UFC 135 Recap: Jon Jones dominates Rampage Jackson, next up is Rashad Evans
Posted on September 25, 2011, 01:22 AM by Trent Reinsmith
Heading into UFC 135, many MMA fans fell into one of two camps. The first camp saying that UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones was the real deal, while the second claimed he hadn’t yet defeated anyone of substance. After tonight’s performance, the first group most likely grew a bit.
Jones showed that he has the skill to take a fighter like Jackson, who has been there and done that, and put him off his game. As Jackson said after the fight, the kid’s not hype, he is for real.
It’s always a risky proposition to crown a fighter “the next big thing,” (anyone recall Joe Rogan’s “welcome to the Machida era” proclamation?) but Jones seems to be a safe bet to reign atop the UFC’s Light Heavyweight division for quite some time.
Questions after seeing Jones vs. Jackson:
-Where does Jon Jones rank? Before the fight Dana White said he would not put Jon Jones near the top of the pound-for-pound equation. It will be interesting to hear what White has to say after the clinic Jones put on against Rampage Jackson
-What’s next for Rampage? At the end of the night he requested a bout against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in Japan in February. The problem is that Rua is booked to face Dan Henderson on November 19. So, that’s probably not going to happen.
-What was with Jones attitude to Rashad Evans at the end of the fight? When Joe Rogan asked Jones if he had any words for Evans, he said that Evans had ruined his special night twice before walking away from Rogan. It was an odd, somewhat petulant way for Jones to end his night in the cage.
Notes and more questions following UFC 135:
-What’s next for Tony Ferguson? Ferguson looked good in his fight against Aaron Riley, earning the stoppage after breaking Riley’s jaw in the first round. BUT, he is in the most stacked division in the UFC, the Lightweight division, so it will be interesting to see who Joe Silva matches him up with next.
-What’s next for Nate Diaz? Diaz’s performance against Takanori Gomi was the best of his career. Much like Ferguson, he dropped from Welterweight to Lightweight for this bout, but he took out a much higher ranked opponent that Ferguson did. He may not deliver the excitement and drama that Nick does, but Nate does deserve a step up in competition in his next bout.
-Did Travis Browne take a step back? Sure he kept his unbeaten record in tact, but was the win impressive? Eh, not really. Sure, he’s 12-0-1, but if Browne thinks he’s top ten in the Heavyweight division, he is wrong. A good test in his next bout would be Brendan Schaub or maybe Roy Nelson.
-Will the UFC ever have a Heavyweight bout again at altitude? After watching Mark Hunt and Ben Rothwell deliver, what could kindly be called a bad fight, I would hope not. The thin air did the big boys no favors.
-Should Matt Hughes retire? The short answer is yes. When you get knocked out in two consecutive fights at his age and after so many fights, it’s time to walk away, even if UFC President Dana White has to “Chuck Liddell” him.
LowKick.com UFC 135 main card awards:
Fight of the night: Jon Jones vs. Rampage Jackson. Jones had two goals in this fight, strike with Jackson and finish Jackson. He did both in impressive fashion. After the fight Jackson gave Jones his props saying, “He’s great. I thought it was hype. The kid is good.”
Performance of the night: Jon Jones. Bones executed his game plan perfectly against Jackson. His wide array of tools left Jackson “mesmerized” and basically helpless. Sure, he made it look easy, but that’s what the great ones do.
Finish of the night: Nate Diaz. Diaz delivered a great performance on Saturday night in submitting Takanori Gomi. I know it wasn’t the patented double bird submission, but it was impressive. Also, Jones can’t get all the LowKick awards, can he?
Photo: Heavy.com/MMA
Comments
Rashad Evans will get picked apart by Bones.
I predict haters will over hype any opponent put in front of jones. And its funny how people bash his strking. Did you forget he's only 24? He's practically still a baby. He's not even close to his potential. Stop being delusional and give credit where its due. Thank you!
In effect you are saying people can't discuss who they think will win before the fight. There is nothing wrong with having an opinion. Relax.
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=20fzuiw&s=7
Rampage should change camps now
Where are all the Jones haters now? Nothing to say? that's what I thought.
Don't worry, they'll be back for the Rashad fight with more delusions to share lol
Did you even bother to watch the press conference after the fight?
After last nights performance, I honestly think the only fighter in the LH Div that would give Jones his first loss is Machida. He's the only fighter in the Div that can cover the distance, get past those long arms and legs and put the old stanky leg on him. I don't see to many people giving him to much credit but if you think about it, A Super motivated, very healthy, Shogun is the only "Real Loss" he has, and that took him two fights to do it. His (dis) loss to Rampage was total BS. Even Rampage said he lost that fight and didn't want to have to fight him again. Problem is Dana White doesn't want Lyoto at the top just yet because Jones vs. Rashad is way more marketable to the larger american crowd right now. Keeping Jones at the top and feeding him lesser opponents is a money maker, just like Silva. Machida would bring all of that to an end and bring in "The Stanky Leg Era!"
I agree with you man 100%. The only legitimate fighter to face Jones is indeed Machida. How does evens even contend as being the number one contender?! U been Ortiz whoopty ****in doo...You beat a has been Dana won't fight Lyoto because in fact he doesn't make as much as these obnoxious loud mouth fighters like jackson, and evens. Lyoto is still the best...ya he lost to shogun but guess what every champion in UFC has losses....I guess he is human after all
I would love to see them get it on but remember how Rua destroyed Machida's legs in their first meeting? Jones has demonstrated a complete set of skills with those gangly gadget legs. If Rua could kick the life out of Machida's legs I think Jones will annihilate them.
I think Evans may have the best chance as he looked in top form against Ortiz, but if Jones maintains his level of form I don't realistically see him getting beat for some time, though we all know in MMA anything can happen.
performance of the night was nate diaz the dude belongs at LW and he looked amazing also ferguson is gonna be the best TUF winner in a long time,
I'd like to see Nate fight Ferguson next to be honest. Both are aggressive and like to let their hands go. But, I'm not sure how Diaz would feel about that fight seeings how he is hoping for a "top guy." Ferguson did win TUF tho and has looked good, so maybe.
Lw division keeps getting better and better. Just need BJ to move back down.
Are you Nate and Nick Diaz's mother? I wouldn't eb surprised
as for jon jones he once again showed how ****y and disrespectful he is when he dropped rampage after the bell. The kid is good but if not for his reach he would be nothing special
Instead of hating go and watch the press conf, Jones explains why he did that but you'd rather hate i guess...
For the record, I didn't pick a winner or make a comment on the Jones / Jackson fight. The most annoying thing, though, isn't Jone's attitude or Jackson's accusations. Its the post fight fan accusations. "You are a hater", "why don't you stop hating".
It's the most childish thing I ever seen since the old "First" people used to put when they were first on a comment stream. You can just imagine people in the west setting their alarms so they can get up early and put "hater" comments all over the over night articles.
If only the fans could have the same class Jones and Jackson had after the fight. "good effort". You don't see Jones getting up there saying "see, I told you I would win!!!"
Have some class guys.
Like Rampage would say "i'm keeping it real straight up" and most of the disrespectful fans on this site can't give props to the winner and have to still call him names '****y this that" its ridiculous and this is hating. That is childlish and classless.
STFU Griffin. All you ever do is bitch on Lowkick all day.
Jon Jones is a very talented fighter and does what he needs to do in the cage. I've always been impressed with his work and like watching him fight. However, I agree that the suplex after round 3 was unsportsmanlike and there's no excuse(regardless of what he said his reasoning for doing it was). In addition to that the behavior and commentary during the after fight interview with Rashad was childish. He knows the UFC typically brings the next challenger into the ring for an interview so that was stupid of him to complain about Rashad ruining his moment twice. If one wants to appear to be humble then do it all the way. Apart from that he definitely performed and did what he had to do in the cage. Good article
Another idiot who expects Jones to behave perfect to all people all of the time.
He is human FFS so get over it.
why does nate diaz talk like walter whites son in breaking bad?
Jones is confident not ****y,
He has the LHW belt,
[Most stacked division alongside LW]
At the youngest age ever,
He's a massive man,
[Probably has a 10-incher too]
Confidence baby, Confidence.
Obz not seriouz. LOL.
now i see why u get so angry when people talk smack about ur boy bones deadlyintentions bet you wish you had a crack at that "10 incher" huh? "hes a massive man and young" is that how you like em?
LOL.
I don't feel like Rampage got dominted at all.Jones got a few good licks in but he fought a safe fight..At one point in the third he turned around running (full sprint!) it reminded me of Tito running from Wandy lol.
Yeah i don't know what part of the fight he was "dominating" he fought a good fight.. but not "great".. he won.. all the respect for that but lets not make the win bigger than it is other than the fact it was "Rampage" who he beat. That was his big accomplishment today.. and it being fight of the night says a lot about the rest of the card (other than the fact that Diaz VS Gomi was a lot more exciting... maybe less anticipated than Jones vs Rampage but most definitely MORE exciting!
Looked like a great performance to me. Destroyed Rampage and took very little damage himself whilst minimizing the chances of losing all the time.
If that was not a 'great' performance please list examples that you think demonstrate better all round MMA where you dominate your oponnent and take no damage in the process. For me it was brilliant.
Don't worry his favorite team is the team that always wins the superbowl the year before.
Jon Jones should really go to HW division because that 11 inch reach over Rampage and others is really what's keeping him a champion. I would love to see try to fight Cain/JDS/Brock
I think he will naturally end up there as age puts a few more pounds on him.
While I was hoping Rampage would win--for old time's sake--I was fairly certain Jones would take this one.
I feel a bit sorry for Jones--he seems to be the number one enemy of many fans now that he is on top. While Jones is by no means perfect--I am not sure where all the vituperation comes from.
I think part of it is that he is knocking off the old guard--and worst of all, he makes it look easy.
My thoughts are not about Bones VS Evan but when is then Jones VS SILVA?
Silva has cleaned out the division, Bones hasn't yet... he still needs to beat Evans and Machida before fight Silva or any top 10 HW's
i wanna see jones at heavyweight
I don't think Rashad is really going to be much of a challenge for Jones, In my opinion Machida is probably the only good challenger for the belt at this point. But I could be wrong, "Sugar" is still more dangerous than Rampage.
Rematch with Vera!
I think all of you are on crack....
To say or think that Machida is the only challenge for Jones is stupid. Machida could put away Shogun and had to fight him twice. Shogun was schooled and man handled by Jones. Evans will also get an ass kicking from hell when he steps in the ring with Jones. He has nothing to offer as a real problem...all these so called experts say it will be a ral test...thats weak....get real....
Just bc a fighter demolished one fighter doesn’t mean he can beat another... Every fighter stacks up against one another differently…. .Jones and Machida’s fight wouldn’t be a slug fest it would be very technical Fight. Machida is quick enough to get through his reach better than anyone is...Machida made even look slow as shit and everyone brags on how fast Evans is well he tried to bang with Machida and got KTFO if every fighter has a weakness that not every fighter can expose and every fighter contrary to popular belief is still in fact human and yes Machida made a mistake and lost to shogun and lost. In this sport it only takes a sec to finish a fight …. it’s his only loss….rampage even said he thought he lost to Machida and hopes he doesn’t have to fight him again. Rampage and I quote “Machida Whooped my ass” and then dana was all like no no a wins a win…..Its all politics to this guy and favoritism. He knew that Machida wouldn’t be so reserve if they fought again so he was looking out for rampage plain and simple.
You are right to a degree MMAfan, but Jones has shown zero weaknesses and a complete grasp of MMA. You throw whatever style you want at Jones, the kid has the tools to adjust and deal with it.
Styles do matter when there are weaknesses or a fighter relies on relative strengths, but Jones is all round quality, and that's why I agree with gm1.
Of course he is beatable. Anyone can beat anyone in MMA as nothing is certain, but if you were a betting man you'd always have your money on the bones.
Well....Yes he is very smart and can adapt to anyone he fights and he is only 24 time is def on his side.... IMHO I think that I'd rather see Machida face him over Evans but its bound to happen I mean whos after Evans anyway....Machida...right?