Jon Jones vs Quinton “Rampage” Jackson – The long and the short of it

Like good ol’ John Holmes of yore, Jon Jones may very well use his length, strength and reach to whup Rampage into TKO submission before the end of the second round of  UFC 135 – and that’s probably an overly generous estimate.

The  11.5 inch reach differential is nothing to scoff at.  And that is exactly what you get when you subtract Rampage Jackson’s 73 inches from Jon Jone’s whopping 84.5 inches. That makes for a wingspan that can be turned into a serious probe.  So in order to be  a contender, Rampage would have to go past that probe. That offensive-defensive perimeter. Anyone who thinks that should be a walk in the park should watch the Jones/Shogun fight to see Jones offense at near full tilt. That 11.5 inch differential is a serious, serious weapon in the hands of someone with the explosive ability displayed in the  Shogun fight. (Remember the opening flying knee followed by not one, but several Anderson Silva straight ahead kicks.  Jones seems to have no respect for some of these O.G.s.)

UFC 135: Freeway billboards are a nice touch but like Harold Camping's, they won't turn what is a virtual non-event into the beginning or end of the world. UFC 135 will showcase Jon Jones chops until a worthy, yet-to-be-named contender, is found. And no, that does not include Rashad Evans, in case you are wondering.

Diaz Does Daley: A nervy Nick Diaz destroys a relatively out-of-condition Paul Daley at Strikeforce, San Diego

Paul Daley is not the first to gas in the octagon and he probably won’t be the last. That physical lapse,  as in many other fights before him,  was the half the story behind why Daley failed to kick Nick Diaz’s you-know-what and take his Strikeforce Welterweight belt in San Diego tonight. The other half of the story – the incontrovertible half – was Nick Diaz  is one bad mofo.  He  proved beyond a shadow of doubt that he deserves the Strikeforce welterweight belt beyond the  10 man tear he has been on lately. And twice during that intense first round, Diaz proved  that he could take a punch way better than the bombastic Daley.  Starting with the trash talking in the opening seconds, Diaz went on to pummel the stocky Brit into an early daze that had him looking for a take-down. (My oh my, talk about turning the tables on the Brit who usually punches other fighters into early KO or TKO!) A wobbled Daley recovered from that early pummeling and true to customary form knocked Diaz down twice but could not – for the life of the Queen – finish the American wunderkind.  What gave? Well quite a few things actually. Diaz was no Koscheck for starters! He came out to prove that  and then some right from the opening moments.

Diaz does Daley at Strikeforce 04-09-11 in San Diego, California: The mouthy Brit is done in by poor conditioning not to mention Nick Diaz’s flamin’ fists of fury.

Jon “Bones” Jones – The New Anderson Silva – destroys Shogun Rua at UFC 128 to become new light heavyweight champ!

But that is a bit misleading because Bones Jones can beat Anderson Silva at this point if they were to be matched pound for pound or in some exhibition superfight. But we digress, but you get the point about how lopsided this title fight was tonight.

It wasn’t even a close match.  Not in round one or two. Forget about three. The challenger (Jon Jones,  13-1) came in with all guns blazing  starting with a flying knee at the buzzer of the first round. It was the Brock Lesnar bum rush but executed with precision and superior excecution. By the time the referee called off the fight at 2.37″ of  the third round, Shogun Rua (19-5) the former Pride terror,  had used up half of his nine (octagonal) lives to the flying knees and spinning back elbows of Jon Jones.  It is a miracle that Shogun, with eyes nearly closed shut, wasn’t more hurt than he was. Brendan Vera of yore didn’t fare so well.  He left the octagon with a broken orbital …. at the hands “of the second coming of Jesus Christ” (Brandon Vera’s own jeering refrain.)

Jon Bones Jones – the new Light Heavyweight Champion of the UFC and face of the franchise after DESTROYING Mauricio Shogun Rua at UFC 128.  At 23 he is poised to dominate the LHW division Anderson-Silva-style for the next few years. That includes Silva himself. (Pic: Bello, Zuffa, Getty Images)

UFC 121: Cain Velasquez is the new heavyweight champion of the UFC after beating Brock Lesnar to a bloody pulp!

Gladiador Increíble – El Matador -  and “Atleta Nuevo”: Cain Velasquez: The new UFC heavyweight champion after pulverizing Brock Lesnar at UFC 121.

He came in like a collegiate athlete, Cain Velasquez that is, against a mountain of corn-fed manhood – Brock Lesnar – and outboxed and out-wrestled the self-proclaimed “meanest son of a bitch” before the referee stopped the UFC 121 headliner towards the end of the first round. It was like an eerie repeat of UFC 116 with Cain playing the part of Carwin.  What was definitively different was the outcome at 4.12″ of the first round. Cain did not gas. He was unrelenting in his pin-point pummeling  and relentless take-downs of Lesnar in answer to Lesnar’s first couple of attempts. (Lesnar had charged Velasquez from the opening seconds and taken Cain down to no effect as Cain got up and turned the punching and takedown tables on Brock.)  Before long, Lesnar was running around the octagon like a drunken sailor – the unmistakable effects of heavy hands whose impact had escaped the naked eyed. Cain smelt blood and piled on and felled Lesnar once again with a knee followed by a blow to the left temple reminiscent  of Lesnar vs Couture.

Cain Velasquez Has A Puncher’s Chance Of Winning UFC 121 against Brock Lesnar

With just over an hour before the punch-up between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin in UFC 121, we have made an alternative reassessment of  Cain’s chances on an inspired whim fired by a sense of presentiment.  From a head stand-point it feels like a  long shot but it is very possible: Cain has a puncher’s chance of winning this fight. It would be all in the timing; a stunner of a blow (don’t taze me bro!) followed by well placed blows in the clinch or the ground for the finishing coup de grace.

It’s a long shot, but its possible – just like Mir’s leg lock against Lesnar was possible in UFC 81.

Gladiador Mejor - El Matador - Cain Velasquez. Could UFC 121 turn into a UFC 81 redux?

A David vs Goliath Match-up: Cain Velasquez is entering  UFC 121 with more weight on his shoulders than he should  rightfully be bearing: what he describes as  the hope of millions of Latino fans for a  Mexican heavyweight champion.  Brock Lesnar, the self-acclaimed “meanest son of a bitch”  stands alone against his doubters.  That weight – the weight on Cain Velasquez’s shoulders can make or break fighter. Tonight is gonna show us what it will do to Cain vs a man  who thinks he has a thing or two to prove a world he has already flipped off.

UFC 117: Chael Sonnen’s romp through Anderson Silva’s Forbidden City ends with a choke and a near death experience (Fight video)

Chael Sonnen’s cheeky romp through the Forbidden City ended as all cartoon strips with morality tales do: with sudden comeuppance – in this case  a choke to ye  ol’ windpipe and intimations of a near death experience. Sounds familiar? Well it should because the plot is as old as classic fable.

Very few people beyond Anderson Silva's corner saw this coming, the anaconda moment as The Spiderman chokes out Chael Sonnen, with two minutes left in the 5th and final round of UFC 117. (Photo: Jeff Chiu, AP)

The ultimate bottomline is that UFC 117 surprised the hell out of everyone. And its end, sudden and surreptitious, caught even  Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg off guard. The explosive reaction that reverbrated worldwide  was right up there with the storied endings of famous fights  since the beginning of MMA. (Shades of Werdum vs Fedor or Lesnar vs Carwin anyone?)

UFC 116: Brock Lesnar “Mirs” Shane Carwin and submits him via a freakish arm triangle choke!

“Mir” being used as a verb in this case which means taking
down, mounting and utterly dominating (Cyberaxis)

The technical pyrotechnics were missing as we had expected but the fight very much lived to its spectacle billing for the 7:19 minutes the fighters traded leather. At  about 2 minutes  of the second round – Brock Lesnar, who had come within seconds of being “counted out” after a merciless pounding by Carwin  – took Carwin down and then mounted him the way he did Frank Mir in UFC 100. After manhandling him a little he slipped an arm triangle choke on Carwin’s supine form and started to choke him. THIS was manly business -  virtual killing in mundane time – boys need not apply. Fans and even Carwin himself didn’t realize the gravity of what was happening until the cinch tightened and an already spastic Carwin was struggling for dear breath. Reality check time. Carwin tapped out at 2:19 minutes of the second round.

Shane Carwin ascendantly overpowering in round one pummels Brock Lesnar into a cowering mess (priceless montage) before the reversal of fortune in round two where Lesnar turns the tables on the Carwin and chokes him into a stunning  submission. File this one under virtual upset! The rematch is gonna be MONSTROUS – and Lesnar WILL NOT take any chances this time. (Photo – Eric Jamison – Associated Press)

MMA fans the world over erupted in belief and disbelief. Those on pacemakers were in clear danger of succumbing to what Terence McKenna called  “death by astonishment.”

UFC 116 with Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin will be like an execution

Lesnar @ UFC 116: The pressure to win.

And probably take about as much. About  5 or 6 Minutes,  which in MMA terms translates into one or two rounds. The likelihood of this going to the judges for a decision is almost nil.

The reason for this is the assymetric factors of strength and skill and all of the unknowns that will, without a doubt, impinge on the fight that is just over 3 hours away. Brock Lesnar’s recovery from his illness, the strategies and decisions that fighters end up making in the octagon, cognizant of Mike Tyson’s truism, “Everyone has a plan until they get hit in the face.” Luke Thomas of Bloody Elbow had it right when he opined:

The number of unknowns swirling in this bout is dizzying. Is Lesnar going to have ring rust? Is Carwin going to fold in the later rounds? Will Lesnar be able to take Carwin down enough? How will Lesnar respond when hit by Carwin? I’m not sure how to cook with these ingredients. I certainly believe Carwin is more than capable of stopping the fight at any time. If you’re picking him, you’ve got plenty of good reasons to do so. I’m going to lean ever so slightly to Lesnar, though. I just think he’s got the sort of gameplan to wear down Carwin. Over time he’ll compromise Carwin’s power, physically tire him and impose his game. Unless he gets KO’d. We’ll see what happens. Lesnar, TKO. Luke Thomas, Bloody Elbow)

Brock Lesnar will try and make an example of Shane Carwin at UFC 116

Brock Lesnar may have nothing personal against Shane Carwin but that's not the way it's gonna look come Saturday night's UFC 116.

UFC 116 is close enough for people to channel Brock Lesnar’s process. If they  do it right, the will come to the realization that come fight time, Brock  Lesnar will try to make an example of Shane Carwin – not because he hates  the man – but because figuratively he represents detractors and haters who, unlike Stuart Smalley, think he is not good enough,  smart enough or doggone likable.

The strongest felt impulses of mice and men are put out there to be thwarted – but if Lesnar gets his way come Saturday night, he will put  a memorable exclamation mark to the most anticipated fight in UFC  since the emergence of American MMA  from the backwaters of BJJ and vale tudo – and strut around the octagon like he has just pawned the UFC – which may not be that far away from the truth.

Brock Lesnar and Randy Couture – The unsung story of UFC 116

If there is a guy who has a key to Brock Lesnar’s psyche it has to be Randy Couture. Reason? His “I’m OK, You Are OK” approach to things; his matter-of-fact, aw-shucks approach to what he has and what other people have. Well, come to think of it, there isn’t a whole lot of people that Randy doesn’t have a key to. Nice guys tend to have that quality about them – so in a sense, this is a story about Randy Couture, the famed Captain America of mixed martial arts.

So what does this have to do with UFC 116? Well, as it turns out Randy Couture is one of the people Brock Lesnar has turned to for training help  months/weeks ahead of his UFC fight with Colorado slugger Shane Carwin – which is quite impressive when you consider that this is the case of  290lb behemoth (Brock Lesnar) turning to a wiry 230lb grappler-turned-boxer for advice on how to demolish a proven slugger. At a the mental level, it is deep when you consider the chip Brock Lesnar tends to carry on his shoulder most of the time – the “up yours” attitude that has been his stock in trade since UFC 100.

“I’ve always had a lot of respect for Randy because he paved the highway for the wrestler in the UFC …. The good thing about Randy is that he doesn’t carry a chip on his shoulder.” (Brock Lesnar)

Well, no shit Shylock – reference the last part of that quote. That, among other things – seems to the key to the “friendship” or what passes for it between Brock and Randy. We only wish Lesnar could learn something from that quote concerning the antipathy his own chip-on-the-shoulder persona generates amongst the masses and chattering classes. But that is a story for another day.

Open Challenge To Brock Lesnar: Stand up and deliver at UFC 116 and begin to earn the respect of MMA

There, we said it. No hemming or hawing. No ambiguity. Lesnar may be king of the hill of the UFC  heavyweight division but he is  far from being king of Mixed Martial Arts – and by that we are talking the Randy Coutures or Fedor Emelianenkos of the world.  Why? Well because he still needs to prove that he is more than a ground-and-pound hog who beyond collegiate wrestling relies too much on his size, weight and strength to smother his opponents and  then pummel them into a bloody stain.   One good Wanderlei-Silva-style-slugfest with knees and kicks thrown in for good measure would do it – with doin’ it having to do with  equalizing this slop-sided equation; i.e. winning by sheer preponderance of size.

Will Brock Lesnar stand up and deliver at UFC 116 or will he revert to the tried and true; the old ground and pound? We would love for him to surprise us, but we are not holding our breath. Reason? We doubt that Lesnar can take a punch.

UFC 114: Rashad Evans wrangles a win over Rampage Jackson in a snoozer of a fight (Fight Video)

Here is a truism: the UFC depends on our addiction to cheap thrills to cash in on fights like the one they sold off as a headliner between Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans last night.  How bad was it? Well you head the  boos from fans not to mention a fight that, more often than not,  looked like a boxing match  instead of  an all-out mixed martial arts contest. Google Quinton Rampage Jackson vs Rashad Evans UFC 114 video.

So what went wrong? Well, nothing really. Things played out the way we expected. We had seen this coming a mile and called it right here. We had even suggested that the whole thing be put on  for free as a token of fan appreciation.  The fan who yelled “I want my money back!” at the end of the fight would certainly have appreciated it.

There  just was nothing in Rashad Evans and Rampage Jackson or their styles to make this an interesting fight at all. And win or lose none of them would have been in a position to challenge Shogun for the light heavyweight title as rumored. Not Rampage and certainly not Rashad.

Rashad Evans wins UFC 114 – but is he ready for Shogun prime time? Probably not.

As things turned out, the more motivated pugilist, Rashad Evans, won – and in the process proved that he had developed a lot as a person and a fighter.  The knockdown and near knockout at the beginning of the 3rd found proved that Rashad had a tough chin inspite of the way he was knocked out cold in the  Machida fight. The fight also proved that Rampage  Jackson was in the audience watching this fight from the outside instead of the octagon where he belonged – and only he can tell us why that was.

The year-long lay-off (the so-called “rust” defense), the cutting of weight from a doughy 250lbs to 205lbs, the resignation from UFC and the B.A. Baracus brouhaha aside, there was a little tell-tale detail about mind-set before the fight. Weeks before the UFC 114, Rashad Evans and Rampage Jackson gave  interviews about their impending fight. Rashad Evans was within his body: centered. Rampage Jackson appeared out of sorts – suspended somewhere between his physical head and a faraway place only he knew about.   If you were looking for a reason why Rampage was gonna lose his fight last night, this  was one of them.

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Appendices:

Link to all other UFC 114 fight videos (MMAShare.Com at MMABettingBlog)