When Vladimir Matyushenko was confirmed as Jon Jones’ next opponent for the August 1st, UFC on Versus card, it’s likely many fans had one of two responses- for post TUF fans their first reaction may have been ‘who the hell is Matyushenko?’, while old school observers might have had the words ‘sacrificial lamb’ run through their minds. After all, Jones has dominated everyone he has faced in the Octagon to date, and when you leave dudes like Brandon Vera and Matt Hamill broken and beaten, people are going to start talking. And talking they are.
Of course, Matyushenko is no slouch, and when you consider that the decorated wrestler has lost just once since 2003 (and that was to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira) one can understand why the UFC matched “The Janitor” up with Jones (that’s still a badass nickname). So, having said that, what are the betting lines showing? Well, the odds point to Matyushenko getting tossed big time; for example, BETUS has the fight at -600 for Jones and +400 for the decade plus vet (as does Bodog). In an interview with MMA Bay, however, Matyushenko isn’t buying into all this underdog talk, stating:
“I believe at the highest level of MMA there is no such thing as an underdog. I know I have all the tools to do my job and win any fight if I train properly for it.”… ‘My strategy will be a surprise for everyone.”
Huh. It will be interesting to see what the “surprise” is; if Matyushenko wins, someone with a ton of insight, expendable cash and possibly prophetic abilities, is going to get rich. To bet on the bout head here.