Upcoming UFC 135 Jon "Bones" Jones vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, September 24th, 2011 from Denver, Colorado.
Jon Jones vs. Rampage Jackson – light heavyweight championship
Getting to this matchup was a bit of a journey. It started with season 10 of TUF where coaches Rashad Evans and Rampage Jackson were set to face each other for the number one contender spot to take on the champ at the time, Shogun Rua. After Rampage took his fighting hiatus to become a “movie star” they fought and Evans took the W. But when Evans was to get fight Shogun, he had to pull out because of injury. Rampage was unable to cut as much weight as he would have to on such short notice so young gun, Bones Jones was giving the chance to step up. He took advantage of the opportunity with a big third round TKO. So now it’s set for Evans to get his title shot against a different champ. Later it is announced that Jones has an injury that requires surgery and will put him out until the end of 2011. Not wanting to wait that long to fight again, Evans took the headline fight at UFC 133 and took out UFC vet Tito Ortiz. Now here is where the really crummy news for Evans comes in, Jones does not need surgery and is ready to fight. Too soon after his last bout, Evans wont be in that matchup so the man he defeated, Rampage, gets it. Yes, Rampage did defeat Matt Hamill and Lyoto Machida since his loss to Evans but I would still be pretty annoyed if I was Evans. Pretty sure he will take on the winner of this one though, so I suppose that’s the silver lining.
Now past the ifs, ands, buts, and injuries, on to the fight! Simple choice, Jones it is. He is incredible. Like I have said before, he has a very out there and unorthodox fighting style. Moves like the flying knee and spinning elbow tend to annoy me because they are often so inaccurate and tend to be just for show. However, this kid has perfected them and they have become a great weapon, hook, jab, spinning elbow, it’s all in his back of tricks. Having the longest reach in the UFC isn’t a bad thing to have up your sleeve either. At 84.5” that is even longer than the spider’s (Anderson Silva) 77.5” reach. That’s one reason why I want to see that matchup so badly. But that’s neither here nor there, this fight comes first. Rampage is a great fighter as well, no doubt about that, I just don’t see the same drive I used to. His last two fights have gone to the judges and one decision was split. Rampage is usually really aggressive and I do hope to see that side of him come back but with a 10” reach deficit it will not be easy. I think this fight will be exciting and I don’t think it will go to a decision, unfortunately for Rampage though, he’ll be getting the short end of the stick. I’m a big Jones fan and I want to see him hold on to this belt for a while.
Matt Hughes vs. Josh Koscheck – welterweight
I’m so happy this fight changed! Hughes was set to face Diego Sanchez. If you ask me, Sanchez has gone a little loopy lately. He renamed himself “The Dream”, I wont go into it, just read my post for UFC Live on Versus 3. Anyway, Sanchez suffered a broken hand and was replaced by Koscheck, we all know how I feel about him… He hasn’t had a fight since being totally demolished by GSP at UFC 124. He could come out guns blazing and surprise everyone but I’m hoping instead that Hughes redeems himself after a ridiculously disappointing loss to BJ Penn. I don’t see either of these guys getting a title shot soon after this fight but I do want a good matchup with Hughes taking the win.
Nick Ring vs. Tim Boetsch – middleweight
This is the only other fight on the card I’m really excited to see. Ring is a TUF vet and trains in Calgary Alberta, Oh Canada! He has won two fights so far in 2011 and I am hoping to make that three. He’s a goofy dude but seems really down to earth and cool, not to mention a great fighter. His defeat of Riki Fukuda was so controversial that Dana White actually gave Fukuda a win bonus paycheck as well. Ring obviously didn’t want to leave it up to the judges again and took his next win by submission. Boetsch is a big guy and has been in the UFC for a long time but I think Ring will take this one, he seems to have momentum since he fought so recently with a decisive finish.
Having so few fights that I am really pumped about usually means it is going to be a great night. Going in with no expectations and watching fighters I don’t really follow is usually a good combination. I’m hoping that pattern stays true and it’s an exciting night of TKOs and submissions.
