pushed his return back to February at the earliest (via MMA Fighting). That would mean that Cerrone would have to wait until potentially March or April for his next bout.

Nurmagomedov welcomed the idea of fighting Donald and took to Twitter to express the delight.

He even went further to suggest an exact event where the fight should occur.

Comparatively speaking, Cerrone versus Nurmagomedov would be a compelling stylistic fight. Cerrone has struggled in the past against men who can pressure him and score takedowns. His losses to Rafael dos Anjos and Benson Henderson can be used as examples as to how he has competed against men of a similar style. The question would be whether or not he can stay on his feet against Khabib‘s sambo and overwhelm him with his volume striking.

For Nurmagomedov, the tactics would be to take Cerrone down and control the contest. The status of the fight as a main or co-main event would play into this strategy, as it would be telling to see if Nurmagomedov can do it for 15 minutes as opposed to 25.

Cerrone would have the striking advantage, but Khabib‘s takedowns have been his main weapon since joining the UFC, and it should be expected for him to continue to lean on what has gotten him this far.

Donald Cerrone and Khabib Nurmagomedov are on a direct course to see who will eventually challenge for the lightweight title in 2015. The UFC should convince Cerrone to sit on the sideline for a few months and patiently wait for Nurmagomedov to return from injury.

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