Jon Jones will defeat Chael Sonnen on April 27, and he’ll do it in style.
The two fighters will headline UFC 159, and this fight has the potential to be one of the best on the card.
Sonnen is a tough fighter who always provides a challenge to his opponent. He is an excellent wrestler, a dangerous ground-and-pound fighter and is adept at defending against strikers.
He has been fighting professionally for nearly 16 years and has seen everything the sport has to offer, but he has a critical weakness Jones will exploit.
This is the game plan Jones must follow in order to dominate Sonnen at UFC 159.
Goad Sonnen into Takedown Attempts
Jones is an excellent defender against fighters who try and land punches and kicks. He keeps them off balance by using his long legs and countering their strikes with painful strikes of his own.
Sonnen has never been known as a particularly deadly striker, though he does throw a lot of punches from time to time. His strengths come from his wrestling background, and he usually tries to get his opponent down on the mat as soon as possible.
Jones should take advantage of Sonnen‘s over-aggressive approach and goad him into thinking he has a shot at taking him down.
As good as Sonnen is at taking opponents down, Jones is even better at turning the tables on opponents who try to take him down.
Patience Is Key
Jones likely wants to get this fight over with in a hurry.
Sonnen has been doing his classic Sonnen thing—trash-talking from sunup till sundown for the past month or so—and Jones can’t stand it.
After abstaining from responding to Sonnen‘s antagonistic remarks for the past month, Jones went on a rant on Tuesday night’s episode of UFC Tonight, per Yahoo! Sports, accusing Sonnen of being a long-term steroid user—a rant he later apologized for, via his official Twitter account.
Bones Jones is motivated to shut Sonnen‘s big mouth with a resounding victory, but he’d be smart to wear Sonnen out for a round or two before making his big move.
An excellent striker, Jones should make Sonnen chase him around the ring while tagging him with a consistent barrage of strikes to his legs. Sonnen is known for having excellent stamina, and he’s a strong fighter on the ground.
Once Sonnen‘s legs get sore and he starts to lose his wind a bit, that’s when Jones should strike.
Submission
Sonnen has lost a total of 12 fights in his lengthy career—eight of which have been decided by submission. He’s a terrific offensive wrestler, but Sonnen has never learned how to defend against the top grapplers in MMA.
Jones just so happens to be one of the world’s best wrestlers and is adept at submitting opponents.
After wearing Sonnen down, Jones needs to take this fight to the ground and work his ground-and-pound game until he finds an opening.
With Sonnen, the opening will inevitably come, and once it does, Jones will have an easy time of finishing the job.
Prediction: Jones wins by guillotine choke late in Round 3.
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