UFC 128: Jon Jones reaches the Promised Land
Posted on March 20, 2011, 01:16 AM by Ryan VenturaJon Jones started out his day by stopping a New Jersey car jacker, but had his sights set on stopping the legend Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Going into this fight both men looked extremely focused and hungry at the task at hand. Bones went into this fight the favorite, while the Shogun even though he was the man with the belt was the underdog.
As soon as first round bell rang, Jones was the man with the master plan. He exploited Shogun's lack of size and reach, he was outclassed on the ground, and on the feet. For three straight rounds it was all Jon “Bones” Jones. We saw spectacular work in the clinch, spinning elbows, brutal ground and pound. It was clear the PRIDE legend who made his name spilling the blood of his opponents in five different nations, was no match for the young hungry lion. In the third round with his back to the UFC Octagon cage, Shogun ate numerous strikes till finally falling to the ground.
With Jones arms raised in victory, you can see a smile on his face, and a sigh of relief. Mauricio Rua was once Jon Jones in 2005 when he won the PRIDE Middleweight GP in 2005. Without saying a word, the torch was passed with each elbow landed. At the age of 23 Jon Jones has made it and is officially now a household name in Mixed Martial Arts. Like many other young champions in their early 20's, names like Tiger Woods, Mike Tyson, Floyd Patterson, and even Shogun Rua himself. Jon Jones is now a member of an elite group of young achievers.
After the fight, standing across from Jones was a potential new adversary. Old friend and teammate from the Greg Jackson Camp “Sugar” Rashad Evans seems to be next on the UFC Light Heavyweight food chain. The sky is the limit for the new Light Heavyweight champion and a new era in the division has begun.
Questions I have after seeing Shogun vs. Jones:
-Is there anyone out there in the Light Heavyweight division that can dethrone Bones?
-Does Shogun need to change his methods of training to improve his gas tank?
-What does potential opponent Rashad Evans offer against Jon Jones?
-Who should Shogun fight next?
Notes from after UFC 128:
-Uriah Faber looked great in his UFC debut. He threw some nasty elbows on the ground against Eddie Wineland. I'd give him two more fights and he should earn a title shot against Dominick Cruz.
-Seeing Mirko Cro Cop look like a shell of his former self was sad. Mr. Left Head Kick needs to hang up the gloves. Brendan Schaub looked great against the Croatian, give him at least three more fights and he could contend for a title. But he needs to fight against some true blue chippers to earn that right.
-Nate Marquardt grinded his way back on the winning path but who should he fight next to get one step closer to another Middleweight title shot?
-Jim Miller looked awesome against Kamal Shalorus. Jim Miller has won seven straight and his title shot is due. In a very stacked Lightweight division, he has proved to be a threat. Who should he fight next?
-Luiz Cane finished Elliot Marshall in such spectacular fashion, but he has a long way to go to truly become relevant in the Light Heavyweight picture.
-Edson Barboza is a guy we should all watch out for in the extremely tough Lightweight division. Expect him to be on the main card the next time he fights. With a diverse set of skills, I expect his rise to not stop anytime soon.
Lowkick Awards for UFC 128:
MVP of UFC 128 – The Obvious choice is Jon “Bones” Jones. He dominated and outclassed a living legend in Mauricio “Shogun” Rua earning the right to be the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.
Celebrity Appearance of the Night – Legendary Hip-Hop icon turned actor Ice T. was seen numerous times in the background during UFC 128.
Biggest Cheer of the Night – Jim and Dan Miller share the honor of getting the biggest pop of the night from their hometown crowd.
Crimson Mask of the Night – Kamal Shalorus is the not so proud receiptant of the Crimson Mask of the Night after being demolished by Jim Miller.
Fight of the Night – Uriah Faber vs. Eddie Wineland was in my opinion the best fight of the night.
Finish of the Night – With many epic finishes of the night, the “Bones” finished “Shogun” in the most devastating fashion that night.
UFC 128's Best Entrance Music – Jon Jones wins another award for entering to “Empire State of Mind” by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys.
Photo: Fox Sports
Comments
FOTN - Goes to Barboza vs. Njokuani.... C'mon!!!
Watch all the Jones dumbass haters comment in 5,4,3,2,1...
It was a dope fight, gotta watch it again.
welcome to jone's era!!!
everytime someone says welcome the new era its ended in the next fight i doubt the jones era lasts
I am a BIG fan of BOTH! However, I lost BIG on Shogun because I bet on the underdog. All I can say is, Jon Jones... I will NEVER BET against you ever again!
Both fighters pure CLASS!
The Jon Jones Era has arrived!
I hope shogun remains active in UFC and we'll see each other go to war again..
Jones really is living up to his hype,great fight, great winI love how varied his striking is. But what i cant understand is why shogun fought jones when he was coming back from another injury lay off. Im sure the last time he had a lay he then fought griffin and lost and then struggled with grandad coleman, He gassed in both fights, then this time he takes on a guy who has been walking through everyone, and he looked gassed in rd 1!!, Surely he should have had at least 1 warm up fight as he hadnt fought in about 10 months and had surgery on his knee again.
Correct on that one.. Jones is more active than Shogun. Being on multiple fights in a year and winning them is an advantage to the one coming from a surgery and no warm up game.
Well, there is no interim belt so that fight was inevitable...
@ corey
...never happen.
Silva isn't going to want anything to do with Jones; period.
Honestly if I was Silva I would want that fight badly, if he wants to be considered the best of all time. Because people are going to be argueing about who was the better fighter in the future if that fight never happens. I think it would be gangster if Silva called him out and they fought. He better do it soon though cause Bones is getting better and better!
I think if Dana hadn't told Silva that he'd have to move up permanently in order to fight at LHW, he'd be for fighting Jones now, especially since he has the belt instead of his buddy Machida. That fight's just a dream though, there's a lot of people at LHW who haven't gotten a shot yet.
@WingChun
Never say Never! I bet Silva & Jones will happen!
Keep in mind EVERYBODY is BEATABLE in the sport of MMA. It's like a game of CHESS> Period.
As the number ONE Anderson Silva fan in the world, it deeply hurts me that I might have to agree with that crazy statement of yours. That being said, if they ever fought, I would still have my money on A.S
A.S is probably the only fighter who can beat Jon Jones and vice versa.
Hurts me ^^^ to admit ^^^ that I might have to agree.
I hate to say it but A. Silva would get absolutely creamed by J. Jones. And this is coming from a fan who views AS as the best ever in the history of mma. I can see the fight totally playing out like the Sonnen fight but much worse for AS. Unless AS lands a crazy strike from left field that totally throws off Jones. You never know!
If AS was the underdog I would put money on him for sure. Jones would take him down early, but I also think that Jones would want to stand with him to try and prove a point. This would be his downfall. Anderson is better conditioned IMO, and his striking is way better than Jones, so as long as AS avoids punishment early, he would win.
I really hope people start ranking Jones above Anderson and fans call for this fight, just to piss off Anderson so he actually gets interested in the fight.
I knew he would do it all along. Jon Bones Jones the champ baby!!!!
Phil Davis i think could be pretty tough opponent for him soon
damn 2 more fight for urijah to get a title shot? he destroyed mizugaki and dominated wineland whos a former champ plus hes beaten the current champ already. Im just curious who do you think should be next for Cruz if not Faber?
Thanks man much appreciated. I was wrong last night, the Shogun I was expecting to show up wasn't there. Jones earned it for and my hat goes off to him. Can't see he losing that strap for a while.
Stylistically, I see Machida as Jon's biggest threat. Also, Rua didn't show up last night. I picked Jones to win against the BEST Shogun and that didn't happen. I am not saying that Shogun would beat him but I am sure now that he can put up a better fight than he did. Rua made a LOT of stupid mistakes last night. No leg kicks, repeated attempts at leg locks and back door escapes from positions that he had no chance of getting them from; it was ugly to watch. I think any top LHW would have beat Shogun last night.
I co-sign everything you said there, I thought I wrote the comment for a second and just forgot about it!
Machida stylistically very tough match up, and one of the biggest reasons why is that Machida is deceptively strong, and has fared great against wrestlers. It's one of those fights where Jones would have to be extremely disciplined in sticking to his gameplan in order to win the fight.
I think in general that will be a great challenge for a young fighter like Jones. Not to get too confident in his abilities, and put complete trust in his coaches. At this level there is no room for error.
I'm in no way trying to tear down Jones, because I thought this long before he was champion (Machida match up being tough). Machida will have had to made alot of improvements from the Shogun fight, because obviously when you get beat like that opponents use that as a blueprint to defeating you. But honestly in MMA you never really know until they fight, it could be an awful matchup for Jones and he would lost 9/10 times or it could be vice versa.
Jones is great, but I'm not ready to say he is unbeatable just yet. But with Greg Jackson and his team behind him + all of his potential, he very well could be unbeatable, which is why the most important part of my above statement is he has to be a smart fighter and stick to his game plan. He can't fall into a trap of thinking his physical gifts will let him coast through fights.
For example, if he were to fight Machida none of that flashy stuff would work, believe me. Jones stand up looks good and is improving, but IMO after Shogun got up from that first take down, he looked pretty exhausted and relatively easy to pick apart. Don't get confused and think Jones striking is technically on the level of guys like Machida and Anderson, because it is far from being at that level. It is athletic, fast, creative, explosive and the technique is improving with time. With that said Jones would probably look to use leg kicks, be aggressive, and invite the clinch. But if he gets the clinch, he won't be able to toss Machida like he has done his previous opponents. Machidas core strength and balance is very underrated, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Machida score a takedown if the clinch is initiated. If Jones is smart (which he is and so are his coaches) he won't try take downs from the clinch, he will drop down for single or double legs against the cage (because you can't do that out in the open against Machida). Machidas ground game is also underrated but Jones has vicious elbows so it would pose problems for him there.
The fight is along way away, but IMO one of the tougher match ups for Jones at LHW.
Only Jones can defeat oneself. If he stays grounded and rooted in his way. He shall reign for the time being.
shogun looked like the same shogun that fought forrest
No offended and against Shogun and I like him.But he said hes 100% healthy and well prepared mentally and physically as well as stated that Bones disrespected him with more self motivate to finished the fight and let me telling you man no one ever dominated the champ and finished with TKO just like that. and even Shogun admitted Jone Jones so talented and a better fighter,so what is your point ?
No he didn't. Jones damaged him in the first round. Then he lost his momentum. Stop telling yourself that bullsh*t. We all saw the same fight as you. Jones dominated Shogun in every way.
Watching that fight was something amazing, This kid is something next level and i can even see him beating Silva. He literately does the right thing every-time he engages. Its remarkable.
Faber vs Cruz as tuf coaches on next season thats what im thinkin
Dana said no when Ariel asked that
wow...I never saw that one coming... What a whooping.... All that experience thrown out the window... A gifted Athelite comes around and becomes an elite MMA fighter in less then three years... wow...Another Cain Velasquez...
Yup. Shogun looked like he was tapping at the end.
Hmmmmm....where the hell did all the Shogun fanboys go? Hate to say I told you so, but I f*cking told you so..... Ass-whooping 101 put on your #1 boy, Shogun.
your the type of guy that will hump on any "up and commers" **** like hes the last man in the world and your a boy george you n00b. Jones was awesome im exccited to see him fight anyone
Don't act like a big shot because you were right about one fight. I'm sure you were one of those guys who bought into all the Brock Lesnar hype and thought he would be champion for along time. You see a super talented guy and feel like its a safe choice to support him. MMA is so intricate we aren't going to see Mike Tyson types anymore, the best fighters will be beaten its just a matter of time. Make any sort of prediction you please, but be realistic about the reality of the sport itself and don't let the hype (whether its deserved or not) turn a very talented fighter into an invincible fighter....
You just kind of like to be a d^ck huh? I bet that IF you train you probably pick on the new guys and make sure to torque subs a little harder and dig in your strikes sparring because you know you can get away with it.
Think way to many on both sides where to sure about there fav. It was a hard fight to predict. I did not think Shogun looked like he was bringing hes A-game this fight, but none the less hard to know. Maybe it was just jones making shogun look bad. We still have not seen jones in trouble, dont have a clue how he will react. So to conclude there is no way of knowing if hes there to stay. Even if i have hard to find anyone in the division that i believe can beat him(jones).
congrats jones
picked the fight perfect! 3rd round tko LOL, I was saying last year how Jones would defeat Shogun and people 'weaking' me down. what up now haters?
I would have to say Great performance by Jones and in all honesty I don't see him getting beat anytime soon. Is it me of did Shogun looked like he gassed out in the first minute of the match? It seemed like Shogun was under prepared for that battle. I think he (shogun) has a lot of ring rust after a 10 month lay off and if Rashad fought him I think Evans will be the champion right now. Going back to Jones as I have stated earlier I don't see him losing any time soon, he has a lot of tools to be successful in MMA he has great reach, fairly strong awkward strikes and his long, lean arms are perfect for choking people out (ask Bader).