This is such a tricky fight to pick because of Shogun's knee problems. Obviously, if Shogun comes in the same shape he was against Griffin and Coleman, he'll lose. If he's in tip-top shape he'll be the best guy Jones has fought by a country mile. Rua definitely has the edge in stand-up and he has a fantastic ground game. Bones will have to take it to the ground and work some GnP, Shogun won't give Bones his neck like Bader did. Bader was asking to get choked out the entire fight.
without a doubt. I definitely think Jones will win, but Rua is one of the best fighters in the world when he's in the right shape. The experience advantage for Rua is huge. Jones is just soooo strong, and soooo athletic. His wrestling is world class in MMA. He is just getting better every fight too. You can tell the kid is a gym rat. Probably lives with Greg Jackson.:bears:
jones has never fought a guy like shogun. i think shogun has a huge striking advantage and it will be interesting to see how jones reacts when he doesn't win the standup battle. i'm sure jones will be able to take shogun down, but rua's excellent in scrambling and has an underrated jiujitsu game. hopefully, rua will be 100% and the layoff won't affect him much.
Jones by take down and elbow finish. The way Jones has looked, I can't imagine ANYONE beating this guy at 205. he's a fucking monster.
So say when Jones wins the title which I think he will where does that leave Rashad ? Rashad and Jones are buddies and have already stated they will not fight each other. Rashad is the number one contender so if Jones wins he's just going to hang around and not take his title shot ? Or move up to heavyweight ? See that's why I'm not a fan of these gym friendships that develop.
jones is the bigger guy struggling with weight. wouldnt surprise me at all if he moved up to heavy especially if he beats shogun.
One of my biggest pet peaves about MMA is all the guys claiming they will never fight each other because they are on the same "Team". What garbage. MMA isn't a fucking team sport!!!! Grow a fucking pair and fight.
Yep.athetic: It's part of the reason I hope Wlad and Vitaly fight. It would put way more pressure on the other combat sports.
I guess when you roll on the mats with another guy for hours a day you develop some kind of a gay bond. Kinda like herding sheep in broke back mountain.
Jones is a different animal and Rua is VERY damaged goods. If he can compete with an athlete like Jones with shredded knees, he would move way up in my top 10 list. Bader is not the best barometer because he is so inexperienced, but Jones was never even remotely threatened in the fight. That is impressive. I honestly think Jones is a protype MMA fighter that is well-rounded and a tremendous athlete to boot. And that 84' reach makes him a chore for ANYONE's stand up. Obviously I like Jones in this one. But I am currently near the basement in the FB Prediction Challenge so my pick mean NOTHING!!!
Can't agree more, if anything doesn't sit right for me, how the fuck does this fight produce a title shot? And you know I am all aboard REED's VIVA BLACK MAN JONES IS #1 SOUL TRAIN BANDWAGON, but how do you honestly sell to us that beating Ryan Bader gives you a title shot?
In all honesty, I am a little pissed that Griffin didn't get to replace Evans. Griffin is a former champ, has 2 wins in a row, and holds a win over Rua. To me, that's the perfect replacement fight for Evans. With all the injury and training excuses that Rua and his fans have used to dismiss Griffin choking him TFO, it would seem a rematch would be a worthy idea.
And Rua was supposed to destroy Forrest back then too. That's the point. And trust me, I've heard all the injury and conditioning stories too many times to name. But again, that's the point. Rua has a submission loss to Griffin in which he was choked and forced to submit. To me, if I was honestly injured or poorly conditioned, I would be begging the UFC to let me fight Griffin again to prove it.
I agree, you would think Rua would be begging for this rematch to clear the air about it. Not to mention, you would think Dana white would want to milk another ppv out of it.
Rua vs Griffin isn't out of the realm of possibility. No need to act like it isn't. Win or lose, it could be one of Shogun's next fights. Although Forrest broke his foot again so that might work out weird.
Couple interesting notes 1. Rampage was UFC's original choice to fight Shogun next month but he turned it down saying that's not enough time to prepare and that he's too fat (250 lbs) 2. Rashad will change weight classes if Jon Jones wins the title. Will move down to middleweight.
Rua has looked a lot better after his surgery and Forrest has gotten worse. Jones and Rua have momentum. So match them up.
Really? You do realize that Rua fought the 800 year old Mark Coleman in a life and death battle FOLLOWING surgery, right? He looked better against a shot Liddell and a counterpunching karate fighter in Machida. Neither of them pushed the pace like Griffin did. And neither of them looked to take Rua down and use their naturally bigger bodies to wear him down. Griffin did. I don't think we can say if he is better or worse than the first Griffin fight. And on top of that, he is coming off yet another knee injury.
