Newwork New J, watch out the Swami is back….after a bit of a bout of family issues the swami is BACK! A lot of you may not know but the original location for this fight was to be the middle east, but since that was scrapped this event has undergone one change after another. The card has been reworked so many times it is not funny as well as having changes come out of the wood work!
The Next UFC is going to be in Newark and pits newly crowned number one contender Bones Jones against hot and cold champion Rua! Outside of this the most we can say is it is a solid set up with no “on paper” blow outs”, in fact a few look like train recks and retirement fights to say the least…lets get into it.
Preliminary Bouts (Non-Televised):
Nothing new under the son on this one! Other than Nick Catone not being on the Spike show up or Raphael Assuncao having to earn a win to make some Tv time. Both fighters being good enough for at least face book!
-Joseph Benavidez (13-2) vs. Ian Loveland (14-7): With a 10/0 record going into his fight with Domick Cruz in 2009, Benavidez was a an animal! He took out everyone that he could on his way to the WEC and even blasted Jeff Curran and Danny Martinez once he got there! His fight with Cruz was a battle that won him the fight of the night, even if he lost the fight! His next two battles earned him wins, and one against Miguel Torres, were h got sub of the night. His next fight was a rematch with Cruz, and a split loss for the Bantam weight strap. Coming off the loss he blasted through Wagnney Fabiano and now faces Ian Loveland in his UFC debut! Benavidez is a wrestling animal with good stand up and great submissions. The Team Alpha Male fighter is one of the most aggressive wrestlers that the WEC had and will push for the title again.
14/7 Loveland is not as impressive a fighter as Benavides. This ex-TKD fighter with good wrestling seems to get subbed out more than taken out standing In fact his wrestling normally gets him in trouble. After going 3/0 he lost his next four fights via Submission. Then took a three fight winning streak to the IFL, were Wagneney Fabiano subbed him out. Winning his next fight he dropped the following two fights to submissions. He turned it around with his next 7 fights being wins by a variety of methods. His first and only UFC fight was at the TUF 12 finale were he took on tough Tyler Toner and won a decision. But he is dropping to Bantam weight and taking on very tough Joseph Benavidez.
If it sounded like I was favouring Joseph Benavidez then you got that right. This wrestler striker is on a complete horror trip for any fighter that wants to battle with him. I think Ian is in for a short and painful night! I am going with Benavidez by TKO stoppage in the second.
-Erik Koch (11-1) vs. Raphael Assuncao (16-3): Erik Koch’s pro record is filled with scratched fights and replacements, even this fight is against Raphael, who was supposed to be facing Manny Gamburyan! With an 11/1 record this roufus sport fighter is a great grappler and also a great striker. His only loss in the ring was against Chad Mendes and that was a decision that was hard earned. In his last fight Erik earned a TKO win over Francisco Rivera and KO of the night honors…in his last WEC fight.
Raphael is the brother of Junor Assuncao, a former UFC fighter and Raphael also has a Black belt in BJJ and a killer record of 16/3! The majority of his wins have been by submission as well. His losses have been to better wrestlers and one submission to Faber. His skill set is fantastic with grappling ability and also some striking. But being a BJJ fighter his strong suit will be in powering out submissions and gaining good position.
I would say this is going to be a ground battle that will put us all to sleep with Koch earning the victory. However, this one is tough because Raphael could turn a take down into a sub really quick, but look for Koch to take this one by TKO or by decision.
-Nick Catone (8-2) vs. Costantinos Philippou (7-1): “The Jersey Devil” is Trying to improve his record from 8/2 to 9/2 in this battle. The Renzo Gracie/Almeida fighter has shown his hands are strong and his subs are firm. Middle weight fighter Nick was on a ripping tear prior to UFN 18. He took out guys with strikes and subs in Ring of Combat and CFFC as well as his debute at Reality fighting. Then he hit the wall against Tim Credueur and Mark Munoz, but he earned a decision against Jessee Forbes and a second shot at winning in the UFC on a card not for TV….granted he wont be on TV unless he takes out Philippou in some great way!
Constantiono Pilippou is a Serra/Longo fighter, so it’s a sure thing his hands will be big time and his grappling good. Its his first fight in the UFC after being a main stay at ROC. He is on a 7 fight with streak with one NC after a groin kick accidently stopped the fight with Marcus Finch in October. His first fight is his only loss however, so look for big bombs and great counter grappling and subs.
Look for Nick to make a big BOOM in the division on this one. He knows that he has to take out the Serra/Longo fighter to make a undercard spot on spike even. TKO or Sub out on this one for sure. Tough fight for Nick though Contantions is no push over. But it will be a make or break for Catone.
Preliminary Bouts (On Spike TV):
So this is what we get for free eh, Cane…who could have been, Marshall who never could have been and two smaller guys….thats fair.
-Luiz Cane (10-3) vs. Eliot Marshall (10-2): Cane is an animal, caged! Banha came into the UFC guns a blazing trying to prove something and had a 7 fight winning record in Brazil against some tough cats…but he punted Irvin in the head while on the ground….being disqualified and dropping his first fight (now is Jorge Rivera listening, get hit on the ground illegally…stay down man). Then he went on to take out guys like Jason Lambert, Sokoudjou and even Steve Cantwell all on “foreign” Soil. He even earned KO of the night when he blasted the crap out of Sokou in England. Then he hit the skill set wall as he was taken out by Lil’NOg and Cyrille Diabate in his last two fights. Something is up with the normally aggressive Brazilian and in this case it aint good.
Marshall is a graduate of TUF and A BJJ black belt out of Colorado. His record is actually very good as well, before coming to the UFC he was 4/1 and only lost to Rob MadDonald . Once in the UFC he took out Vinny Magalhaes, Jason Brilz, Josh Haynes, and Cris McNally, most of which were Decisions, but his submissions of Jules Bruchez and Chris McNally showed his great ground skills, even if his last sub and last few fights were outside the UFC. Is it time to make his comeback or time to drop away for good?
If this fight stays standing then Marshall is in deep Crap, if it goes to the ground then Banha is outgunned. Cane came into the UFC guns blazing and crazed, but in his last few outings he looked neutered, I think that Marshall may have to work for it, but I am going with him for the win.
-Anthony Njokuani (13-4) vs. Edson Barboza Jr. (7-0): Its Light weight time as Nigerian born Antony Obinnia Njokuani or the Nigerian Monkey offer???? Or African assassin steps into the ring….got to love it when both your nick names sound racist and you use them. The fighter from Lagos Nigeria is a serious MOFO when it comes to his stand up. Before making it to the WEC he was blasting out fighters in the small circuit and taking names as he blasted guys in Texas and worked his way up to the WEC. Only dropping one fight to Donald Crrone on his way up he showed that he had great striking, but little in the way of ground skills. His first fight in the WEC was a figth against Ben Henderson, and yes…lost by Guillotine showing he can blast, but he cant roll! Then he came back and took KO of the night against Bart Palaszewski and showed massive improvement…in KO’ing guys and not getting into a grappling match.. Antony then took out Two more guys in Very successful ways, removing head from neck in a variety of ways. His last victim of the two being the baby faced striker Chris Horodecki. He then ran into Shane Roller and lost via sub, after getting three KO of the nights that is not to bad, but Poland got its revenge when Maciej Jewtuszko took him out and paid him back a bit. His last fight was another Muay Thai strikefest and one he took the W on.
Anthony’s opponent is Ebson Barboza Barboza is the Armorys answer to BJJ. He also has several nick names….none sound as racist as Tonys however. Ebson is also a Thai boxer who has a good record. However he never went to the WEC. With a 7/0 record right now he has not faced the caliber of fighters that Anthony has, but he has actually taken one of those fights to the floor and choked a guy out. Really nothing to write home about the guy is a solid fighter who held the Ring of combat LW Title and has only gone outside the first round in two of his seven fights…and the submission…was not one of them.
I normally am at a complete loss when it comes to the little guys, not being very well known most of them tend to be guesses, and in this case my guess is that the African Assasin takes out Ebson in the second round.
Preliminary Bouts (On Facebook):
-Ricardo Almeida (13-4) vs. Mike Pyle (20-7-1): Who do you have to piss off to end up on Facebook fighting for time on the main card. I mean Spike is one thing, but Facebook? Well Almeida is going to be trying to end the progress that Pyle has had and he may be the guy to do it. Almeida is a 3rd degree black belt in one of the hardest styles of fighting to become a black belt in…unless you go to Xtreme couture, then all you need to be is a half way decent wrestler and that putz their will toss one at you! Anyways, back to the fighter! Almeida was last seen making a comeback from his loss to Matt Hughes when he was embarrassingly choked out. Going way way back, Almeida has taken out so many guys its hard to name them all, he was the Pancrease middle weight champ after subbing Nate Marquardt, he subbed Eugene Jackson, Lost a DQ fight to Matt Lindland, one he was winning, moved to Japan and took out guys like Misaki, Sasaki, Minowa, Chonan….came back to the states and went to the UFC after a four year lay off and went to his early UFC run against Rob Yundt and then Matt Horwich. Next up was Kendal Grove, Matt Brown and then ran head long into a very bad fight with Matt Hughes. Now he wants to work his way back to the main card and take out Pyle.
20/7 Pyles record shows a strange roller costar ride of ups and downs. He has fought in the WEC and took the title, then was stripped of it when he went to the IFL, He then fought on Bas Ruttens team …but also went to Elite XC, Strikefarce, Affliction and Adrenaline…guy has been around. Mike finally made his way to the UFC and is trying to work his way up, but this 35 year old fighter/actor needs to hurry. His first fight was against Quinton Jackson, and he lost a decision, but talk about a comeback, his next fight…Jon Fitch…and a win at that. He then went on to fight all over the damn place and took on a lot of Europeans. Once in the UFC, he took on Brock Larson and was submitted. But his come backs were HUGE, taking on Chris Wilson, getting Jesse Lennox in a Triangle but the best was his destruction of up and coming John Hathaway. Putting himself in position to shine a bit. Pyles is a brown belt in BJJ and as we all know if you are a fairly experience blue belt in MMA and take on a guy that is strictly a BJJ fighter, even if he is a black belt you might end up winning by submission…but it will be tough!
For Pyle ist not as much a comeback as it is a career! He has his ups and downs, but he is often looking good. Pyle is a good opponent for Almeida, a bit of a risk that has to be taken seriously, but also a ham and egger that wont be to much of a challenge to your ability. This is going to be tight, does Pyle counter the BJJ with good take down defense and plaster him with shots or try to be tricky and play the “I can’t roll with you” Game and then Sub the unsuspecting BJJ specialist. I am going to say that Almedia does not take the bait, and wins his comeback fight against Pyle by submission.
-Kurt Pellegrino (16-5) vs. Gleison Tibau (21-7): 15/5 does not sound great, but this former Renzo Gracie fighter is looking to come back against a strong stirker. Pellegrino started the Armory and has some major names to train with, but his record is an interesting case of ups and downs. With 8 fights outside of the UFC, the first fight he ever had he took out Mac Danzig and never looked back. Granted most of the competition he took on was little named fighters with little named events…outside of his loss in Pancrase he would go on to win every fight outside the UFC. Once in the UFC he was tossed to the wolves with his first fight against Veteran Drew Fickett. The RNC was earned by Fickett that night as Kurt battled him for three rounds. With his first loss out of the way he took out Junior Assuncao and Nate Mohr quickly and pushed through a loss to Joe Stevenson to take out Alberto Crane. In his fight with Crane his tooth was Knocked out and ripped a hole in his lip and cheek, he actually shoved a finger through the hole to show it was right through! His last loss was to Nate Diaz, a fight he did not look himself in. Then he went on a rip, he took out Thaigo Tavares in fight of the night, rob Emerson and Josh neer both fell to him as did Fabricio Camoes in Sub of the night. His next fight was a decision loss in which he had no knee to stand on….literally. Knee surgery side lined the BJJ fighter but he is back to try and show how tough he actually is.
Gleison Tibau is much easier to say than his real name…..Janigleison Herculano Alves….yah, Tibau is much better. This BJJ ATT fighter is a black belt in BJJ and fights out of Florida, by way of Mossoro Brazil. He is one of the biggest welter weights I have ever seen. 21/7 he is a wrecking machine that wants back into the winning column after dropping a fight to Jim Miller at his last outing. Starting off in Brazil he was 4/0 and even beat Thiago Alves. He dropped his first fight in Japan, in his first fight out of Brazil. Back to Brazil and pushing his record to 12/2! Next, Gleison traveled to Spain and took out a polish fighter whos name is not easy to print and don’t want to hurt myself so just go with Kubski! He then got the call to come to the UFC and went toe to toe with Nick Diaz….not a great first time fight! He lost via TKO in the second round. However he put Jason Dent on waviers in his next fight and went back to Brazil to take a Spanish fighter out. Back in the UFC he took out both Jeff Cox and Terry Etim before dropping two to Tyson Grivin and Joe Stevenson. Worked back to back wins against Rich Clementi and Jeremy stephens, Dropped a decision to Melvin Guillard and then took out both Josh Neer and Caol Uno before losing his last fight to Jim Miller. This guy is a serious stiker with some good subs and great wrestling, but like I said, his best asset is he is a middle weight come fight night!
This is a great fight, Kurt is smaller, but In my mind has more heart. Gleison comes in at about Middle to Light heavy weight and is HUGE and has some good submissions and great striking…but he lacks that SPARK of something that makes you think he can win on anything but size. I am going with Gleison simply because Kurt is coming off a bad wheel and smaller in the long run, but I assure you…it wont be easy!
Main Bouts (On Pay-Per-View):
As far as main cards go, this one is okay. I mean it could be a massively interesting and entertaining card, or it might be dull and predictable. That is the nice part about the UFC! You never know what you may get.
- Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (27-8-2) vs. Brendan Schaub (7-1): If you don’t know who Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic is, then welcome to MMA…think you might like it! Mirko is a fighter who has seen it all and done it all. Kickboxing, MMA and done fairly well for himself. But it seems that his ability to go out and get it is limited and he is getting older. With a 27/8 record he has faced the best of the best at this point and come out looking like a legend. Destroying guys in Japan was a recreational habit for him. Guys like Herring, Vovchanchyn, Sakaraba, Fujita, Waterman, Alex Emelianenko, Barnett, Randleman, Colemena and Magomedov all droped fights to him before Fedor outworked him for his second true loss in MMA, first one being a shocking loss to Randleman. After Fedor he was briefly thrown a loop by Mark Hunt,but he was back on track taking out Minowa, Yoshida, Wandi, Barnett again and then was hired to the UFC. His first UFC fight was a chase war against Eddie Sachez were he had to run after the challenger for most of the fight. His next two fights were horrible however. He got KO’d by Gabe Gonzaga and then manhandled by Kongo. He left the UFC under some controversy and battled at Dream…earning a win over Mizuno got a NC after Overeem tried to smash his Jewels in and then took out Choi Hong man by leg kicks. He was welcome back to the fold and took out Mustapha Al-Turk right off the bat, but waved off a fight after a broken orbital bone stopped his fight with Junior Dos Santos. His next two fights were against Perosh and Barry, both fights he did well in. But his fight against grappler and HUGE fighter Mir turned out to be one of the dullest grappling fights till Mir laid him out with a knee. Shows that Mirko does best against fighter’s hat will stand and trade, but not get to harsh right off. He is prone to flash KO’s and does not do well against quicker fighters or guys that can grapple really well. At the end of his career he should be looking at big fights or retirement, Schaub is not a big fight!
Brandan Sachaub, 7/1, does not have the history that Mirko has, by any stretch…but he does have one thing that Mirko does not….youth and a good solid chin…A chin that only Roy Nelson has dented! His only loss was to Roy for the TUF 10 strap. Before that he took out four guys by way of TKO…all but one with his hands. After Roy KO’d, the ex NFL player (Okay practice squads count in this case!), bounced back by taking out Chase Gormley, Chris Tuchscherer and Gabe Gonzaga all by TKO…except Gabe, who was a beaten man all three rounds and close to a TKO! Brandan is a Greg Jackson stand out from the Grudge training Center in Colorado, so you know his strategy is down pat…
This is actually a very sad fight. Mirko is over the hill and needs guys that are smaller and slower than him to finish off his career. If the mirko of old was stepping into the ring I would say Brandan was fodder for a very cruel and unusually demented mind (joe silva and dana white) but seeing as Mirko is NOT the old Mirko…by any stretch, I think that Schaub is being lined up for a good win to keep him going against a “Soon to be retired” Cro Cop. Much like Liddell, Mirko is just out of date and I hate to say it…should be retired! The man has done it all and looks like it! Is body may be in shape but the damage is evident in his reflexes and his ability to use his weapons. He seems to run away more and can not use distance the way he used to. I am going to say that Brandan takes this by TKO or decision after an UGLY fight. While I am a big Cro Cop fan and would be elated to see him win, I also would be happy seeing him hand in his gloves after this fight.
-Nate Marquardt (30-10-2; #3 Middleweight)* vs. Dan Miller (13-4): The man that Dana White says cannot help but choke is back to show him that white is wrong…or right! The former king of Pancrease is not exactly well liked by his boss right now. With a record that shows he has LOST a quarter of the fights he has been in…how can he be the #3 Middle weight in the world…well he did win 30 fights at middle weight. With wins against some big names he should be up in the upper tears but his losses are just as telling. His first fight in the UFC was a decision win against Salaverry, and then a win against perennial middle weight door keeper Joe Doerksen put him on the map. A win against Crafton Wallace and Dean Lister gave him a shot at the strap but he was KO’d by Anderson Silva faster than you can say “WHA HAPPENED”. He made a comeback against Jeremy Horn, but lost a very controversial decision against Leites. He came back and beat down Kampmann, Gouveia and Mia. But lost the title run against Chael Sonnen, and this is when Dana started questioning the kid’s ability. His next fight was another controversial one against Palhares, were he was accused at first of greasing. He was offered a fight against Yushin Okami to go again for the UFC title, but the loss against Okami made White label him a Choke artist. He was to fight Sexyama but he backed out due to the issues and horrible events in Japan. His new fight is against able body Dan Miller.
AMA fighter Dan Miller is younger brother to Jim Miller, and the Miller boys like to fight. A wrestler that turned to BJJ at Planet JJ under Eddie Bravo but moved to Renzo Gracie and got his Black belt. His MMA career is 19/4. Dan won his first two fights with good submissions but lost his third via decision. He worked his way back to the top earning the CFC middle weight title along the way. Coming into the UFC in 2008 he earned a four fight win streak before losing to Chael Sonnen in 2009. After Sonnen schooled him he had a hard time getting back to the W, he dropped another fight to Damian Maia and then one to Mike Bisping…but at least he did not get a spit shower after the fight. He was next thrown in with more suitable C level fighters in John Salter and the Ultimate Gate keeper in Joe Doerksen. Now he is facing a B/A level fighter in Nate the Great…..If Nate the Great shows up Dan could be in trouble.
Dan is no Jim and Nate can be far from Great. I think that this fight plays out one of two ways, a dynamic win for Nate via sub or KO after he realizes that this is not a win he need be excited about or a long ass dull drawn out grappler holding down striker who can sub match were Dan earns a dull Decision. I am going to say that Nate wins via Sub or TKO in the second round.
-Jim Miller (19-2; #7 Lightweight)* vs. Kamal Shalorus (7-0-2): The older but smaller of the Miller boys, Jim is looking to really put his stamp on the light weight division and go for a title at some time. His record is 19/2 and his only two losses are to the Light weight champ and the runner up. He started off in Reality Fighting and took the championship from Muhsin Corbbrey in 2006 and held it till Frankie Edgar took it from him. He moved to Cage fury and took the title from Al Buck and worked five fight winning way into a UFC shot. He took on David Baron in England and got Sub of the night. His next fight was Fight of the night against Matt Wiman, then his loss to dull ass Decision king Gray Maynard. Since that loss he has not dropped a fight. He earned victories against Mac Danzig, Duane Ludwig, Mark Bocek, Cleisan Tibau and Chales Oliveira in a sub of the night. Now he is facing Iranial fighter Kamal Shalorus! Miller is a strong wrestler with good sub skills and great stand up boxing, but his main stay is his grappling.
Kamal is also a grappler with Great wrestling skills, actually represented England in the Olympic trials and competed successfully at the ADCC against notable MMA fighter Joachim Hansen. Kamal is 7/0/2 in MMA and holds wins in WEC against Dave Jansen, Will Kerr and Bart Palazsewski and almost beat Jamie Varner, if not for points removed for a groin strike. Kamal is a accomplished wrestler that can take it to many of the notable ex WEC fighters and will be stepping up in competition, but against a guy that can strike as good as he grapples, this will be a challenge.
I think that Jim has a much better chance against Kamal than his younger brother has against Nate, but this is going to be close. Kamal is a great grappler and Jim will be able to counter the grappling and land hands, I am going to say that Jim wins via TKO win in the second or first round.
-Urijah Faber (24-4; #6 Bantamweight)* vs. Eddie Wineland (18-6-1): Faber is one of the favorite fighters of many newbies in to the sport and WEC fans. But I have never really been sold on the California kid. 24/4 Faber has been on the radar for along time now and held the WEC featherweight title, two fight of the nights, three subs of the nights and the most title defenses in WEC history for his title, a total of five of them. Prior to his WEC days he lost to Tyson Griffin after winning his first 8 fights, went on a rip and took out Ivan Mejavar, Charlie Valencia and Six other fighters on his way into the WEC. His first WEC fight was a blow out against Joe Pearson, and earned him the title. A title he defended against Dominick Cruz, jeff Curran, Jens Pulver and a few other guys. He lost his title to Mike Brown and then ripped Jens Pulver anther new one, but could not get his title back against brown in a rematch. Cince then he took on Raphael Assuncio and won and then went for the Feather weight title against newly crowned Feather weight GOD Jose Aldo. He lost to Aldo and moved to Bantam weight to take on Takeya Mizugaki and won. Now he makes his UFC Debut and shows off his purple belt level BJJ and great grappling with some not to shabby striking as well. 13 of his 24 wins are by Submission so you know he can do it!
New Breads Eddie Was the first Bantam weight champ for the WEC after having an “interesting start “ to his fight career. Before going into the WEC he was 14/4/1 and earned a victory against Antonio Banuelos by KOing the fighter to get the first strap that they handed out. He took out Dan Swift to work out his out of WEC contract and then faced Dhase Beebe for the WEC strap, and lost it. The rest is a bit of a roller costar ride. He left the WEC and took the TFC championship, then went back and lost a submission loss to Rani Yahya and worked hard to put together a four fight streak, including two KO’s of the night. Now he is in the UFC and wants to earn a shot at the title again. Problem is that the Striker wrestler is just not that set to face anything other than a B/C level fighter.
New Bread Eddie has been struggling to get back to the top and shown that he probably hit a glass ceiling of skill. I am going with the Califorina kid on this one. But it is still not enough to make me think Faber is going to be a big name again…outside of marketing that is.
-Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (19-4; #1 Light Heavyweight)* vs. Jon Jones (12-1; #5 Light Heavyweight)*†: 19/4 Rua is a bit of a controversial fighter for me. Known for his aggressive attacks, stomps and soccer kicks, he has kind of fizzled for me as a fighter. With only One loss in the PRIDE organization, by way of horrible broken arm when Coleman slammed him and one by Renato Sobral before the PRIDE days by way of Choke, I was Super excited to see he was coming to the UFC, I mean he took Gonos head off with a soccer kick, stomped the hell out of Kanehara and Beat down Alistair Overeem and Little nog in PRIDE as well as Subbing Randleman and stomping on the Snake Diabate! What more could you ask for. This guy was aggressive and would destroy everyone….not so much. First Forrest took the hightly touted fighter and made him tap after he looked HORRIBLE in his debute, then they put him against over the hill Coleman and he beat him…but it took him all three rounds, Then he KO’d punch drunk and ready to retire Chuck liddell and lost a close fight to Lyoto Machida. The guy looked done! His KO of Machida gave him the belt, but leaves a lot of questions in my books. This BJJ Black belt with a penchant for Thai boxing almost needs guys that will fly at his fist to beat them. And his knees are all but shot. Don’t think he will be making a tone of Belt trips to the ring. And if you see the picture of him in the ring with Jones, well he looked a bit peeved this young guy was coming for his belt.
Jones is a product of Greg Jacksons growing stable of fighter. Starting off at Bomb squad out of New York he developed his MMA skills and moved along to Jacksons earning a 12 and 1 record and showing off some unique fight skills along the way. His Wrestling, Muay Thai and now Gaidojutsu are top notch. But he is still kind of green in some areas, like good experience. He has the KO of the night as well as Sub of the night in UFC as well as being an NJCAA wrestling stand out. His wins mostly come via KO, but his sole loss is a DQ loss. Prior to the UFC he was taking out guys with his LONG wing span and went 6/0 before going to the UFC. His first two fights were Decision wins but he took out Bonnar with a rare back elbow strike. He then went on to take out Jake O’Brian and faced Matt Hammil, but was disqualified for illegal elbows, a lot of which looked a lot like legal elbows to me! He came back and destroyed Brandon Vera and Vladi M. His last win was the Sub of the night in which he took out fellow up and comer in Ryan Bader. Because team mate Rashad Evans had to pull out the UFC gave Jones the fight for the title against Rua. Jones has heavy hands, unique strikes and decent wrestling, all things that get guys like Rua in trouble. But the night will be decided over which Rua Jones actually faces…..The kneed gimp with mediocre skills or the aggressive striker with great timing.
Do I think that the UFC knows something we don’t…yes, why did rashad have a bad knee one fight…but laterally the next card he is in it and supposedly did not change his training? Also, why is Shogun look so upset that its bones he is facing? I think he knows what I suspect, he is burned out, knees are shot and he is done! I think Bones will become the youngest champion in the Light weight division and will get knocked off by the next in line. I am going with bones by decision or stand up TKO. His length will negate those leg kicks, he can hit you with a jab further away than Rua can kick!! And I think that when Rua gets tired of being peppered with jabs he will eat a big punch coming in for a ill advised take down and get KOd or cut up. He wont be able to defend against the down right weird angles and attacks of Bones and this will be the moment that bones pulls out a shocking elbow that flys at him from no were and takes the former PRIDE mad man out! That of course all depends on Rua! If a soccor kicking, stomping mad man shows up then we have a different fight, but I don’t think so. I think Bones takes the fight with youth, reach and some crazy ass funny angle strikes.
Till next time.