Author: Joseph Zucker

Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson: Rematch Is Necessary After Bones’ Close Win

How much longer until Jon Jones-Alexander Gustafsson 2?
That’s one of the biggest questions after the two put on an instant classic on Saturday night. ESPN’s Todd Grisham wasted little time in predicting the fighters will meet in the Octagon again in t…

How much longer until Jon Jones-Alexander Gustafsson 2?

That’s one of the biggest questions after the two put on an instant classic on Saturday night. ESPN’s Todd Grisham wasted little time in predicting the fighters will meet in the Octagon again in the near future:

It was an extremely close fight. The margin for error on the scorecards was minute, according to the UFC’s official Twitter account:

In the end, you could see why the slight edge would go to Jones. According to FightMetric, he had 134 signature strikes to Gustafsson‘s 110, and 137 total strikes to his opponent’s 114. In addition, each guy had one takedown.

The judge who scored it 49-46 was completely off, but a 48-47 decision to Jones makes sense—giving Jones three rounds to Gustafsson‘s two. The champion should inherit some sort of advantage, and the challenger didn’t do enough to take the belt off of him.

However, those who thought Gustafsson won the fight have a valid argument as well. His blows seemed to be having a big impact. While he didn’t have the volume of punches Jones did, he was able to do more with what he landed.

Gustafsson has at the very least earned himself another shot at the champion.

He was the second guy since Jake O’Brien at UFC 94 who went the distance with Jones. The other was Rashad Evans, and he wasn’t as close to earning a win as the Mauler.

Perhaps more importantly, Gustafsson was able to send Jones to the hospital, according to Fox Sports’ Ariel Helwani:

And this wasn’t Bones getting hurt because of an errant kick, like what happened against Chael Sonnen. This was the champion taking such a beating that he to be carried off on a stretcher.

Regardless of your opinion as to who won, everybody has to agree that the two fighters must have a rematch at some point in the future. It would help to determine who is beyond a shadow of a doubt the better fighter. In a sport like mixed martial arts, there’s no reason to have any unfinished business between fighters.

This is not to say that Gustafsson should immediately be handed a title fight again.

The Swedish star should have to move up the rankings again. After all, he had his shot at the king, and he missed. Once he picks up one or two wins, Gustafsson should be right up there again.

Saturday night shouldn’t be the last time we see Jones and Gustafsson battle in the Octagon.

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Chael Sonnen’s Stamina Will Prove Difference in Fight with Shogun Rua

It won’t be pretty, but Chael Sonnen will dispose of Mauricio Rua at UFC Fight Night 26.
Sonnen’s ability has begun to dwindle in his mid-30s. That’s generally not a good sign for a fighter who was arguably never at an elite level, even in his prime.
T…

It won’t be pretty, but Chael Sonnen will dispose of Mauricio Rua at UFC Fight Night 26.

Sonnen‘s ability has begun to dwindle in his mid-30s. That’s generally not a good sign for a fighter who was arguably never at an elite level, even in his prime.

The thing that has kept the 36-year-old near the top of UFC is his stamina. He continues to be extremely well-conditioned. It’s that conditioning that will prove vital against Shogun.

There won’t be any fans who are predicting Sonnen to win by knocking out Rua, no matter how much his poems say otherwise.

Only seven of his 27 wins have been by knockout. The only way for the American Gangster to get a win is to leave the decision up to judges.

The one area Sonnen has excelled at his entire career is out-wrestling and out-working his opponent. He seemingly has an unlimited gas tank and continues going strong well into the later rounds of his fights. Six of his last seven wins have come via decision.

He’s the kind of guy who isn’t going to give you an aesthetically pleasing fight. Instead, he grinds out results quite effectively.

That will be his blueprint for facing off against Rua.

Sonnen will look to go right at Rua and take him to the ground. It may not be effective in the early part of the fight. As it drags on, though, he’ll begin to take control and really start dominating Shogun.

It’s hard to believe that Rua is five years Sonnen‘s junior. The amount of punishment Shogun has taken means he’s 31 going on about 40. His fights have always been entertaining, but that entertainment has come at quite a cost.

While the punishment hasn’t led to Rua becoming a slurring, incoherent mess like some retired boxers, it has robbed him of whatever stamina he had earlier in his career.

Rua‘s energy level will drop precipitously as the fight goes on. Don’t be surprised if he gets gassed just walking to the Octagon.

Shogun has the ability to end this fight in the first round. The problem for him is that Sonnen is smart enough not to be baited into opening himself up for that kind of early knockout. He’ll keep his distance and let Rua tire out.

Sonnen is also smart enough to pick his spots and look to take down Rua. Those chances will only increase when Shogun’s tank approaches empty. In addition, he’ll lose the ability to get off the one strike that could knock his opponent out.

Rather than an artful display of ability, Sonnen will dispose of Rua with a ruthless efficiency.

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UFC 161 Results: Rashad Evans Must Ride Momentum From Win into Next Fight

Rashad Evans has a little bit of time to celebrate his win at UFC 161. He can’t rest on his laurels too long, though, because he needs to get back to training and continue to build upon this positive result.It wasn’t pretty, but Evans got the job done …

Rashad Evans has a little bit of time to celebrate his win at UFC 161. He can’t rest on his laurels too long, though, because he needs to get back to training and continue to build upon this positive result.

It wasn’t pretty, but Evans got the job done against Dan Henderson on Saturday night, winning a split decision 29-28, 28-29, 29-28. UFC took to Twitter to congratulate Evans on his victory:

Regardless of the win, there are probably plenty of fans who would have scored the fight for Henderson. While it’s true that the bout was very evenly matched throughout, Evans was able to get the win with the strong way he finished the third round. Let’s take a look at the round-by-round breakdown.

(Note: SS=Signature Strikes and TS=Total Strikes)

Evans started slowly but finished strong. In the end, that turned out to be the difference.

In terms of rankings, this one is an upset. Henderson came in as the third-ranked light heavyweight while Evans came in sixth, and that should have major implications on who will be in line for a title fight. 

USA Today‘s Matt Erickson reported Dana White would all but eliminate the loser from title contention down the line:

“I mean, anything’s possible. You could lose this fight and then go on an eight-fight win streak,” White told USA TODAY Sports. “But I would say, statistically, it’d be tough to come back from this loss (and fight for a title someday).”

Rashad can feel a little safer knowing there’s still a shot at the light heavyweight title in the cards. Evans vs. Jon Jones could be an intriguing bout because the challenger was one of the few guys to actually take Jones the distance.

Bones is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, and it’s logical pair him up with a fighter who gave him a run for his money last time.

The problem is, Evans looked far from convincing against Henderson. In terms of numbers and the overall narrative of the fight, he was the deserved winner. Unfortunately, he didn’t distance himself enough from Henderson over the three rounds to make you think he’s a vastly improved fighter from the one who lost to Jones and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

Lyoto Machida and Alexander Gustafsson have done more to earn a shot against Jones at this point.

That’s why it’s vital that he look as impressive as possible in his next fight. At 33 years old, he still has plenty of time to work his way up the ladder with a couple of victories. Realistically, that’s only going to happen if he steps his game up from this win.

A split decision win isn’t enough to catapult Evans to the top of the rankings and set him up with a rematch against Jones. As a result, he needs to choose his next opponent wisely and make sure to leave no doubt in the fans’ minds as to whom the winner is.

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UFC 160 Results: Fighters Whose Stock Took the Biggest Hit on Saturday Night

Spare a thought for the fighters who were left on the mat at UFC 160?If there was any doubt Cain Velasquez was the best heavyweight fighter in UFC, he made sure to erase any questions following his first-round win over Antonio Silva.Velasquez was one o…

Spare a thought for the fighters who were left on the mat at UFC 160?

If there was any doubt Cain Velasquez was the best heavyweight fighter in UFC, he made sure to erase any questions following his first-round win over Antonio Silva.

Velasquez was one of the biggest winners of the night, but what about the losers?

Plenty of guys elevated their UFC careers, but there were just as many—if not more—whose careers were hurt after Saturday night.

Here are three fighters who received the biggest hit after UFC 160.

 

Gray Maynard

Gray Maynard came into the night ranked No. 3 in UFC’s lightweight rankings. The premise was pretty simple in his fight with T.J. Grant. If Maynard won, he’d be looking at a meeting with lightweight champion Benson Henderson. A loss would mean a tumble down the pecking order.

Unfortunately for Maynard, he suffered a first-round knockout, and as a result, it’s Grant getting the shot against Henderson (h/t Mike Johnston of Sportsnet.ca):

This is the second loss in three fights for Maynard and follows up what was a less-than-stellar outing against Clay Guida back in June.

Maynard could have used this fight as a major stepping stone. Instead, he’s taken a big step back and has a lot of work to do in order to establish himself as a title contender again.

 

Antonio Silva

Silva is an intimidating presence in the Octagon, but when the fight actually begins, he’s exposed in a big way. When he knocked out Alistair Overeem, Bigfoot made himself into a title contender. On Saturday night, Silva made fans remember the difference between the guy who’s next in line for a shot and the guy who can legitimately challenge the champion.

Two fights in a row Velasquez has made quick work of Silva, who had very little to offer in the way of offense (h/t Mike Chiappetta of MMAFighting.com):

When you combine the time of their two fights, you don’t even get a full round of action. It took Velasquez 3:36 at UFC 146 and 1:21 at UFC 160.

As long as either Velasquez or Junior dos Santos is on top in the heavyweight division, it’s hard to take Silva as a serious threat. He can be fun to watch and has some name recognition, but his limitations were on display at UFC 160.

 

Alistair Overeem

Poor Overeem. He didn’t even fight and yet he took a huge hit on Saturday night. The more you thought about Silva’s knockout, the more you kept thinking back to when Overeem was felled by Bigfoot at UFC 156.

Overeem was the heavy favorite going into the fight and was ahead before being knocked out in the third round.

Saturday night could have been when Overeem took on dos Santos to re-establish himself as a heavyweight title contender. Instead, he backed out and is now looking at a bout with Travis Browne in August.

Overeem has a lot to prove. The loss to Silva could be nothing more than a fluke, but he wasn’t helped by the way Bigfoot was outclassed by Velasquez.

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Jon Jones Toe Injury: Bones Must Be Patient During Rehab Process

Baby steps, Bones. Just take baby steps.In his first-round knockout of Chael Sonnen at UFC 159, Jon Jones suffered a gruesome toe dislocation on his left foot. He’s since had the toe repaired and sent a picture of it to his Twitter followers:With that …

Baby steps, Bones. Just take baby steps.

In his first-round knockout of Chael Sonnen at UFC 159, Jon Jones suffered a gruesome toe dislocation on his left foot. He’s since had the toe repaired and sent a picture of it to his Twitter followers:

With that out of the way, Jones now faces the hard part: rehab.

It’s not a question of whether or not Jones will do the work necessary in order to return just as good as he was, if not better, before the injury. The issue is when he will start to do that work.

As with any competitive athlete, the desire to get back to work will be great. Unfortunately for him, he has to do the one thing he’s trained himself to hardly ever do—sit at home and relax.

Jones is arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He didn’t get there by sitting at home and occasionally showing up in the Octagon. The idea of being immobilized for weeks on end is an idea that’s completely foreign to him.

No matter how much Jones wants to return, he can’t afford to rush the rehab process. He’ll only do more damage to his toe.

A big toe is critical in something like mixed martial arts. That one little appendage carries massive importance for a fighter. Even someone with Jones’ talent will struggle with a big toe injury. You need to have it strong in order to be mobile and balanced around the Octagon and get the leverage necessary on attacking movements.

If Jones starts training before he’s ready, his big toe will not have enough time to properly heal. He could still remain a talented fighter simply because of how much better he is than the competition, but the gulf in class will begin to narrow. Jones would go from being a great fighter to just a good, maybe very good, fighter.

Coming back early would open him up for a loss in his return fight. Should that happen, he’ll be itching to get back. The toe will continue to be an issue as it won’t have a chance to strengthen.

Not to say that Jones should retire, but, at this point, there isn’t much for him to prove. He doesn’t have a loss to Sonnen or another fighter to avenge. There isn’t anyone claiming he doesn’t deserve to wear the UFC light heavyweight championship. And he’s only 25 years old. He still has plenty of years ahead of him.

There is no immediate need for Jones to return to the Octagon. He can wait months to start training again and working toward his next fight.

Fans can wish Jones a speedy recovery, but it’s more important that he has a healthy and full recovery than a quick one.

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Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen: Title Fight Will Fail to Live Up to the Hype

As poets laureate Public Enemy espoused back in the 1980s, don’t believe the hype.The Light Heavyweight Title fight between Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen at UFC 159 is going to be nothing more than a one-sided pummeling. Jones is one of the best pound-for…

As poets laureate Public Enemy espoused back in the 1980s, don’t believe the hype.

The Light Heavyweight Title fight between Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen at UFC 159 is going to be nothing more than a one-sided pummeling. Jones is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, and Sonnen is an overmatched challenger who’s used his mouth to get to the top.

If you haven’t read Tim Marchman’s wonderful takedown of Sonnen, do yourself a favor and check it out.

There’s nothing admirable about the way Sonnen has gotten to the top. He’s won fights, but without his mouth, Sonnen wouldn’t be anywhere near the title picture. Sure, he’s played the pro wrestling heel and managed to create a reaction. That doesn’t give him a free pass to say whatever he wants.

Sonnen has almost turned into a caricature of the kind of boxers Muhammad Ali would face off against back in the 60s and 70s. They would make disparaging, often racist remarks toward Ali in an effort to try and throw the champ off his game.

All of Sonnen‘s talk belies his actual talent in the Octagon, especially compared to his opponent. The champion summed up the situation perfectly back in November (h/t John Morgan of USA Today):

“Chael definitely doesn’t deserve to fight me, and everybody sees that,” Jones told USA TODAY Sports. “As long as people see that at the end of the day, I’m happy with that. But at the same time, a lot of people have said, ‘Why not be the guy to shut him up once and for all? Why not be the guy to make his words very irrelevant once and for all—put a stamp on what Anderson did to him.’ That’s what I’m going to try to do.”

While vastly overrated by his die-hard fans, Sonnen is a fighter with skill. He took Anderson Silva to the limit in their first fight, and that can’t be discounted.

But look at what happened in the rematch.

Silva took some blows, but none of them seemed to have much of an impact. The champion waited for an opportunity and found it with a knee that ended the fight in the second round.

Sonnen is a good fighter, but he’s simply nowhere near Jones’ quality. Jones is one of the best fighters in the world and may turn out to become one of the best light heavyweights in UFC history. There’s something staggering about the almost effortless way in which he’s won some of his fights.

The fans who will tune into UFC 159 for Sonnen vs. Jones likely fall into one of two categories. There’s the Sonnen fans who want and expect to see him beat the champion. Then there’s the other side, which—rather than being pro-Jones—is anti-Sonnen and want to see him knocked out or submitted, thus revealing him as the fraud he is.

Fans expecting the former are in for a big disappointment.

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