Fight Breakdown: Shogun Vs. Bones
Posted on February 7, 2011, 11:26 AM by Ryan VenturaThree years ago who knew Jon “Bones” Jones would become the up and coming star he is today in the Ultimate Fighting Championship? From his humble beginnings growing up in Rochester, New York, to the bright lights of Las Vegas. He has become a certified young success story in the world of Mixed Martial Arts. All 13 bouts for the 23 year old have ended in such dominating fashion of his opponents. Showcasing unorthodox (yet effective) striking using his lanky reach, a solid ground game, and a hunger to win. Jones has become one of the most exciting new prospects in recent memory. With his reach and charisma, to me he is becoming the Mixed Martial Arts version of Boxing legend Thomas Hearns. All of this hype and potential reminds me of another guy who made noise in the Land of the Rising sun in 2003.
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was soccer kicking opponents and stomping on heads like Super Mario in the legendary PRIDE FC promotion. Growing up in Curitiba, Brazil, a place rich in Vale Tudo history, he started to hone his craft in the legendary Chute Boxe camp. Along side his older brother Murilo “Ninja” Rua, his idol Wanderlei Silva, and many other wonderful legends, he learned his relentless brand of striking, and earned his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt. From 2002-2006, he was 12-1 in his Mixed Martial Arts career. 11 of those wins were via brutal TKOs. Shogun introduced the fans to a new brand of violence never seen in MMA. Mixing technical and relentless Muay Thai, along with his BJJ Black Belt on the ground, he was a threat for anyone and everyone that fought him. His reign of terror in the Vale Tudo and PRIDE ranks, his buzz in Mixed Martial Arts was similar to that of LeBron James in Basketball. In 2005, Shogun won the PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix at the young age of 24. Sadly, in 2006 at PRIDE 31 tragedy struck. During his fight with former UFC Heavyweight Champion Mark Coleman, while being taken down to the mat by the world class wrestler, Rua landed awkwardly dislocating his elbow. He would return months later after recovering from his injury and win four straight, including a brutal KO in their 2nd fight against Alistair Overeem.
He eventually made his UFC debut after PRIDE was bought out by ZUFFA. He made his Unified Rules debut against the original Ultimate Fighter, Forrest Griffin. When the fight went down, Forrest Griffin surprised the world winning the bout via. rear naked choke. Injuries to his knee was responsible for Rua's lack of stamina during the fight with the much bigger Griffin. At UFC 93, he was granted a rematch with his arch-nemesis Mark Coleman which he won. However the flashes of greatness we saw of him in PRIDE seemed to be long gone, that is until we saw him viciously beat the “Iceman” Chuck Liddell in the first round at UFC 97. From that victory, he earned his shot to fight the Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida in the City of Angels at UFC 104. It was a dominating bout for Rua, unfortunately he lost the fight via. controversial unanimous decision. He was able to redeem himself at UFC 113 in a rematch and destroyed Machida in the first round of the fight. That was the last time we saw Shogun in action on May 8th 2010. Originally at UFC 128, Mauricio was supposed to make his long awaited return to the Octagon to defend his Light Heavyweight crown against Rashad Evans. However, a knee injury in training has prevented Evans from fighting for the title. Making way for Jon Jones to step into the title picture and is now the number one contender for the belt.
Two men, both top were top prospects in the world of MMA will square off to prove who is superior. For Jon Jones, this title shot has been earned at a very young age. As dynamite and explosive as he is, he hasn't fought an opponent that even came close to matching his pace in a fight. Shogun Rua on the other hand has been through it all, fighting not only worthy opponents, but much larger, taller, and lanky as well (see his fights with Alistair Overeem). I truly believe experience will the be factor in this fight and Shogun could be the man to beat Jon Jones, once again proving to the world why Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is one of the best to ever step into the ring. But let's not count out Jon Jones, it'll be a tough fight for the Brazilian, and I look forward to seeing it all play out at UFC 128.
Comments
SHogun is a hell lot different fighter than bader and all the others, Bones will go in the cage with a legend of the sport. A smart, strong, effecient fighter as Shogun. He needs to study alot for him... Can't wait to see the fight, I'm going with shogun on this.
Me too man, I seriously can't wait.
I SAID RUSH WOULD BE A CHAMPION 1 DAY AND HE WAS. I SAID LESNER WOULD BE A CHAMPION 1 DAY AND HE WAS! AND NOW I SAY BONES HE'S GONNA BE CHAMPION AND.... PS: I ALSO SAID DANA WHITE IS A C.U.N.T AND HE IS!!!
jones is going to be put in his spot by sho gun! i dont HATE the KID.! but sum times he says things too make him self look bad! like a douche bag! yeah he is very he is very athletic, good wrestler, he got the length, and the height ! but he is STILL yet inexperienced as of now! and thats going too be his down fall! just that if he makes it ! in 5 more years he could be a anderson silva! sho gun is a destroyer ! he has very good ground game black belt! also sho gun has very good stand up! i would say as good as vitor! sho gun beat up every 1 in pride! i think bones is going too learn like he did bader!
yeah ok ...'there 2drunk2crack head have another inhale of ur plastic bag ! fvck bud what are you on and how do you get?
It'll be interesting to see if jones wants to try taking shogun down, either way he's in trouble
Man i just hope Shogun is 100%
Jones is way more dangerous than Rashad
the thing is Shogun takes a lot of time to recover
last time it took him 3 fights and lost his first 1 to Forrest
was 60% vs Coleman , 80% vs Chuck and well we all saw
what he did to Machida twice ones he was 100%
Trouble? No-one has put him in trouble yet, and Shogun won't either.
Your gonna compare Jones past opponents to Shogun?
Jones goes for an early takedown and.... BIG MISTAKE
Shogun via Leglock
thats sounds like sho gun.
You could base an opinion off of Shogun's past fights with Overeem... as they are similar in height/build etc but Jones style is so different to Overeems it's hard to say.
Another thing I noticed, prior to reading this is that; Shogun won the PRIDE 2005 MW GP at age of 23 I believe..... whereas here is Jones a similar age, and amounting to the same kind off success early in his career. Another thing, back then in PRIDE Shogun's team mate Wand was the Champ and lost to Arona in the semi's then Shogun went onto beat Arona and win the title. A passing of the torch in the Chute Boxe camp.....
Then you have Rashad - Jones team mate - who was supposed to fight Shogun... but now Jones has stepped in.... there are certain historical similarities.... but I do acknowledge it's different circumstances. It's interesting.....
Should be a great fight though. Regardless.
You've made some very good points my friend, comparing Ubereem and Bones is apple and oranges. However it should be a very interesting bout and I truly believe expeirence will be a HUGE factor in this bout. Jones is a baby in the game right now, he is very good, but this will be a true test!
think it's safe to say that if you like shogun, you like bones jones. there both exciting fighters, with vast amounts of talent and skill. this is in my mind the best possible match up at 205 right now.
i'd prefer to see this over rashad shogun anyday!
agreed, and i think its also safe to say if you dont like both of these fighters you must be crazy
glad bones has the shot. it will be much more interesting and exiting fight. plus i was afraid rashad was going to lay on shogun for 25 mins
im gona accept all the 'weak' clicks after this comment but i think jones takes it. his manner of victories is frightening.
me too....in his prime and hes well rounded with a great motivation,anyway in the fight anything could happen.imo
We need Bas Rutten to breakdown the fight!!!
Still waiting for Rutten to break down that finish on Bader.
honestly i think it could go either way cuz jones is amazing but shogun is the man and its too early for jones
Jones is to young hes never even been hit before and in my oppinion yur not a fighter until yu have been Knocked On Your ASS anyone who has any fighting expirence in fighting knows its a whole nother story when yu are getting rocked in the face or even leg kicks
Now obviously Jones trains with the best and has expierenced some of this before but actually being rocked and getting droped is a different story
Shogun is the man to do it i think they shudda put him up against a more expirenced fighter before the title shot because he broke badder a young fighter like badder never been through the storm and i think they were both nervous and thats what will happen to jones vs shogun
I'm going to have to go with Bones on this one sadly. Bones seems unbeatable at the momment.
Jon Jones has yet to be tested against a top-notch striker or someone with top notch BJJ. Shogun brings both to the table. Jones has his work cut out for him, but I think he'll make the best of his opportunity. At least the UFC has stopped feeding him wrestlers. I'd been waiting for Bones to get handed some real competition, but geez... talk about throwing him to the wolves.
not to sound like an ass.... but I knew from fight #1 in the UFC that Bones was going to be a major contender in a few years. I was telling all my friends/family who follow the UFC that this kid was going to be a champ. The kid was only 20 when he started fighting in the UFC and dominated some major verterns... especially in the Bonnar fight!
While I don't particularly care who wins this fight, because I feel this is just one of those cool fights that will be fun to watch, I'm going to give the edge to Shogun. Bones is hot right now and Bader was his biggest test, to date; however, Shogun is a completely different fighter. He has top notch striking and BJJ. Also, he has all the experience in the world. I think Jones has a lot of studying to do. May the best man win.
Man this sucks for me! I love both of these guys to death. Whoever wins I won't be mad. I might cry if shogun loses haha
Start crying now and get it over with cupcake, because it is going to happen.
We will see skip. Should be very interesting
Fight Breakdown: Shogun Vs. Bones:
Jones destroys Shogun, takes belt, fight over.
Bunch of Shogun fanboys on here, no love for Bones, the new LHW Champ. It's going to happen, so get over it.
I think Shogun will win but if Jones wins I hope he holds on to the belt for awhile so we dont have to worry about Rashad fighting for the belt anytime soon because Jones and Evans have said clearly they wont fight each other.
Tho if Jones does win the belt and holds onto it for awhile Rashad would more than likely move to MW.
IMO ; jones has many more ways to finish the fight but i think 5-6 weeks just sint enough time to prepare for ah 5 rounder, i would like to see jones win but 5 weeks just is kinda rediculous, should be an amazing fight either way though
I don't think that'll really matter. Both guys are known for explosive power and early finishes. Either Jones will be able to handle what Shogun brings or he won't. They bring such different skillsets to the table that I think one of them will get overwhelmed early. Either Shogun won't be physically strong enough for Jones and will get twisted into a pretzel like everyone else, or his standup/BJJ advantage will be enough and he'll take Jones out fairly quick. Either way, I don't see this going past the second round, much less to the fifth.
Jones is a new breed of fighter and as good as Rua is I doubt very much he can beat Jones. He has thus far lived up to the hype and will have a very good test in Rua, but one i expect him to dominate - no disrespect to Rua, he's awesome but Jones is beyond anything else in the LHW division IMO.
It blows my mind that many people think Jones is going to smash Rua. Has everyone forgotten how good Shogun is, or has Rua just lost all credibility to his name? Not saying Jones won't win but Shogun is on a different level than Bader and all of Jones's other opponents. But i guess we'll just have to wait and see next month.
JJ by whatever he chooses. You forget how Shogun gets choked out by TUF contestants. Jones will make quick work of that little guy
Rua is one of the best LHWs out there. he has beaten a who's who in mma and is a very very good fighter. Bear in mind though he isn't always great after a injury / lay off and more importantly Jones has looked more dominating by quite a long way than most other fighters in MMA. he now has to prove it against a grade A calibre fighter in Rua and is not easy no matter how good he is, but I do expect him to dominate Rua. And no, I have not forgotten how good Rua is or that he is a worthy champion and a credible champion. there is no disrespect in seeing Jones as a new breed of fighter that will elevate the sport. I could be wrong same as many others. rua could very well smash Jones into next week and some will be saying he was all hype, but his performances so far have looked like that of a future champion and also raising the fact he is a conundrum that Bader did not have a clue how to handle. Even Rua at his very best may not be enough to beat this guy. Flame me if I'm wrong after, but I mean no disrespect to Rua whatsoever.
JJ by whatever he chooses. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAND NEW LIGHTHEAVY WEIGHT CHAMPION. Forgetaboutit
im a big shogun fan but i honestly believe the only way shogun will win is with a submission.
bones jones is going to win this via elbows in the GnP
"welcome to the bones jones era ladies and gents"
IF Jones should win
look for him to challenge for Heavy within 12 months.
He is hot property
loaded with natural ability
and learning all the time.
Jones and Cain would be a barnburner
HHEEEEYYY !!! SHOGUN ALL THE WAY !!! PRIDE
I'm picking Jones in this fight but if anyone can beat Jones its shogun. Shogun is one of the if not the most aggressive fighter in the world and Jones hasn't faced someone like that yet. Bader is quite aggressive but when facing Jones the hype and simply Jones himself made Bader overly cautious, ending in his loss to Jones. I feel Jones has too many tools for Shogun but if Rua comes out like he did in Shogun Machida 2 then I could see Jones leaving the Octagon the same way as Machida.