Jon Jones’ rise to the top of the pound-for-pound rankings steadily continues with every challenger he emphatically beats.
His next challenger is Rashad Evans, an opponent who seemingly knows the champion and shares a closer past with him than any other fighter in the light heavyweight division.
The war of words has gone on for several months, with Evans opening up about Jones in ways unimaginable, and criticizing his former training partner and camp. Jones has remained tight-lipped throughout the year, hoping to achieve redemption against the former UFC light heavyweight champion.
Although he has looked uncomfortable at times during interviews discussing his past experiences with Evans, there were glimpses where Jones showed over-confidence when comparing his skills to his opponent’s.
Evans has gone on record saying the 24-year-old is arrogant and cocky outside of the spotlight, and that seems more believable each time Jones opens his mouth.
Evans continues to discredit Jones’ hype and says he is capable of beating him due to his past experience with him, but Jones denies that he will lose on April 21.
This title bout is the most intriguing fight because of the two fighters’ history together.
Jones is already focused on his next challenger, as he is annoyed with Evans and hopes to beat him in devastating fashion as early and quickly as he can.
The problem is that Evans is one of the best wrestlers in mixed martial arts and is technically brilliant at mixing up his strikes with his takedowns.
Some may not want to believe it, but Jones is overlooking Evans’ skill-set, regardless of how much he has improved in the last year. And if there is one fighter who holds advantages over Jones, it’s Evans, and he intends on pulling off an upset at UFC 145.
So if Jones is as prepared as he claims he is, he better not overlook Evans.
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