Jon Jones Talks Strategy, Fighting “Shogun” From the Clinch

Anyone in their right mind should have been stoked to see Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Rashad Evans, but it seems like ever since Jon Jones came into the equation, the hype’s gone up another level. It makes sense of course, as just like thousands of others, we too quickly jumped on the “Bones” bandwagon after seeing […]

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Anyone in their right mind should have been stoked to see Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Rashad Evans, but it seems like ever since Jon Jones came into the equation, the hype’s gone up another level. It makes sense of course, as just like thousands of others, we too quickly jumped on the “Bones” bandwagon after seeing what kind of glorious violence he’s capable of.

Despite the fact that this Saturday’s bout marks the first time the 23 year-old phenomenon will fight for the title, Jones has been taking it in stride, while remaining extremely confident about his chances. So, just how is the rising light-heavy planning on dismantling the champ? Speaking to ESPN, (thanks to MMA Fighting for the quote) Jones stated:

“I was a Greco-Roman All-American, and the clinch is such a huge part of combat sport,” Jones said. “If you look at Muay Thai matches, if you look at your traditional boxing, the clinch is huge. It’s a natural instinct for people to clinch when they’re in a bad situation. And that’s one of my main strengths. My takedowns from the clinch are very powerful, my knees from the clinch are very powerful, and I think that can be a huge mismatch that I can exploit in this fight.”

Yes, right about now you might recall Jones tossing opponents through the air like they were unsuspecting beach balls, and there’s little question he could do some serious damage from that position. That said, we are talking about Shogun, a man who reduced “Rampage” Jackson to a pile of broken human with some serious, serious knees. Guess we’ll see huh?

To put some money down on the fight head here.

UFC 128 Predictions

Filed under: UFCThe light heavyweight title is on the line in what looks like it will be one of the best top-to-bottom fight cards of the year in mixed martial arts at UFC 128 on Saturday night. My pay-per-view predictions are right here.

What: UFC 12…

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Shogun Rua will battle Jon Jones in the main event of UFC 128 on Saturday night.The light heavyweight title is on the line in what looks like it will be one of the best top-to-bottom fight cards of the year in mixed martial arts at UFC 128 on Saturday night. My pay-per-view predictions are right here.

What: UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones

Where: Prudential Center, Newark

When: Saturday, with a Facebook stream starting at 8 p.m. ET, the Spike TV undercard fights at 9 and the pay-per-view at 10.

Predictions on the five pay-per-view fights below.

The Making of Jon Jones

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse ExclusiveEverything will work out as God plans it, he says to himself, and walks ahead with faith and positivity. Suffer a setback? Move forward. Facing adversity? Plow ahead. Fight a legend on short notice for the world cham…

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Everything will work out as God plans it, he says to himself, and walks ahead with faith and positivity. Suffer a setback? Move forward. Facing adversity? Plow ahead. Fight a legend on short notice for the world championship? You better believe it.

This whole thing, after all, started with faith. Jon Jones was just 20 years old back in the winter of 2007, going into 2008, when he found out he was about to be a father. Jones, the defending junior college national 197-pound wrestling champion, decided he was done with school. Now, he had to be a provider. That commitment had to come before anything else.

Fighting was the means to provide chosen for him, and in this belief, he did not waver, even when reminded it took years to make big money in MMA. “It will all work out,” he often told people. And so it was that on the day his girlfriend Jessie went into labor with their first child, Leah, Jones was 250 miles away, on the road to Atlantic City, New Jersey to fight. Faced with the prospect of missing his child’s birth, Jones contemplated on the decision. Of course he wanted to be there, but the odds of returning in time for the birth seemed remote, and his family needed the money. The decision was made: he would stay and compete.

With Jon Jones and Shogun Rua at the Forefront, UFC Takes Manhattan

Filed under: UFCNEW YORK — With freshman verve, Jon Jones marched on to the stage of Radio City Music Hall, in the City That Never Sleeps, on the Great White Way, and declared himself ready to face one of the most decorated light-heavyweights in the s…

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NEW YORK — With freshman verve, Jon Jones marched on to the stage of Radio City Music Hall, in the City That Never Sleeps, on the Great White Way, and declared himself ready to face one of the most decorated light-heavyweights in the short history of MMA.

This is a town that prizes flash combined with substance, and the 23-year-old certainly looked and sounded the part. Dressed in a blue suit, Jones played to the boisterous fans, waving them on, taking a moment during the press conference to Tweet a picture of the assembled crowd, even accepting the request of a US soldier to walk him to the cage at UFC 128 on Saturday night.

In typical Manhattan style, one local asked Jones to stand up, then asked if he really thought he could beat champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. That set off a chorus of screams from fans, split on their loyalty to the main event fighters. Jones smiled and waited for the crowd to quiet.

Dana White Talks UFC 128, Desire to Book Wanderlei Silva vs. Vitor Belfort

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NEW YORK — MMA Fighting spoke to Dana White at Wednesday’s UFC 128 pre-fight press conference at Radio City Music Hall about Jon Jones being a betting favorite heading into his fight against Shogun Rua, what’s at stake for Mirko Cro Cop on Saturday night versus Brendan Schaub, how his life has changed since the Strikeforce acquisition and his desire to see Wanderlei Silva vs. Vitor Belfort II in the future.

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NEW YORK — MMA Fighting spoke to Dana White at Wednesday’s UFC 128 pre-fight press conference at Radio City Music Hall about Jon Jones being a betting favorite heading into his fight against Shogun Rua, what’s at stake for Mirko Cro Cop on Saturday night versus Brendan Schaub, how his life has changed since the Strikeforce acquisition and his desire to see Wanderlei Silva vs. Vitor Belfort II in the future.

Live Tweeting UFC 128 Press Conference at Radio City Music Hall

Filed under: UFCMMA Fighting will have live Twitter updates of Wednesday’s UFC 128 press conference at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Jon Jones, UFC president Dana White and others will be in attendance to discuss t…

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MMA Fighting will have live Twitter updates of Wednesday’s UFC 128 press conference at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Jon Jones, UFC president Dana White and others will be in attendance to discuss this Saturday’s UFC 128 pay-per-view.

Below are Twitter updates from our MMA Fighting account in reverse order.