Date Posted: April 12, 2011
Print Edition: April 8, 2011
By Trevor Fik (Staff Writer) – Email
With Jon “Bones” Jones’ dismantling of Mauricio Shogun Rua at UFC 128, the UFC crowned its youngest champion ever, and the light-heavyweight division has been set ablaze with talks that the dominance that has permeated the middleweight and welterweight titles has finally seeped into the 205-pound weight class.
And while 23-year-old Jones has accomplished more in his three-year tenure with the sport of mixed martial-arts (MMA) than most competitors do in their entire career, Jones has not faced the calibre of opponents necessary to garner such legendary status. Likewise, Jones’ championship win came off of an opponent who looked like a shell of his former self, and the victory exposed some glaring weaknesses in “Bones” game that are sure to be picked apart in his first title defence against former teammate Rashad Evans.
While many have hailed Jones unpredictable style as something of a revelation in the octagon, I see it more as a sign of inexperience. Jones is not Royce Gracie, and is not ushering in the era of some unforeseen new form of martial arts. He throws spinning back hands and kicks because it confuses fighters and because, in his infancy, he sees the moves as cool new tricks to try out in the cage. Proper execution of these techniques requires a pedigree of MMA that is far above what Jones is currently capable of, and because of all the Jones hype he has been able to masquerade sloppy technique as the second coming of martial arts.
While Jones was not wholly undeserving of a title shot, he was not the logical next choice to face Shogun. Other than Ryan Bader, Jones had not previously seen the quality of opponent that the top ten of the light-heavyweight division holds. Jones has not gone toe-to-toe with the likes of Forrest Griffin, has not exchanged punches with Rampage Jackson, and has not been tested with the wrestling pedigree of Rashad Evans. Jones beat lesser opponents and was only offered a title shot after Jackson declined a meeting with Shogun.
And while Jones was more than capable of stepping up to the challenge of Shogun, he did so against a competitor that was tired, sloppy, and not the same fighter who tamed Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida at UFC 113. For a fighter who has made a career out of remarkable wins, Shogun looked quite unremarkable. By the second round, Jones himself looked fatigued, and it was only because Shogun’s cardio was that much more awful that he was able to come away with the win.
While this article might come off as Jones-bashing from an armchair MMA enthusiast, I am not writing off Jones as some kind of lucky slacker who happened to waltz into his wins undeservingly. Jones will surely be a force in the light-heavyweight division for years to come, and with the experience that inevitably accompanies more time in the octagon, Jones may well be the prodigy that many are claiming him to be. I for one, however, will not jump on the Jones’ bandwagon until I see the man do something worth worshipping him for.
UFC fans have notoriously short-term memories, but I do recall many throwing the same praise on Machida just two years earlier. “The Dragon” will now be fighting for his career at UFC 129 against ageing fighter Randy Couture. The speed at which the opinion of MMA fans can change after a couple of losses, and with the light-heavyweight title exchanging holders about as much as Chael Sonnen trades insults, shows that it does not take much for the deepest division in the UFC to offer up a new and worthy competitor.
