The Hypothetical Corner: Could Jones really defeat Tyson and Ali?

In today’s conference call for UFC 159, Chael Sonnen was rather cordial and quite respectful of his opponent Jon Jones, which is an unexpected change, as it was obvious he had been putting the one man promo machine known as Chael P. Sonnen into fifth gear after the conclusion of TUF 18.

In fact Chael went as far as claiming that Jon Jones is by far the best fighter in the world and from his explanation, the best fighter in combat sports that has ever lived thus far. Chael specifically stated that he believes Jones could not only defeat Anderson Silva with ease, but could also overcome boxing legends Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson on the same night.

Regardless of the literality or seriousness of Chael’s claim or whether he’s just making the task ahead of him seem much larger and monumental than it is, this really got me thinking. I’d like to throw reality aside for the time being and have a little fun with this.

Now before I begin my analysis, let me present you with a disclaimer by stating that this is all completely hypothetical and completely subjective from my end, I’m simply going off of what I’ve seen and the accomplishments of all the individuals involved. I would however genuinely like to know what everyone else has to say regarding this subject, so be sure to share your thoughts in the comments below. Now let’s get to the day Dreaming.

We’ve now entered into the world of science fiction. It’s the year 2149, John Connor and his human resistance has officially won the war against Skynet’s machines and have been celebrating victory for years. But with no enemies left to fight or struggles left to overcome, they’ve grown extremely bored. And so after a night of too many alcoholic drinks, they began to debate about the good old days of combat sports.

John Connor believes MMA legend Jon Jones to be the best combatant who ever lived, his Father Kyle Reese, (who is somehow younger than him) argues it was boxing legend Mike Tyson, while John’s wife and second in command Katherine Brewster claims Muhammad Ali was the very best.

So with little else to do with their time, they program a T101 to go back in time, kidnap each individual fighter in their prime, force them to fight to the death in a back alley and then return back to the future and report the results.

Now that I’ve given a valid explanation as to why these three individuals would be fighting each other, we can now speculate on what exactly would take place and who would hold what specific advantages.

Speed/Reflexes

It’s tough to say who the fastest individual would be in this category, but I’d rank Ali above the other two in terms of hand speed and reflexes, while I’d give Tyson next spot and unfortunately Jones last. Although it’s only by default and the fact that Jones style isn’t based on speed but rather being much more methodical than the others.

Power

I don’t even think I have to tell you who the advantage goes to. The way I’ve seen him make a 400lb bag move, it’s very possible that Tyson could have more power than Ali and Jones combined. I give Ali the next spot and Jones last once again.

Strategy/Fight IQ

I’m gonna give this one to Jones based on how adaptive and cerbreal he is against his opponents, he slowly chops them down one swing at a time like a tree, eventually making them tumble and fall. Ali get’s the next spot, he’s been known to bait opponents with his hands down, taunt them into frustration and use his famous rope-a-dope strategy to tire out his heavier opponents and attack when they’ve got no gas left in the tank. There’s no secret as to what Tyson’s strategy was in his prime… Removing your head from your body with his fists.

Grappling/Ground Game

Now I know you’re already rolling your eyes and of course Jones gets the massive football field sized advantage in this department, but I’m less concerned with a boxers grappling skills and more concerned with their ability to throw effective strikes from the bottom. There’s no doubt they’d both get taken down and man handled, but I’m confident both boxers could still generate enough force to strike significantly from the bottom. In this category I’m leaning towards Tyson based on the fact that he can create insane amounts of power with little distance, not to mention he’s smaller stronger and stockier, giving him a lower center of gravity, meaning he’d probably have more success defending the takedown if at all or getting back up to his feet. Ali would likely look confused and embarrased on the ground.

Heart/Durability

This is gonna be controversial but I’m gonna say Jon Jones based on the fact that he’s been through some adversity, more specifically in the fight with Vitor Belfort he was in a very bad situation but maintained his cool and escaped. He then continued to fight with a semi-injured arm and defeated his opponent with a convincing finish. Next spot I’d give to Ali, seeing as how he to as gone through a bit of adversity on a few occasions throughout his career, Tyson on the other hand is very much a front runner for most of his career and only does well when he isn’t being punched or backed up.

Striking Ability

I give this to Jones for the simple fact that he has eight points of contact to use and make his opponents think about, where as the boxers will only be using two, although those are two VERY skilled, fast and powerful points of contact. I may give Jones the advantage overall but in straight striking talent, I give Ali a very close 2nd, and Tyson an extremely close 3rd. The key thing to think about here is Ali’s ability to pick Jones apart from the outside and get out quickly, and Tyson’s ability to get on the inside and generate ferocious one punch hospital sending power. However both distances are dangerous against Jones as he’ll either kick you from range or throw you like a rag doll from the clinch.

Conclusion

Like St. Pierre and many other champions before him, Jones isn’t the best at any one discipline or skill in specific, but his ability to be dynamic, intelligent and methodical is what I believe would help him prevail over the other two. If you noticed I didn’t count weight as an advantage simply because all three fighters were known to hover around the 215-230 area meaning no one in particular would have any advantages in size, well weight wise anyway, Jones holds the advantage in reach with 84.5 inches, with Ali coming in at a respectable 80 inches and Tyson a short 71 inches.

In all honesty, both boxers could very well defeat Jones via devastating KO and I definitely give them more than a punchers chance, but Jones is smarter than that and would keep his distance or tie them up, and if they don’t land one of those bungalows than there is little reason to believe they could achieve victory, because quite frankly, Jon Jones would have a feel day in the clinch, on the ground and everywhere in between.

Hope you enjoyed that. As I said let me know what you think. Who would win in your opinion or at least fare the best?