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UFC 128 (Newark, NJ): Faber survives UFC debut, Bones Jones violently wins LHW title

By Zach Arnold | March 19, 2011

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Dark matches/Spike TV

Main card

Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 86 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

86 Responses to “UFC 128 (Newark, NJ): Faber survives UFC debut, Bones Jones violently wins LHW title”

  1. 45 Huddle says:

    Love the main event even more then the original one.

    The rest of the main card is strong with a lot of solid fights. Even the prelims aren’t too shabby.

    If they do a prelim show for this one, it should be the Benevidez and Gamburyan fights.

    • Fluyid says:

      What is your prediction for the main event?

      • 45 Huddle says:

        Jon Jones is going to stop him on the ground. I would be shocked to see Jones take some flush shots and be KO’d but that probably only has a 20% chance of happening. Jones is too big and too good for Rua. Either way, it’s a great fight and a style match-up Jones has never seen before.

        What I’m not looking forward to is the post fight press stuff. If Jones loses it will be because he was rushed to a title shot (which he wasn’t). If Rua loses, it will be because of the long layoff an injury (he’s a professional and it shouldn’t play a factor).

        I’m actually happy Jones is getting a shot now. He will have 4 to 6 interesting challengers to his belt right away which could make for some interesting times at LHW. Perhaps no more passing around the belt?

        Also, Evans should drop to MW and fight Silva. Would be a great fight. Which reall makes me hope Shields beats GSP so GSp stays at WW and doesn’t mess that up.

        • edub says:

          Agreed on everything.

          I think Evans has pretty much put a nix on MW though. He seems to be gearing up for a move back to HW.

  2. Jones hasn’t faced a strong, pressure fighter who’s looking to stand like Shogun, well, ever. Alternately, Shogun’s return to relevance comes off of what? Liddell and Machida? I can’t sit back and think that Coleman and Forrest didn’t happen. Forrest is the best comparison to Jones too – much larger physically. Striking is pretty good though both men leave their chins up too much, particularly when kicking. Forrest ended up using his size to wear down Shogun. I anticipate less “wearing down” and more “tossed around like a child”. I thought Evans would lift that belt, and instead it’ll be Jones.

    Rest of the card is mediocre. Wineland’s “WEC Championship” was won prior to the Zuffa era and was lost as soon as it started. In other words – its meaningless. Against Faber he should be ragdolled. Same goes for Akiyama, who is hopelessly outsized at middleweight against Marqhardt and isn’t good enough off his back for a submission. Miller and Schaub should be easy winners also as they both face older, less skilled opposition.

    Outside of the main event, nothing excites me about this show.

  3. Nepal says:

    Jones has never faced a guy with stand up skills like Shogun, he’s never faced a guy with BJJ skills like Shogun either. Based on that and as great as Jones has looked, I would normally bet on shogun. The only problem is the knee surgeries. There is no way in the world Shogun will be at 100%, not just the cardio, coming back and rehabbing the knee to even 80% is huge. I’ve had 2 knee surgeries and they are a bitch, I rehabbed non stop and it was over a year for the major operation for me to get to 80%. This problem can’t be overstated, of course he says he’s 100%, let me tell you… He isn’t. I haven’t kept track of how many operations he’s had but it was one after Chuck, then one more because he came back too early (please correct me if I have the time lines wrong) and now another surgery. Yikes, that’s a lot of wear and tear on a very sensitive joint.

    Otherwise, I’m interested in Pyle/Almeida just because I like Pyle and think his jitz is pretty cool.

    Akiyama, as good as he is will not be able to take out a full size MW like Marquardt.

    Miller vs Shalorus is interesting because Miller just gets it done and Shalorus is a g’n’p beast. No idea who takes this one.

    Little else of interest on the card, actually Crocop vs. Schaub should be fun. Schaub all the way.

  4. IceMuncher says:

    Not the strongest card, but man do I love the main event. Like the majority of the posts above me, I’m expecting Jones to send Shogun into orbit every time they clinch and eventually finish him on the ground.

  5. mr. roadblock says:

    I’m very interested to see how this does on PPV. I was away last weekend and missed the UFC future biz thread. But this card is the barometer for my questions about UFC’s present and future growth.

    I think Shogun vs Jones is the most exciting fight UFC has ever booked. This is a dream fight. It’s everything I wanted when I hoped PRIDE would do Shogun vs Wanderlei, CroCop or Fedor. Plus more because Jones is a more explosive striker than any of those three with a bigger arsenal.

    However, UFC has done a lousy job building up Jones. With what he has done to opponents he should have a Mike Tyson style buzz. But he has largely been on lackluster cards that didn’t draw very well. For hardcore fans, like us on this site, Saturday night can’t come fast enough. But will this card break a million PPVs or approach Brock Lesnar numbers?

    This fight should be one of the most viewed UFC PPVs of all time. If it breaks the million mark it will show that casual fans are keeping up with what’s going on with the cards they skip. But if this comes in around 600-700k it shows that UFC is in danger of doing what boxing did in the 90’s, not developing stars on TV and upping them into PPV draws. It will force UFC to get to network TV quickly or its numbers will begin a steady decline downward over time as the established stars retire one by one.

    On to my fight prediction. As much as I’m excited by this fight for it’s explosive potential, it could become a snooze fest. Both guys like to counter. Jones showed real timidity in the fight against Bader. It was the first time in there he looked scared to lose and was hesitant to take chances. I think there’s a real possibility he comes out that way against Shogun. That could lead to Shogun stopping him quick or it could drag for the first two or so rounds.

    Jones has a big advantage if he can push Shogun up against the cage and then go to the ground and work on him. Shogun is slick on the ground and we haven’t seen Jones have to defend submissions from someone of Shogun’s skill level.

    I’m hoping Jones wants to avoid Shogun’s submissions and Shogun wants to avoid getting stuck under the larger, stronger Jones and they keep it standing.

    Both are unorthodox and can throw feints into combinations.

    The other X-factor is that we’ve never seen what Jones does when he gets his clock cleaned.

    I think Shogun wins in spectacular fashion.

    • mr. roadblock says:

      PS: I wish knees and kicks to the head of a downed opponent were allowed for this fight.

    • MK says:

      It’s a very nice main event but it wont do anywhere near a million, not even 600-700. More like 500k like Shogun-Machida I & II and Machida-Rampage. Solid numbers.

      I can see your long term prediction happening though, with the current heavy PPV load.

  6. The Gaijin says:

    Shogun coming off a LONG layoff against a huge LHW wrestler, hrmmmm,…I wonder how that will go. I think Shogun will not get smashed out as easily as some are thinking, but he’s going to get gassed out trying to work his sweeps and guard and get taken out via some nasty
    g’n’p in the 3rd.

    Faber should run a train on Wineland.

    Nate looking to rebound (and motivated by Dana’s barbs?) takes out a last minute replacement.

    Miller/Shalrous should be interesting, at first blush I wasn’t really sure who takes this one, but after further thought Miller seems like a no brainer as a guy with proven success at the UFC level over a guy like Shalrous who looked pretty decent in the WEC and then failed to impress against Varner or Bart P.

    Schaub should finish off the husk of the corpse of Cro Cop.

    Cane (never really been that high on him), Njokuani, Almeida, Tibau, Benevediz.

  7. EJ says:

    Predictions…

    Prelims-

    ?Featherweights: Joe Benavidez vs. Ian Loveland-
    Benevidez by submission round 2.

    ?Lightweights: Kurt Pellegrino vs. Gleison Tibau-
    Pellegrino by decision.

    ?Welterweights: Ricardo Almeida vs. Mike Pyle-
    Pyle by decision.

    ?Lightweights: Edson Mendes Jr. vs. Anthony Njokuani-
    Njokuani by KO round 1.

    ?Light Heavyweights: Luiz Cane vs. Eliot Marshall-
    Cane by KO round 2.

    Main Card-

    ?Heavyweights: Mirko Cro Cop vs. Brendan Schaub-
    Schaub by TKO round 3.

    ?Middleweights: Dan Miller vs. Nate Marquardt-
    Nate by decision.

    ?Lightweights: Jim Miller vs. Kamal Shalorus-
    Miller by decision.

    ?Bantamweights: Urijah Faber vs. Eddie Wineland-
    Wineland by decision.

    ?UFC Light Heavyweight title match: Mauricio Shogun vs. Jon Jones-

    Jones by TKO round 3.

    I’m pretty sure of most of my picks except for the Main Event. That fight is a toss up it can go either way and will answer alot of question about where both guys are at this point in their careers.

    • EJ says:

      As far as the first 3 questions you asked Zach…

      1. The buyrate for this should be around 500k as the last couple Shogun ppv’s have done.

      2. Outside the main event I think the co-main event has fireworks written all over it. If Faber decides to slug it out with Wineland it could be a war.

      3. Already answered.

  8. The Judge says:

    Good card, even if nothing on the undercard really grabs me.

    Predictions (where I feel qualified to make one):
    Confident:
    Marquardt will destroy Dan Miller.

    Not so sure:
    Schaub over Cro Cop with a knock-out.
    Jim Miller will win.

    Fairly sure:
    Shogun will beat Jones. They are both very good, but Jones doesn’t have the ring smarts to fight top level fighters yet, so I am picking Rua.

  9. Robthom says:

    Gosh, I really like Jones (really like Shogun too), but I’ve got a bad feeling that he’s jinxing himself into a KO loss.

    The way he’s been talking and acting, treating his teamy like this, and now he’s gonna get escorted to the cage by 50 cent.

    I know the kids like the rap, but this seems like the worst idea since the Iceman joined forces with vanilla Ice.

    The only person I’ve seen be able to carry this kind of jinxy weight is probably anderson/Steven Segal.
    But that isn’t without UFC’s help by feeding anderson weaklings for a few years and something/somebody sunk Lyoto’s battleship.

    I’ve got a bad feeling about this…

    • cutch says:

      50 Cent isn’t escorting Jones to the ring but he did wish Jones good luck on twitter and 50 has twice as many followers on twitter than Dana White, which puts things into perspective.

      Steven Segal isn’t exactly a big star now though, he’s a straight to DVD film maker.

  10. King Famous says:

    My Fanboy Pics:
    Cro-Cop
    Nate the Great
    Jim Miller
    Wineland
    Shogun

    My realistic Pics:
    Schaub
    Nate the Great
    Jim Miller
    Faber
    Jones

    This will go over 500,000 buys. Wineland-Faber has fight of the nite potential

  11. 45 Huddle says:

    At this point I’m cheering for Shogun to KO him. Jones has cone across as pompous and full of himself somebody needs to knock some sense back into him.

    Here are my predictions….

    Jones, Faber, Marquardt, Miller, Schaub, Marshall, Mendes, Pyle, Tibau, & Benevidez.

    Over 425,000 buys. Probably around 500,000.

    Fight of the night will be Faber/Wineland with Faber winning and looking like an absolute star.

    Go Shogun!! Hit him so hard that Jones still thinks he is the champion and signs his name as one. What a tool.

    • The Gaijin says:

      I agree re. Rua. I hope he takes out Jones who is really coming across as an arrogant ass (maybe he thinks he’ll draw being a ‘heel’)…but I have a hard time picking Shogun especially with all the question marks coming off a long layoff.

  12. Mike says:

    1.) Over
    2.) Miller – Shalorus
    3.) Benevidez, Tibau, Pyle, Barboza, Cane, Schaub, Miller, Miller, Faber, Rua.

  13. mr. roadblock says:

    I like Shogun in the Main. I think he checks Jones’ chin and wins.

    Wineland
    Jim Miller
    Marquardt
    Schaub

    Almeida
    Cane
    Peligrino

  14. mr. roadblock says:

    Heads up to the boxing fans, Epix is doing a free trial. Sign up for it online and you can see Klitschko/Solis tomorrow.

    http://www.epixhd.com/klitschko-vs-solis/

    • I’ll probably be out of the house Saturday afternoon, otherwise I’d watch. I think Solis should be easy pickings but its still a somewhat interesting fight given Solis’ skills and hand speed.

  15. Nepal says:

    I think you guys are low-balling the expected PPV`s. Jones` `In the moment` show had 550K viewers. I`ll bet we get 650 buys. The Jones hype is exploding.

    Although there isn`t a strong 2nd fight (apologies to Faber)there are a number of great fights on the card. I`m betting on 5 dogs. I have:

    Shalorus at +210
    Cro cop at +200
    Pyle at +130
    Njokuami at +200
    Eliot Marshal at +160

    I`m really interested in seeing the Shalorus vs. Miller fight. Shalorus is a beast, I just wish he was 28 not 38. He`d have a great future.

    As mentioned earlier, Shogun`s knees will not be at 100%. No way, he can say they are but having had 2 knee surgeries myself, I don`t believe it. He may have ring rust, his cardio will be suspect (which we`ve seen before), the lack of confidence doing certain moves for fear of blowing out his knee. And let`s face it, Jones is a monster.

  16. Nepal says:

    Not that you guys really care but these are my bets. Chickened out on the Njokuami fight, figure he’s going to get KO’d.

    UFC 128 – Dan Miller +220
    UFC 128 – Eddie Wineland +325
    UFC 128 – Kamal Shalorus +210
    UFC 128 – Mirko Filipovic +200
    UFC 128 – Eliot Marshall +160
    UFC 128 – Mike Pyle +130
    UFC 128 – Kurt Pellegrino +135

  17. 45 Huddle says:

    UFC showed a good commercial for UFC 129. And it didn’t even have Shield’s fight footage.

    I forgot they just purchased a lot of his fights. They will be able to hype him up so much better coming forward.

  18. 45 Huddle says:

    I’m 8-1 in my predictions so far. I’m hoping to be wrong for the title fight. Go RUA!!

    1) I thought Faber won 30-27. Wineland showed nice defense for the first round but really did nothing. Faber’s strikes won him that round. But it didn’t matter as Faber made it easy on the judges.

    2) I typically don’t like seeing title belts slowed down due to TUF…. But this is the one time it makes sense to have Faber/Cruz being coaches. The division is so new to the UFC and they need the hype more then the quick title fight. Plus, it will give them more time to build up Torres and maybe one more challenger to continue to give the division depth.

    3) Miller is good and is now something like 9-1 in the
    UFC. But I just can’t take him seriously as a title challenger. I would like to see him fight a really dynamic quick fighter like Guillard, Pettis, or Henderson. I think a guy like that could cause his bread and butter style a lot of problems. And if he can beat a guy like that, then he deserves the title shot.

    4) Marquardt just doesn’t know how to push the button. I think it’s mental.

    5) Cro Cop needs to retire. That punch wouldn’t KO a guy who was younger. He reminds me of Liddell in his last fight. But looked better then some of their previous fights and gave us hope…. Then their old age and chin let them down. It’s their bodies ways of saying it’s time.

    6) Schaub did show some heart. And makes for some bulking of the division. But he will lose to the better guys most of the time.

    Overall a lot of long fights but some good action. Not really action packed but the fights have entertained me. Not sure about the casual viewers.

    GO RUA!!! Knock the Jesus out of Jones!!

  19. mr. roadblock says:

    Wow. Jon Jones is exciting.

  20. 45 Huddle says:

    Eventually a guy like Jones is going to force guys like Rua and Evans to drop down to their optimal weight class…. Which is Middleweight. The same way guys like Bigfoot, Carwin, and Lesnar should be pushing smaller Heavyweights to Light Heavyweight.

    • 45 Huddle says:

      And Rua going down to Middleweight should force his cardio to get better…. Same way it helped BJ. It won’t be perfect…. But much better.

    • Spacedog says:

      Yep. Shogun NEEDS to drop. So does Rashard. Likely Lyoto as well. AS figured this out a few years ago and has made a career as the P4P king. Somehow I doubt he would hold that title if Shogun and the rest had dropped down when they should have.

      Mirko is done but if he had dropped to LHW when he came from Pride I could see him having had success. And obviously Fedor should drop as well. Fedor at LHW would be an absolute terror and would make people forget his last few fights in a hurry.

      Who can beat Jones? A tough wrestler I think but who?
      Hopefully someone does and soon, I’ll never be a fan of Jones.

      • 45 Huddle says:

        Phil Davis. But he can’t be rushed into it. It seems like it is taking him a little longer to learn some MMA skills. But everytime he goes out there he is looking better and better.

        He is athletic enough. Not Bader athletic who is just muscle and not much flexibility. He is a serious natural athlete.

        He has a good reach.

        He has great wrestling.

        And he is a smart fighter.

        He is the best bet to beat Jones in 2 years or so.

        • edub says:

          Phil Davis is a lower class version of Jones. He will never be on his level. The only guy I can see giving him trouble theoretically at LHW is Roger Gracie, but that is still only in the most perfect circumstances. I know the LHW belt has traditionally changed hands a lot, but I think Jones is gonna hold on to it until he moves up.

        • Steve4192 says:

          Phil Davis is a great technical fighter, but I don’t think he has the truly violent nature of Jon Jones.

          Jones is flat-out nasty. He hurts people BADLY, and seems to get more violent when he senses weakness. Jones doesn’t give a fuck. He goes for the kill. Those elbows he threw when Rua started to wilt were vicious, that knee to liver when Rua turtled was brutal, and the knee to the dome as Rua was crumpling to the floor from the liver punch was just plain mean.

          I don’t know if Davis has that kind of sadistic streak in his soul.

  21. Robthom says:

    Well that is great for Bones.

    And for NY.
    (can they still deny MMA with a homegrown superstar?!)

    We may have found our MMA Ali.

    Gosh he makes it look so easy!
    He looks like he’s just out there having fun and fooling around like he’s playing a videogame.

    Of course we’ve seen many “breakthrough” performances than didn’t last. But this kid seems to have all the energy and enthusiasm (and confidence) that you could fit into 205 lbs.

    he might actually be young enough and nieve enough to keep this pace up for awhile.

    We’ll see.

    Side note: Not to take anything from bones, but did Shogun look kinda out of it to anyone else? I’ll have to study the replay again to decide whether bones is just making him look that way or if he had another one of his “griffen/babalu” nights.

    Congrats Jonny!

    (And thank you for leaving 50 cents at home. 😉 )

    • 45 Huddle says:

      I think Shogun was already not in great shape and that knee to the body completely killed his cardio from there.

  22. Jonathan says:

    If I remember correctly, where Jon Jones is now is where Shogun Rua was in 2005. They both made it look so easy.

    • cutch says:

      Not as easy as Jones has been making it, he crushed Rampage but the Lil Nog fight was very close and Overeem was winning the first few minutes before he gassed, he crushed Arona too but we don’t know how much the fight with Wand took out of him.

      anyway, Jones has to move to HW soon, Jones-Cain is a money match if they both stay undefeated* I don’t include the Hammill fight.

      • IceMuncher says:

        It’s kind of annoying that people immediately clammer for a weight class change as soon as somebody becomes champ. With the exception of GSP and Silva, UFC champs tend to have a fairly high turnover rate from within their own division.

        Jones at LHW is good for a few years at least. It’s a stacked division with new talent coming in all the time. He’s still got 80% of the top 10 waiting in line for a shot. When/If he clears out the majority of the top talent in the LHW division, we can talk about him moving up.

  23. 45 Huddle says:

    http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2011/3/20/2061292/ufc-128-results-jon-jones-is-no-mike-tyson

    This is was Snowdumb is a troll. Heck, I wanted to see Rua win, but Jones dominated him. A completely superstar performance.

    And all Snowdumb wants to do is write a completely negative article on it. Find any tiny angle and find a way to be completely negative on it.

    This guy has some serious issues….

    • Jonathan says:

      I agree that Jon Jones is not Mike Tyson….he seems alot smarter, down to earth, and with it than Mike Tyson did at his age.

    • Robthom says:

      I just read a few paragraphs of that.

      I’ve never paid snowden much attention before, he never seemed worth paying attention to.

      I just figured out that he’s in fact a shmuck on wheels.

      As far as I could tell before I turned the channel was that his argument is that basketball is still more popular than MMA, and jones does not a fresh prince song or nintendo game named after him, therefore Jones is no Mike Tyson.

      I guess he has a point, in so far as Jones is no Brittany Spears or murikan idol either, but what an asinine infuriating point to make.

      On an alleged MMA site!

      Sometimes I wish firefox had an extension for smacking somebody through the internet.

      And it looks like I’m done trying to force myself to like bloody elbow.

      • Jonathan Snowden says:

        A comparison was made between the hype that preceded Jon Jones and the hype that preceded a young Tyson prior to his first world title fight. Tyson had main evented MSG and had the Nintendo game before he ever won the title.

        I think it’s important for young MMA fans to know these things before they make ridiculous comparisons. Jones is a great fighter. But to suggest he’s a star of the caliber Tyson was when he was in his early 20’s – even pre title – is insane.

    • The Gaijin says:

      Snowdumb?

      Honestly?

    • Robert Poole says:

      The best part was when in the FB thread of the above article that he posted on his profile he implied that Joe Rogan is a HGH user.

      • Joe admitted to using HGH and synth about a week and a half ago on his own show.

        http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/13234487

        Its around the 24 minute mark.

        • Robert Poole says:

          You can buy lower dose HGH products from any vitamin/supplement store on planet earth. I don’t know if he meant he was taking Mark McGwire/Barry Bonds caliber levels of HGH.

          Also, he used that as his insult to Rogan’s commentating skills. It was juvenile but most of Snowden’s responses are.

        • He says he goes to a doctor for hormone replacement therapy and flat says “I take human growth hormone and testosterone” when replying to the question “do you take anything supplements like creatine?” You think he doesn’t know what he’s implying? Much less what he then describes for the next couple of minutes?

          You want to rag on him for saying that Joe Rogan takes HGH? Okay. Well, Joe Rogan does. I don’t think he was using it to insult his commentating skills as much as it was a funny observation about him.

  24. EJ says:

    Snowden is about as predictable as a Sherdog troll, meaning that no matter what happens he’ll find a way to make it a negative for the UFC. The guy’s act is beyond tired, it’s just sad that some people still can’t see past it and take him seriously. The guy lost any credibility he had years ago now it’s just like watching a sad old man yelling at everybody. I bet he almost had a mental breakdown after Zuffa bought Strikeforce because now he can’t cheerlead anyone against the UFC it’s pathetic really.

    Anyways onto my UFC 128 thoughts…

    * I though Njokuani was robbed in his fight, I guess the judges got fooled by that last kick Barbosa landed.

    * Cane disposed of Marshall like I thought he would while he’s not an elite LHW he’s levels about a guy like Marshall.

    * Koch continues to improve he looks better everytime I see him, time for the UFC to give him a top guy.

    * Cro Cop has been done no one should be surprised at the outcome of that fight hopefully the UFC will finally release it’s past time.

    * Dan Miller is all heart he brought it to Nate who I thought looked much better than he has in the last couple of fights.

    * Jim Miller on the other hand is the truth, anyone sleeping on him needs to wake up imo he’s 1 win away and then there is no denying him a title shot.

    * Faber pulled it off, I really thought after the first round that Wineland was going to prove me right but Urijah was able to adapt and win. But I saw nothing that makes me believe he can handle Cruz who’s at another level than everyone else in his division.

    * Like I said in my pick, this fight was a toss up it could have gone anyway and I would not have been surprised. The hype is real on Jones but I have a feeling that Rashad will be the first real test for him he seems to have a chip on his shoulder and knowns all of his weaknesses. It should make for much more competetive fight whenever they face off for the UFC LHW title can’t wait.

    Overall this was a great ppv and the people I was watching it were freaking out over Jones, looks like his bandwagon is going to explode after tonight.

    • Robthom says:

      “* Cro Cop has been done no one should be surprised at the outcome of that fight hopefully the UFC will finally release it’s past time.”

      I was actually surprised that Cop did so well.
      He was almost done winning that fight against a strong young contender when he got caught with a weird behind the ear smoker in an exchange.

      But the way he fell to the floor in that weird pose was kind of stark. It reminded me of chuck doing something similar against franklin.
      Its like his chin is gone or something.
      Not GONE like chuck, but not were it was or where it needs to be against these guys.

      Randy has melted a few times recently to. Maybe thats just one of those things about aging.

      He’d do just as well or probably much better then AA over on the SF roster.

      I thought the “crocop is done” twitter by Dana right after the event was rude and uncalled for.

  25. Chuck says:

    What was so wrong about what Snowden said? He’s right!! I think Jones will become a superstar sometime soon, but not yet. And it’s true, the only champion in UFC that draws consistently well right now is GSP. Really, what was incorrect that Snowden said? He was spot on.

    • justin says:

      I think the whole article misses the point. Rogan didn’t make a comparison between Jones and Tyson because he thought Jones was some massive transcendent star who sells tonnes of PPVs. That is an asinine position. The comparisons are obviously because you’ve got two vicious young champions who put on dominating performances. Which is EXACTLY what Jones showed tonight.

      • Robthom says:

        Yeah I think its not a matter of whether what Snowden said is scientifically correct or not.

        Its was just inappropriate right after that peformance by Jones.

        And so tentively related to anything (Rogan or whoever were OBVIOUSLY not compairing him to the marketing gestalt or cultural saturation of Mike Tyson) that he just appeared to be desperately grasping at and justifying any excuse to crap on Jones parade.

        Why?

        And I’m used to the fanboy antics in the MMA space. I expect that Rua fans or Jones haters are gonna lash out. But then he’s so desperate to be a prick that he even seemed to be attacking MMA on the whole with his comparisons to basketball.

        That kind of personal vendetta and/or trolling for reaction would be understandable by some shlub in a comments section. And I understand that BE is some sort of glorified forum site, but he consistently writes articles on the front page.

        I just dont get it.

    • Robthom says:

      Goldie:
      “Jawn Joewnes…
      possibly…
      the Micheal Jackson…
      of Mixed Martial Arts.”

      Snowden:
      “Not so fast!

      Jon Jones never recorded Thriller!
      He’s never owned a chimp named Bubbles or kissed Lisa Marie Pressley on MTV!
      Michael Jackson sold more albums then the Beatles or the Rolling Stones!

      Jon Jones is NO Michael Jackson!”

    • People don’t understand what it is that Tyson actually did and how he became as famous as he was because they aren’t old enough to know or aren’t really familiar with boxing. There was nothing particularly “Tysonesque” about Jones’ performance nor really about Jones himself. Jones, frankly, is boring as a personality. Great fighter. Just a boring guy. Tyson was never boring. Even before the rape conviction, Tyson was synonymous with violence. People had to see Tyson to see how he blew guys apart. If Jones had that sort of interest level behind him, ratings wouldn’t have appreciably fallen from one Versus event to the next.

  26. 45 Huddle says:

    Since Liddell’s dominate title run there have been 5 UFC LHW Champions. Rampage, Griffin, Evans, Machida, & Rua.

    He beat Rua. Evans is next. They should have him run the gauntlet on the former champions of the division. Make a big deal about it. It’s a little gimmicky but it’s a great 2 year story line. He is likely to fight Evans in July. Another fight by the end of the year. Then 2 more former champions in 2012. By then Phil Davis should be fully ready for a great super fight.

    • klown says:

      Not a bad line-up. It would settle down the restless LHW division.

      • 45 Huddle says:

        Nit only should he settle down the division…. He is also Anderson Silva’s worst nightmare.

        1) Silva will look foolish to talk up a fight with GSP if he’s not willing to fight Jones.

        2) If Jones stays dominant, he is going to finally force the smaller LHW’s down to MW. Something that Rua and Evans never had to worry about because there was never a dominant champion. Anderson Silva has benefitted from this as he fought the Cotes and Leites…. Instead of the Shoguns and Evans of the world. He wouldn’t be considered the best ever if Jones came around 2 years ago. Looking at what Sonnen did to Silva…. Evans would make it even more one sided.

        MW hopefully will no longer be this weak division it has been for years. And Jones….. A LHW is the one to make it happen.

        • 45 Huddle says:

          http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2011/3/20/2061878/ufc-128-results-mma-news-jon-jones-anderson-silva-weight-cutting

          Looks like the guys at BE are reading the website for ideas. At least Kid Nate quotes people.

          My comment about Joes effecting Silva is so out of left field that I highly doubt 2 people thought of it the dayafter the event….

        • Robthom says:

          Jones/anderson would be an excessively good fight!

          (And a beautiful piece of balanced karma when Jones beats the isht out of him!)

          And I would LOVE to watch Jones’ cruel confidence vs andersons creepy arrogance in the media leading up to it.

          But anderson is also possessed of a loathing for his fans and the people around him that precludes any interest in genuine challenges.

          He just wants an easy paycheck ridiculing and toying with people who cant compete against him.

        • Spacedog says:

          Agree on the affect on MW, but if only two other people thought of it then I am one of the two.

    • Nicholai says:

      Alexander Gustaffson might also be a future contender since he has shone an improving ground game as well as having a strong camp behind him. I know he lost to Phil Davis. He learned he needed to get better so he joined with the guy who beat him. But that might be 2-3 years down the road.

  27. edub says:

    Now I don’t want to pile on to Snowden here (because I have admitted he is just of differing opinion than myself, not a troll), but I have to here:

    Goldberg obviously wasn’t speaking to Tyson’s drawing power when he made the comparison. He was speaking to the young ages of each, and the ease in which both steamrolled the best in the world (Tyson fought good competition on his run up to the title, not great. He even had a few cans thrown in there.)

    I don’t really understand the need for a fighter to learn how to sell a fight, or rather the need to write an article for people to discuss it.

  28. Robthom says:

    I have to admit that I’m not a big fan of Shad and Jones fighting.

    Jones is that fine girl that inserts herself into a family and tears it apart because she can.

    Jackson should have had a talk with Jones and told him to bring down his fighting teamies rhetorict in the press, or let his hit the road because Shad was there first.

    But that wont happen, nobody wants to let a prospect like this slip away.

    Another Funny comparison to Iron Mike, didn’t it become known later that Cus had broke a bunch of his own rules at his boarding house and disregarded a bunch of his other fighters to hold onto and groom the young Mike?

    • 45 Huddle says:

      This is the 2nd time Jackson has taken a long time fighter in his camp and made them feel so awkward they left. The first time was Sanchez when they got GSP.

      Jackson is not loyal to his fighters. That much is certain.

  29. Chuck says:

    Actually, I think there might be a better comparison than Mike Tyson. I would say he’s more comparable to Tony Ayala Jr. in his heyday. Ayala was a mini-Tyson before Tyson was around (Ayala was late seventies), but Ayala was ruthless and mean, moreso than Tyson. Ayala was known to foul on his fighters like crazy (elbows, headbutts, etc.). Jones does crazy illegal things (unintentionally) ALL THE TIME.

    then again, he never spat on any of his opponents after his fights like Ayala did, so maybe this is a stretch.

    • Robthom says:

      “Jones does crazy illegal things (unintentionally) ALL THE TIME.”

      I’m not sure that I recall “illegal things” “all the time”, but the way he must be visualizing and then fights does ride the razor.

      But isn’t that what a great fighter should do?
      Everything right up to the boundary?

      Not going to the edge would leave that much room for your opponent to go a bit further then you.

      • Chuck says:

        True, but it can get you DQ’d if you’re not careful. Hell, just ask Jones about that. And Andrew Golota (he got DQ’d TWICE against Riddick Bowe, and Golota was winning BOTH fights). Or Kirk Johnson (he got Dq’d against John Ruiz, a king of dirty tactics himself). Or it can get you point deductions in close fights where it can determine the outcome if it goes to the scorecards. Too many examples to mention on that regard (and nothing really comes to mind).

        Sometimes it’s best to know when to hold back. Know when to hold, know when to fold, right?

        • Robthom says:

          “True, but it can get you DQ’d if you’re not careful.”

          Oh definitely!
          As you should be.

          This is a sport and only a simulation of a struggle to stay alive.

          And thats a major seperating quality between a “great fighter” and any smalltown asskicker.

          I just dont recall Jones, for as close to the edge that he opperates, crossing it unusually often.

          Like say a Mike Kyle or Gilbert Yvel.

        • Robthom says:

          “Sometimes it’s best to know when to hold back. Know when to hold, know when to fold, right?”

          And I also understand that.

          Some guys are so smooth that they can just just do enough to get the job done without going “all out”.

          Fedor was good at that.

          But that is really up the the individual and the style that they’re comfortable with IMO.

          I dont think that Jones’ succesful technique should be considered a fault for not being the same as another mans.

          As long as he keeps it within the rules.

  30. mr. roadblock says:

    Shogun Rua is a better fighter than anyone Mike Tyson beat. And I’m a huge boxing and Tyson fan.

    Tyson became a household name and a huge draw. Not sure if Jones will become either of those.

    But he demolished Shogun Rua last night. Made Shogun look like a guy who was new to the sport and Rua has one of the best resumes out there.

    Jon Jones right now is on another level from the rest of the sport.

  31. manapua says:

    “This is the 2nd time Jackson has taken a long time fighter in his camp and made them feel so awkward they left. The first time was Sanchez when they got GSP.

    Jackson is not loyal to his fighters. That much is certain.”

    It is not Jackson’s fault that a better fighter came along and separated himself from the pack. When you are at a fight camp like that where so many good fighters go to train Darwin’s theory takes over. Jackson can only train who is there and let the chips fall where they may. Evans feels threatened because a guy like Jones is there and he wants to make an issue over it. The truth is that something like is inevitable when you are training at the best MMA camp there is.

  32. manapua says:

    Jackson has also said he would NOT corner either fighter. How is that showing favoritism to either guy?

  33. Robert Poole says:

    Personally I think Jones will walk through Evans, Griffin, Jackson, Machida, Couture, Ortiz, et al without a single issue. He’s too talented and gifted. He can out wrestle almost every one of those guys (maybe the lone exception of Couture). He uses his length to keep people on the outside like a boxer would. His speed and size make him impossible for any of these guys.

    The only guys I see challenging him are Anderson Silva if he moves up (similar freakish body type and skillset) or Phil Davis if he moved down and had a few more fights to refine his skills (Davis is a freak of nature talent-wise).

    Otherwise we could see Jones being a dominate Silva or GSP in the LHW division.

  34. EJ says:

    Jackson is the one who created this problem and it’s going to keep blowing up in his face. This nonsense about guys agreeing to not fight each other to train with him is just that. If he really wanted to form the best camp and test his guys he would tell them that while we are family if it’s for the belt you fight period. That way you don’t get guys feeling hurt and him stuck in the middle looking foolish because this will happen again to him.

    • manapua says:

      Evans is acting like a veteran football or basketball player who is bitter because his spot is in jeopardy from a younger, more talented guy. Rashad is being a drama queen and in MMA that stuff does not fly. He is a professional fighter and he should act like one. There are many other places Rashad can train if he feels Jones is an issue or threat to his spot. He obviously felt threatened by him from the very beginning. He seems to want to Jackson to not take on anyone at his weight who is near his skill level or better lol.

      • Oh Yeah says:

        Jackson invited the situation when he brought Jones into the camp, currently acknowledges it’s a problem, but absolves himself of responsibility by not taking sides.

        It’s almost like he has two wives but doesn’t have the balls to back either one during a dispute.

        “Fight amongst yourselves, I have nothing to do with this!”

        I don’t blame Jones – he’s earned what he’s gotten and you’ve gotta strike when the iron’s hot in pro sports.

        Rashad rightly feels betrayed. After pushing Team Jackson’s mantra and taking heat from fans over it for years, the exact situation Jackson reassured Rashad would never happen and had control over is playing out due to Jackson’s neutral 3rd party routine.

        • manapua says:

          Evans had no problem coming into Jackson’s camp when he already had Keith Jardine there at his weight. He was better than Jardine so it was not a problem for Rashad. The reality is that no fighter will get better with no one in the gym to push him but that is what Rashad wants.

  35. Jonathan says:

    Just let me say that Jones JUST won the belt. Before we pronounce him the “new” Emperor, let’s let him get some title defenses under his belt. A lot of people were calling Machida the new king at 205 when he won the belt, and alot of those same people were ready to call Rashad the new guy when he won the belt. I agree that Jones is an awesome and exciting fighter who can rule the division for a long time, but anyone can be beat.

    I am guess I am just asking for moderation when it comes to the Jones hype but I know that is tough to do.

    • If you ever say anything about a fighter who wins a title other than “This is the start of a new dominant era in the sport” then you are fighter hating to a certain percentage of MMA fans. The same crap was spewed when Machida won his belt to, and look what an incredible champ he became. BJ Penn was supposed to rule lightweight forever too and here we are with him being a chubby welterweight gatekeeper.

  36. bluerosekiller says:

    And after Vera destroyed Mir, it was thought by some that he was a shoe in to win & hold two belts at the same time. And we saw how that worked out…

    Jones has ALL the potential in the world, but he has to deliver on it. While stopping Rua & winning the belt are a great way to start, Griffin did both of those things & no one’s calling him the GOAT.
    In what I consider to be the modern era, only Liddell has held the 205 belt for any length of time. So, let’s see Jones do that first. With his ex-stablemate Evans a good test for him right off the bat.
    Then, should he get past Evans, we’ll have to see how he handles an elite level striker who’s not coming off of surgery & a long layoff.
    What happens when he REALLY gets hit?
    We don’t really know that yet.
    It’ll be interesting to find out.

    And while there’s plenty of challengers already in the UFC to provide Jones with opponents for immediate future, there are a couple on the Strikeforce roster who could potentially be big match ups down the line. With Hendo being the obvious one. If anyone can test Jones chin, HE can.
    But, there’s also King Mo.
    If he can recover well from his loss to Cavalcante & get some good experience & a few wins behind him, he could pose a very interesting challenge to Jones. While Jones is miles ahead of Mo on submissions, but might be a shade below on wrestling, while Mo is a more dangerous puncher IMO.
    Mousasi could be interesting down the line as well.
    As could Roger Gracie.

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