Should Jon Jones be having to fight Ryan Bader?
Rising light heavyweight (205lb) mixed martial arts star Jon Jones is known for being as well-spoken and respectful towards his opponents outside the cage as he is deadly and destructive to them inside. But
on Friday he showed a different side when he appeared on HDNet’s Inside MMA. He said he wasn’t happy about having to fight his next opponent, fellow Ultimate Fighting Championships star prospect, Ryan Bader.
“I'm actually really sick of fighting this type of style. Matt Hamill, [Vladimir] Matyushenko, Jake O'Brien... they all have that similar kind of style. Their main focus is that double leg dive and [they
have] sub-par boxing,” said Jones on the show.
The apparent dismissal of his opponent comes as a surprise coming from the mouth of the respectful 23-year-old, who has torn through what is often considered the toughest weight class in unquestionably the
toughest MMA promotion in the world. He holds a record of 12-1 in his career and 5-1 in the UFC, but his only loss came to Hamill and that was by disqualification after Jones looked unstoppable early in the fight. He threw down the former high-level wrestler
and mounted him and punished him with a brutal ground and pound, but threw a couple of illegal elbows in the mix and was disqualified just as it seemed that he was well on his way to victory.
But that’s the only black mark on his record, and it’s one that hardly diminished him in the eyes of fans. From there he faced Brandon Vera in the main event of the UFC’s first Versus network event and destroyed
him in under a round. He once again took top billing in the next Versus event, and destroyed Matyushenko, also in under a round.
Now he’s set to take on Bader at UFC 127, but he was seen as being ready by many fans for a shot at the belt, currently held by Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, who took it from Lyoto Machida.
Jones’s own wrestling is a powerful mix of Greco-Roman wrestling and Judo, and he’s used it to ragdoll good wrestlers like Matyushenko and Hamill with ease. He also uses his reach to batter opponents with
an array of unusual strikes, but it has been suggested by some pundits that the kryptonite to Jones might be a highly technical striker who could pick apart the developing youngster. That seems to be just what Jones wants to face too.
"I'm ready to fight some strikers, I'm ready to fight some south paws, I'm ready to really mix it up," continued Jones.
“I'm trying to secure a respect level with my wrestling. I'm sure Ryan Bader, the advantage he'll [think he has] going in is to be the better wrestler and I'm going to try and prove the UFC wrong again,"
said Jones.
Is he right?
Jones is correct that’s he’s been slowly built up by the UFC, who wants to introduce him to fans and have done so by feeding him three consecutive opponents whom he’s destroyed (notwithstanding the DQ loss)
in the first round.
And he’s right that he’s ready for a title shot, and he would arguably come in as a favourite against any other fighter in the division. But unfortunately for him, the top three strikers in the division are
all tied down with fights. Rua, a brutal Muay Thai practitioner, is injured and already has a fight set to defend his belt. Machida, the elusive Shotokan Karate striker, is set to face Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, the heavy-handed boxer who is also one of the
best strikers.
And Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, a highly accomplished boxer, was beaten by Bader.
So it seems that while the UFC has been deliberately feeding Jones mid-level fighters, Bader was the only opponent who made sense and was available. Whoever wins that fight is widely expected to become the
number one contender. And if Jones should roll over Bader, like he apparently expects to do, and Rua defends his title, Jones will probably get his wish - and have to fight the very best striker in the division.
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