Since winning the title back in 2011 Jones has looked almost invincible with a close, and questionable unanimous decision victory over Alexander Gustafsson being the only time we have seen the champion struggle against opposition. A pro since 2008, Jones has only tasted defeat once, and that was a controversial DQ stoppage due to a number of ‘12 to 6’ elbows used against Matt Hamill in a fight he was dominating anyway. The bottom line is that Jon Jones is basically undefeated, a lanky yet athletic fighter who posses great wrestling and unorthodox striking. Jones’ greatest asset is his huge reach which at 84.5 inches is tied longest in UFC history. With this reach, Jones is able to control the distance of the fight and is also able to utilise crippling standing elbows and debilitating oblique kicks.
His opponent, Daniel Cormier, is a short, stocky fighter and without any prior knowledge of the sport you’d probably write him off at a glance. Underestimate this man at your peril. Yes, Cormier doesn’t posses the reach required to stand with Jones over 25 minutes, but his wrestling is beyond anything the champion has ever encountered before. Cormier is a former Olympic Freestyle and NCAA Division 1 champion wrestler whose MMA career up to this point consists of multiple victories over much larger and heavier opposition. A former Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix winner back in 2012, Cormier has never been taken down once in his entire 15 fight career, a feat that is virtually unheard of.
With his AKA teammate Cain Velasquez ruling the Heavyweight division, Cormier decided to come down 205 pounds, a decision that was always going to result in an eventual clash with Jones for the title. No one however could have predicted that the path to their showdown would have been so intense and hostile. Insults, threats and media day brawls have dominated the proceedings, so much so that the actual fight has been rather overshadowed...but we, and the UFC love this. It’s the easiest way to guarantee an anticipated fight; two fighters who can't stand each other.
The fight itself is proving to be very difficult to predict. Both fighters are essentially undefeated; Jones with a record of 20 victories, his lone blemish being the aforementioned DQ loss, while Cormier is undefeated with a perfect record of 15-0. Jones obviously has the striking advantage, but Cormier’s ability to trade leather is extremely underrated. Cormier on the other hand possesses the grappling advantage, but Jones is no slouch when it comes to this aspect either and this is demonstrated by his early successes as a New York state wrestling champion.
The winner of the fight will obviously be the fighter who can dictate where the fight takes place. Jones will want to stay well away from Cormier’s wrestling and, despite his prowess, will be foolish to try and outwrestle his Olympic calibre opponent. I wouldn’t be surprised if Cormier’s game plan would be to try and push the fight against the fence in an attempt to smother Jones. After all, it worked a treat for his teammate Velasquez in past fights against strong strikers. Jones will surely want to try and fight as long as possible in an attempt to keep Cormier away from him. The champion will very likely utilise an elusive, reverse wrestling strategy as he waits for his opponent to shoot for takedowns. Expect lots of high kicks, knees and elbows to be thrown. If Jones is victorious, these tools will be essential.
Two other aspects to consider is conditioning and emotional stability. Its no secret that Cormier struggles to cut down to meet the 205 pound requirement, and a difficult weight cut can result in a loss of power and cardio. Cormier looked unstoppable in his last Light Heavyweight outing, a lopsided beatdown of fellow former Olympic wrestler and MMA legend Dan Henderson however. The ability to remain calm and focused could also play a massive part in the outcome as both fighters have worryingly shown a lack of restraint in this regard in the past. The younger and less mature of the two, Jones has shown on a number of occasions an attitude that some call confident, while others call arrogant. If Cormier is able to repeatedly take Jones down, it should be very interesting to see how to champion behaves.
This fight is hugely anticipated, the biggest since Sonnen/Silva II...maybe even ever, and part of that anticipation is down to the inability to comfortably predict its outcome. I personally believe that Cormier is Jones’ equal, his toughest challenge, and will grind out a close decision victory. If Jones is able to retain his belt this time around, he will prove without question that he is among the greatest the sport has ever seen.
UFC 182 Main Card Predictions - Picks in bold:
Welterweight - Hector Lombard vs. Josh Burkman
Flyweight - Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Louis Gaudinot
Middleweight - Brad Tavares vs. Nate Marquardt
Lightweight - Donald Cerrone vs. Myles Jury
Light Heavyweight Championship - Jon Jones © vs. Daniel Cormier
His opponent, Daniel Cormier, is a short, stocky fighter and without any prior knowledge of the sport you’d probably write him off at a glance. Underestimate this man at your peril. Yes, Cormier doesn’t posses the reach required to stand with Jones over 25 minutes, but his wrestling is beyond anything the champion has ever encountered before. Cormier is a former Olympic Freestyle and NCAA Division 1 champion wrestler whose MMA career up to this point consists of multiple victories over much larger and heavier opposition. A former Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix winner back in 2012, Cormier has never been taken down once in his entire 15 fight career, a feat that is virtually unheard of.
With his AKA teammate Cain Velasquez ruling the Heavyweight division, Cormier decided to come down 205 pounds, a decision that was always going to result in an eventual clash with Jones for the title. No one however could have predicted that the path to their showdown would have been so intense and hostile. Insults, threats and media day brawls have dominated the proceedings, so much so that the actual fight has been rather overshadowed...but we, and the UFC love this. It’s the easiest way to guarantee an anticipated fight; two fighters who can't stand each other.
The fight itself is proving to be very difficult to predict. Both fighters are essentially undefeated; Jones with a record of 20 victories, his lone blemish being the aforementioned DQ loss, while Cormier is undefeated with a perfect record of 15-0. Jones obviously has the striking advantage, but Cormier’s ability to trade leather is extremely underrated. Cormier on the other hand possesses the grappling advantage, but Jones is no slouch when it comes to this aspect either and this is demonstrated by his early successes as a New York state wrestling champion.
The winner of the fight will obviously be the fighter who can dictate where the fight takes place. Jones will want to stay well away from Cormier’s wrestling and, despite his prowess, will be foolish to try and outwrestle his Olympic calibre opponent. I wouldn’t be surprised if Cormier’s game plan would be to try and push the fight against the fence in an attempt to smother Jones. After all, it worked a treat for his teammate Velasquez in past fights against strong strikers. Jones will surely want to try and fight as long as possible in an attempt to keep Cormier away from him. The champion will very likely utilise an elusive, reverse wrestling strategy as he waits for his opponent to shoot for takedowns. Expect lots of high kicks, knees and elbows to be thrown. If Jones is victorious, these tools will be essential.
Two other aspects to consider is conditioning and emotional stability. Its no secret that Cormier struggles to cut down to meet the 205 pound requirement, and a difficult weight cut can result in a loss of power and cardio. Cormier looked unstoppable in his last Light Heavyweight outing, a lopsided beatdown of fellow former Olympic wrestler and MMA legend Dan Henderson however. The ability to remain calm and focused could also play a massive part in the outcome as both fighters have worryingly shown a lack of restraint in this regard in the past. The younger and less mature of the two, Jones has shown on a number of occasions an attitude that some call confident, while others call arrogant. If Cormier is able to repeatedly take Jones down, it should be very interesting to see how to champion behaves.
This fight is hugely anticipated, the biggest since Sonnen/Silva II...maybe even ever, and part of that anticipation is down to the inability to comfortably predict its outcome. I personally believe that Cormier is Jones’ equal, his toughest challenge, and will grind out a close decision victory. If Jones is able to retain his belt this time around, he will prove without question that he is among the greatest the sport has ever seen.
UFC 182 Main Card Predictions - Picks in bold:
Welterweight - Hector Lombard vs. Josh Burkman
Flyweight - Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Louis Gaudinot
Middleweight - Brad Tavares vs. Nate Marquardt
Lightweight - Donald Cerrone vs. Myles Jury
Light Heavyweight Championship - Jon Jones © vs. Daniel Cormier
