Tag: Jon Jones

Jones vs. Evans Results: Bones Proves He’s UFC’s Finest Fighter at UFC 145

Can Jon Jones be beat?He has wrestling chops. His striking game is phenomenal. His elbows are devastating. He exhibits a creativity in the Octagon that most fighters don’t possess.Yes, like any other fighter in history, on any given night he is beatabl…

Can Jon Jones be beat?

He has wrestling chops. His striking game is phenomenal. His elbows are devastating. He exhibits a creativity in the Octagon that most fighters don’t possess.

Yes, like any other fighter in history, on any given night he is beatable.

But barely. At this moment, Jon “Bones” Jones is the UFC’s finest fighter, and he proved it once more with a fairly easy unanimous decision over Rashad Evans on Saturday night.

That makes it seven straight wins for Jones, with the last four coming over previous light heavyweight title holders Mauricio Rua, Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida and now Evans. And the only blemish in his 16-1 career mark came when he was disqualified for throwing illegal elbow strikes at Matt Hamill.

He’ll face another difficult opponent in his next fight in Dan Henderson, whose excellent wrestling could give him trouble. Or it could be just another day at the office for Bones.

Now, I know what some of you are thinking. Anderson Silva is the UFC’s best fighter, with 14 consecutive victories and a UFC-record nine title defenses in the middleweight division.

It’s a fair argument, though since 2010 we’ve only seen an injury-prone Silva fight four times. In that same span, Bones has rattled off his streak of seven wins. He’s younger and longer than Silva, and his recent run of success is more impressive than anything the Spider has ever accomplished, at least in such a short time frame.

Jones is 24, and he’s already at the top of his sport. If he remains focused and hungry, he’ll only get better. His legend has room to grow.

Jon Jones, like any other fighter, can be beat. But as of now, it’s just about an impossible task for any fighter unlucky enough to draw him.

 

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UFC 145 Results: 5 Things We Learned About Rashad Evans

Rashad Evans faced his toughest obstacle in Jon Jones on Saturday night and didn’t leave with a passing grade.  He was able to endure to the end and that is to be commended, but he didn’t do enough to even garner a close decision.  Perhaps pu…

Rashad Evans faced his toughest obstacle in Jon Jones on Saturday night and didn’t leave with a passing grade.  He was able to endure to the end and that is to be commended, but he didn’t do enough to even garner a close decision.  

Perhaps pundits made too much of the fact that he was a former friend and training partner.  Either way, Jones left Evans icing his forehead and picking up the pieces of his championship aspirations.  

Here’s what we took away from his performance:

 

Taking Emotions Out of the Equation

Jones was applauded for his ability to take his emotions out of the fight and do things according to plan.  Rashad deserves a little credit also.  Even though he lost the fight, he was able to keep his emotions in check throughout the fight.  There was the occasional showmanship, but that’s just the “Suga” peeking through.  For the most part, Evans stayed level headed. 

Inability To Close the Distance

This fight provided a blueprint to future opponents of  Evans.  If an opponent has a reach advantage, Evans has a difficult time getting inside.  During the duration of the fight, Evans failed to get inside Jones arm and leg reach.  This inability rendered him offense-less.  

Add to that his inability to muster a take-down, and he couldn’t do much damage to the champion

Toughest opponent for Jones

Though Jones obtained an easy decision over Evans, Rashad was his toughest opponent to date.  Jones wasn’t able to put him away and had him in slight trouble, but nothing detrimental.  Evans made Jones think on his feet and not rely solely on his athleticism.  

This fact coupled with the psychological warfare that Evans threw Jones way, made him Jones’ biggest obstacle to date, but he cleared it.

Very Small Likelihood To Win a LHW Title

With Jones firmly entrenched in the light heavyweight driver seat, the likelihood that Evans ascends to another title shot is very slim.  Jones has dispatched four other former champions and now Evans has to go to the back of the line.  Maybe he has a better shot in another division.


Middleweight Is an Option

Ah, yes.  The classic “lost to the champion, lines too long to get back so I’ll drop to a lower division and become a top contender” scenario.  In theory, it’s an option for him, but can he endure the weight cut.

Remember that Rashad won The Ultimate Fighter as a heavyweight, so going down to middleweight will be quite a challenge.  With that being the case, his current position in the LHW division may cause him to consider the move.

 

 

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UFC 145 Results: Is Jon Jones Unbeatable?

From 2006 until 2011, Anderson Silva was considered to be the most dangerous fighter in the world. However, since then, Silva has endured a variety of injuries which, in result, have sidelined the current UFC middleweight champion. During that time and…

From 2006 until 2011, Anderson Silva was considered to be the most dangerous fighter in the world.

However, since then, Silva has endured a variety of injuries which, in result, have sidelined the current UFC middleweight champion.

During that time and even before, the youngest champion in UFC history, Jon Jones, has taken the center stage, overshadowing “The Spider.”

The major difference we’ve seen in Silva and Jones is the ability to be defeated.

As we can recall, Silva was taken to the woodshed as he was beat up and down the Octagon for four-and-a-half rounds only to sneak out a last-second victory against Chael Sonnen.

Silva was defeated, but still found a way to win.

Enter Jones.

Jones has yet to meet his match.

In fact, not only does Jones fight in a thicker weight division, but his upside is incomparable.

In his first title opportunity, Jones mauled through Mauricio “Shogun” Rua en route to a knockout finish.

The dominance continued in submission victories over former UFC champions in Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Lyoto Machida.

However, even still, Jones had work to do.

He needed to defeat his former teammate and ex-friend, Rashad Evans.

When the opening bell sounded in arguably the most anticipated bout in UFC history, it was Jones who proved he’s no man to mess with as he picked apart Evans en route to an impressive unanimous decision victory.

To date, Jones has yet to be defeated even though his recorded indicates one loss.

That “loss” came to Matt Hamill when Jones was disqualified after landing illegal downward elbows.

Even still, it was Jones who controlled the pace as we’re still yet to see him challenged.

The competition remaining is beginning to get scarce as Jones continues to maul through every opponent that comes his way.

It’s likely Jones will now square off with Dan Henderson giving him yet another opportunity to prove that he’s the only unbeatable fighter in mixed martial arts today.

 

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UFC 145 Results: Jon Jones Will Dominate UFC After Win vs. Rashad Evans

After defeating Rashad Evans by unanimous decision to retain his light heavyweight championship at UFC 145, Jon “Bones” Jones is ready to dominate the UFC for many years, and become the sport’s biggest superstar ever.Saturday night’s victory over Evans…

After defeating Rashad Evans by unanimous decision to retain his light heavyweight championship at UFC 145, Jon “Bones” Jones is ready to dominate the UFC for many years, and become the sport’s biggest superstar ever.

Saturday night’s victory over Evans was one of several convincing wins for Jones against some really talented opponents, and he’s now proved that he can fight any style and defeat any type of challenger.

Even though Jones was a heavy favorite, he was unable to end the fight early with a few devastating punches because Evans was ready for the challenge.

Evans made Jones work, but the title-holder never let the advantage sway to the side of his opponent. Jones did what he had to in order to win, and his great stamina and strength allowed him to be successful.

One of the fighters who Jones could square off against next is Dan Henderson, who is a legend in his own right, but Jones will come into that fight with a ton of confidence after a string of huge victories.

Jones is ready to dominate the UFC for years, and there’s no one capable of stopping his run of dominance.

If Jones can continue his success, he can become the face of the UFC and help the sport grow with possible marketing opportunities.

While the UFC is massively popular, it needs a huge star to bring in more casual fans who still haven’t hopped on the MMA train yet.

Jones has the potential to be a LeBron James-like figure in the UFC and lead the immediate future of the sport, and bring MMA to new heights.

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UFC 145 Results: Jon Jones Will Meet Dan Henderson in His Next UFC Title Defense

At just 24 years of age, Jon Jones has accomplished a great deal as a professional MMA fighter.He joined the UFC in 2008 after fighting six times that year with smaller promotions. Jones then went on a seven-fight run that saw him lose only once, a dis…

At just 24 years of age, Jon Jones has accomplished a great deal as a professional MMA fighter.

He joined the UFC in 2008 after fighting six times that year with smaller promotions. Jones then went on a seven-fight run that saw him lose only once, a disqualification loss for throwing illegal elbows.

That run earned him a shot at UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Jones ran through Rua with no problem, leaving him battered, bloodied and without a title.

His next fight saw him become the first fighter ever to finish Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in the UFC, forcing the former UFC champion to tap out in the fourth round. 

From there it was on to another former champion, Lyoto Machida, and again it was another stoppage victory for Jones as he choked Machida out with a standing guillotine in the second round.

That takes us to Saturday night. 

Facing his third straight former UFC light heavyweight champion, Jones walked away from his five-round battle with Rashad Evans with the title still strapped around his waist. 

Jones wasn’t given much time to bask in the glory of his victory, as Dana White announced during the post-fight press conference he was going to face Dan Henderson: “We told Dan Henderson that he would fight the winner of this fight.”

Henderson, a former Pride and Strikeforce champion, is in his second stint with the UFC. Since rejoining the UFC in late 2011 he has fought once, defeating Mauricio Rua in a five-round bout that many considered to be the best fight of 2011 and one of the top fights in the history of the UFC.

Since that win Henderson has been sitting on the sidelines, waiting for a shot at UFC gold.

When asked about the fight, Jones had the following to say at the UFC 145 post-fight press conference:

I feel great that I already have a mission and I’m going to work extremely hard to better myself. I did things that I could have done better and Dan Henderson is an awesome opponent. He’s a winner, he has a huge fanbase, I’m sure the haters gonna come right away, which I’m ok with. It’s just gonna be a lot of things to conquer in this fight. He has extreme knockout power. I don’t know who hits harder between him and Rampage, but he has extreme knockout power and I’m excited to conquer it.

No date or location was mentioned for the Jones versus Henderson fight.

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UFC 145 Results: Did Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans Live Up to the Hype?

Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans wasn’t boring. Despite what some aggravated keyboard warriors might say, it lived up to the hype. Jon Jones was billed as an unstoppable killing machine—a sort of Alexander the Great, except instead of conquering t…

Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans wasn’t boring. Despite what some aggravated keyboard warriors might say, it lived up to the hype. 

Jon Jones was billed as an unstoppable killing machine—a sort of Alexander the Great, except instead of conquering the known world, Jones has conquered the Octagon and the UFC light heavyweight division. 

He racked up impressive victories over Pride legends like Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson as well as a brutal submission win over former champ Lyoto Machida. 

But Jones’ accomplishments were only part of the hype. 

The other half of it was Rashad Evans—Jones’ former training partner, figurative big brother, and fighter with the best chance to beat Jones.

Rashad was marketed on the fact that he had a chip on his shoulder from being “betrayed” by Jones as well as the fact that he had some sort of magic, secret way to beat his former friend since he used to train with him. 

So did the ultimate grudge match live up to what was promised?

Yes. 

Fans who expected a bar-room brawl level of excitement were let down, but avid enthusiasts of pure mixed martial arts competition were not. 

We got to see Jon Jones in excellent form. His strikes were unorthodox as ever and he nearly knocked Evans out with powerful, ruthless elbows in the second round. 

However, we also got to see Jones tested more than he has ever been. Evans, through his athletic abilities and time with Jones, was able to land some excellent shots and Jones and survive attacks that would’ve finished a lesser fighter. 

Even though one fighter didn’t submit or knockout the other, it was still an intriguing, entertaining fight.

The fight was initially a back-and-forth affair, with Evans doing quite well, but then Jones showed his true fighting spirit and athleticism by pulling ahead of Evans for the remainder of the fight. 

Just because it wasn’t on the level of Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua doesn’t mean it was a bad main event. Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans was fine, and if you don’t think so, either learn to appreciate the finer points of MMA or find something better to complain about.

 

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