Jon Jones is set to defend his Light Heavyweight Championship against Daniel Cormier in the main event of UFC 182, the promotion’s first marquee event of 2015. The fight had previously been scheduled for September, but an injury to Jones pushed it back.
Jones is one of the biggest draws in UFC, but he’s entered the octagon only once since September of 2013. It’s fair to wonder whether that lack of action could be a factor against his rapidly rising challenger, who’s coming off a win over Dan Henderson in May.
It’s clear there’s no love lost between the budding rivals. That should make for a terrific atmosphere on Saturday night. Let’s check out all of the important information for the main card, followed by a preview of the championship bout.
Viewing Info
Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
When: Saturday, Jan. 3 at 10 p.m. ET
Watch: Pay-Per-View
Fight Preview
Probably the biggest question coming into the bout is which version of Jones will show up—the one that was never able to gain complete control against Alexander Gustafsson, nearly leading to an upset, or the one that dominated Glover Teixeira last time out.
If Jones is at his best, he likely wins the fight comfortably. Anything less, however, and Cormier is capable of giving him a serious challenge and maybe even walking away with the belt. He sports a 15-0 career record, including a 4-0 mark since joining UFC.
Cormier certainly wants to turn the fight into as much of a wrestling match as possible. He has a strong background in that area, and as the level of competition has started to rise in his recent bouts, that’s where he’s been able to gain the most control.
On the flip side, Jon Anik of Fox Sports 1 passed along comments from the champion, who knows that’s an area where he’ll need to prove himself:
SportsCenter provided further thoughts from both fighters ahead of their hyped encounter:
For Jones, the biggest key is using his reach to gain an advantage. In a fight in which he wants to avoid a close-range brawl, a more methodical approach will be necessary. Using that length to land some heavy strikes and then backing off before Cormier can engage is Jones’ best bet.
But it might not be easy for Jones to have a good feel for this fight, as he’s fought just once in the past 15 months. That’s an asset that comes with repetition, which is often difficult to replicate in training sessions.
So again, there may be a slight opening for the underdog. The question is whether he can capitalize. Kelvin Hunt of Pro MMA Now says the approach should be pretty straightforward:
Ultimately, the slight advantage goes to Jones. He quickly squashed any questions raised by the Gustafsson fight with a strong effort against Teixeira. The extended layoff should have allowed him to completely recover from the leg injury, and he should enter the bout at full strength.
He’s far from a lock, though. Cormier poses a legitimate challenge and is seemingly peaking at the right time heading into the biggest fight of his career to date. Anything less than the champion’s best effort could very well result in a title change in the main event.
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