UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones may be the future of MMA, but he could be in for a rude awakening when he meets Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 135.
Jackson, a former UFC champion, has gone to great lengths in his preparation to defeat Jones and recapture the world title.
Since entering the UFC, Jones’ path of destruction is well-documented. He has throttled opponents in every aspect conceivable without experiencing even a lick of danger.
At UFC 128, Jones became world champion after decimating top light heavyweight Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, who is widely considered as one of MMA’s all-time greats.
Now, he faces another legend in Jackson, the first man to unify the UFC and Pride titles.
While Rua is the more efficient Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai practitioner, Jackson’s game is more boxing and wrestling oriented. Jones has never faced a boxer with the stand-up prowess and devastating power of Jackson, who has put the lights out on a multitude of world-class names throughout his career.
As intriguing as the stand-up battle is, the most interesting aspect of this fight will be the wrestling.
Jones is likely the better grappler, but Jackson has proven to have the wrestling chops to outperform some of the best grapplers in the world. Takedowns can’t be telegraphed or rehearsed for Jones, who could eat a fight-ending uppercut or find his shot stuffed when he changes levels.
The factors that many people haven’t stopped to consider are the relative unknowns about Jones’ overall game. Can his cardio hold up for a five round fight? How good is his chin? How well does he deal with adversity?
Jackson is a tough and gritty veteran that can possibly bring out the answers to these questions.
We’ve seen Jackson go the distance on multiple occasions, including a couple of five-round championship bouts. Jones’ ability to work at a fierce pace for extended periods of time will be tested by the ever-aggressive Jackson.
The ability to take a punch can make or break an entire career. If you are skeptical, you can go ask Andrei Arlovski. From a technical perspective, Arlovski remains one of the best heavyweights in the world, but his inability to absorb punishment has put a damper on his career.
Jones’ tremendous boxing defense typically keeps him out of danger from full-on punches, but if given a chance on the feet, Jackson will eventually land. It’s going to tell a lot about Jones after seeing how he reacts to that first big shot.
Will he panic and get overzealous in working for a takedown? Would he struggle to recover if he gets dropped?
These are all legitimate questions heading into Saturday night’s bout.
We have never seen Jones have to deal with adversity in a fight. Every fight won’t resemble his championship bout with Rua. There will be times when Jones gets tired, hurt and things in general won’t go his way.
How is he going to react to these situations?
Despite being a world champion, Jones is still 24 years of age with only 14 fights to his name, which is a far cry from Jackson’s 40 bouts.
“Bones” will enter UFC 135 as the rightful favorite, but it would be ignorant to discount Jackson’s chances. It only takes one punch to change the course of a fight, and Jackson certainly has the power to deliver.
Win or lose, Jackson will be Jones’ toughest test at UFC 135.
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