Jon Jones Needs a Real Challenge
I told you last week that Jones is not a prospect; that he is a legitimate contender in the 205-pound division and Sunday in San Diego, he exceeded even my expectations against Vladimir Matyushenko.
The UFC’s decision to bring “Bones” along slowly made sense until last night. The speed and ease with which he disposed of Matyushenko showed that the training wheels need to come off and the 23-year-old phenom needs to face someone who will truly test the limits of his talents.
As he said in the post-fight press conference, he’s passed every test with flying colors, and his last three outings have been jaw-dropping exhibitions of total domination. It’s time for the kid gloves to come off when it comes to finding fights for this kid.
Something Special
Everyone agrees that Jon Jones has a championship future and he’s one of the brightest young stars in this sport. It might actually be more than that.
We’re witnessing something special in watching Jones grow and develop inside the cage. This is a fighter who right now doesn’t have a ceiling; the sky seriously is the limit for his talents, especially under the guidance of Greg Jackson and in the company of the collection of professional who train with him in Albuquerque.
Each performance exceeds expectations, a difficult task considering the height of the bar being set for Jones. Matyushenko was supposed to be a grizzled veteran with the wrestling chops to slow the budding superstar’s explosive offense.
Instead, he too was manhandled like Matt Hamill and Brandon Vera before him, laid to waste in less than two minutes by a fighter who has the markings of becoming more than a champion.
Thunder Rolls
Yep – I just used the title of a Garth Brooks song in a mixed martial arts recap column. Thank you, Yushin “Thunder” Okami.
Nothing much has changed about Okami’s approach in the cage over the last handful of years, but my appreciation of what he does inside the Octagon has done a complete 180. Watching Okami repeatedly stuff the takedown attempts of former Division-I national champion Mark Munoz was as entertaining as watching an unabashed slugfest for me.
All Okami did was exactly what he’s done throughout most of his UFC career – step into the cage and dominate his opponent, fighting the better technical fight and never carelessly trading sound strategy for audience excitement. Jab and sprawl, jab and sprawl, with a few straight lefts mixed in for good measure.
Now we wait and see if the Japanese middleweight will finally receive the title shot some believe is long overdue.
Guess Which Judge Scored the Fight for Munoz?
Everyone makes mistakes; that much has been determined throughout the course of history. We all have our “I screwed up” moments. The problem – as I see it – is when the same person keeps making the same mistakes. Don’t even get me started on the people who keep giving them the opportunities…
The fact that it comes as no surprise that the judge who scored Sunday’s co-main event in favor of Mark Munoz was Cecil Peoples is frightening. Judge Peoples, he of the “leg kicks can’t win fights” commentary who more recently would have had Kamal Shalorus beating Jamie Varner at WEC 49 in Edmonton if not for a point deduction, somehow saw Munoz as the victor in his fight with Yushin Okami.
One curious card happens, but every time this man sits cageside it is becoming a liability and risk. Honestly, did anyone have that fight going to Munoz? Is there some “Cecil Peoples Only” scoring system that we don’t know about?
More importantly, is there really so few qualified judges out there that we can keep giving this guy prime seats so he can keep getting it wrong? I know the admonition is to not let a fight go to the judges, but it shouldn’t be because the judges just might get it completely wrong. With Cecil Peoples sitting there, that is the risk you run and that is brutal.
Ellenberger a Welterweight Dark Horse
Through three fights in the UFC, Jake Ellenberger has been extremely impressive.
He came out on the short end of a split decision against Carlos Condit in his debut, and then manhandled Mike Pyle in his second trip inside the Octagon. John Howard was supposed to be a challenge, a power-punching coming in on a four-fight winning streak, but Ellenberger steamrolled him with strong takedowns and top control.
Ellenberger asked for a Top 10 opponent after the fight, and has the talents to be a contender in the 170-pound division. He’s like a Jon Fitch clone that has shown his punching power. Last time I checked, the AKA product was the second-best welterweight in the world.
The 23-5 Nebraska native has looked good thus far. Now it’s up to Joe Silva and Dana White to give the kid what he’s asking for and see what they really have in Ellenberger.
I Didn’t See You Coming
If you ever wanted to sneak up on John Howard and scare him, Sunday night in San Diego would have been a golden opportunity. The coast was clear to come at him from the left because Jake Ellenberger made it so “Doomsday” could only see out of his right eye after their fight.
I can’t recall a ginormous swollen growth like that in a fight since Hasim Rahman grew a small human on his forehead after clashing heads with Evander Holyfield.
Howard walked out for the final round and you knew he was in trouble. Once Ellenberger got the fight back to the ground and assumed a dominant position, referee Herb Dean rightfully stepped in and called for the doctor. The swelling was down the instant it was met with some cold steel, but damn that was funky.
The Importance of Wrestling, Part One
Ellenberger’s dominant win over Howard came courtesy of his wrestling. There was nothing Howard could do to stop the shot, proving not only that it’s not just Brits who can’t defend the takedown, but also that wrestling continues to be critically important, whether you like it or not.
Howard has big power in his hands, but everything about his attack is rendered useless when he’s dropped on his back, and that is exactly what happened through two-and-a-half rounds. While Ellenberger has more to his game than his stronger double leg – and wasn’t able to advance much on the ground – every stand-up resulted in the same inevitable fate: another takedown.
To all those fighters out there who do not come from a wrestling background, do yourself a favor and start drilling takedowns. All the dynamic striking in the world doesn’t do much for you when you’re looking up at the lights all night.
The Importance of Wrestling, Part Two
The opposite side of the above wrestling coin is that if you have a strong wrestling base and your opponent doesn’t, it might be a good idea to use it. Sure the old stand-and-bang routine wins over the casual fans who can’t be bothered to appreciate the sport in its entirety, but it can also leave you face down on the canvas courtesy of a pin-point right to the jaw.
Tyson Griffin is undoubtedly reassessing his approach in Las Vegas right now, having been dropped like a sack of hammers by Takanori Gomi sixty-four seconds into the opener of the second live card on Versus. Despite having witnessed Kenny Florian use a strong single leg to dominate “The Fireball Kid” in his first Octagon appearance, Griffin stuck with the standing and paid a big price.
After storming out to a 12-1 start to his career, Griffin is just 2-3 in his last five fights, all of which saw him become increasingly reliant on his improving boxing. What is wrong with dancing with the one who brought you in the first place?
Gomi Looked Good but Hold Off on the Parade
Before stepping into the cage with Tyson Griffin, Takanori Gomi was viewed by many as a faded former star with little more than the proverbial puncher’s chance. Now, after landing a well-placed right hand and earning his first UFC win, “The Fireball Kid” is apparently back.
How’s about we hold off for just a minute or two before we start going all Lazarus with Gomi’s career?
This is one win, and as tough an opponent as Griffin is, one win does not a career resurrection make. It was just four months ago that Gomi was dismantled by Kenny Florian. Even if you grant him a pass for any number of reasons (first fight in UFC, Florian’s a Top 5 lightweight, etc.) that doesn’t change the fact that this victory is his first solid win since beating Mitsuhiro Ishida on the night we welcomed 2007.
Yes, Gomi looked far better than he did against Florian in March and could be at the start of a career renaissance, but why not wait and see what he does for an encore first.
DaMarques Johnson Must Be Glad to Leave San Diego
In hindsight, maybe the Ultimate Fighter alum should have pulled out of this event the minute it was shifted from Salt Lake City, Utah, his base of operations.
During a less than 48-hour stretch, Johnson failed to make weight, forcing him to cough up 20% of his purse to his opponent, Matthew Riddle, then walked into the cage and had his orbital bone broken in a loss.
He went from fighting in front is his friends and family to giving a guy one-fifth of the moderate amount of money he was set to earn to break a part of his face.
So you say you wanna be a fighter, eh?
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