UFC 214 PBP/Discussion

Actually, I'm gonna take it a step farther. I think it's time we reconsider Jones in a historical context (or at least that I do, maybe you an others already were looking at it this way, not sure). After thinking about it a bit this morning, here is what I believe about Jon Jones:

He is not just the best LHW ever. He's not just the best p4p fighter ever. He is the best fighter, regardless of weight, ever. In other words, I'd favor the best version of Jones in one on one hand to hand combat over anyone in human history. Yes yes of course there could be someone at some point that would best Jones with no rules and blah blah blah but in terms of people we've SEEN in actual fights, there's nobody I'd pick to beat him. Not prime Fedor, not prime Cain, not prime Andy Silva, not Stipe now, nobody. Look at DC as a reference point: He went undefeated at HW and EASILY beat top 10 guys like Barnett, Mir, and Bigfoot (back when Bigfoot had chin, was on TRT, and had just pounded out Fedor). You could actually make a case that in an openweight all time hypothetical tournament, DC at his best would be seeded #2. If not, he'd be top 5. And Jones twice now has beaten him. Once by clear decision, last night by brutal KO.

Jones isn't just a special talent (he is that, but he's more). He's cerebral in the cage. For all his knucklehead decisions he's made outside the cage, he's a fighting savant inside it. He's creative, he makes adjustments, and he has killer instinct. His frame is tailor made for hand to hand combat. He has a seemingly granite chin. He has cardio for days. He's simply on another level than anyone we've ever seen, aside from maybe Mighty Mouse (and that's a difficult comparison to even make given the size difference).

DC feels crushed after last night. It's a hard realization to come to that you might (I'm saying MIGHT, not IS) the second best person ever to compete in your sport but you happen to come along during the prime of the best to ever do it and thus a big part of your legacy is that you could not conquer that obstacle.


I'm sorry that I'm just now getting back to you bud, but I've been on vacation and not able to read the thread. However, this was an excellent post and I loved it so much I wrote my own detailed novel on the breakdown of the fight.
LOL


So yea, JBJ painted a masterpiece in their vs. D.C, who is the greatest pressure fighter we've had at LHW in MMA history.

To begin with, what Jones was able to accomplish is a feat in and of itself. DC has never been defeated by anyone else and his bulldozing style just forces otherwise powerful men to wilt under his consistent pressure. Most fighters simply crumble when placed in this situation. For instance, Joe Frazier and Sonny Liston made a career of it in 'm boxing, as have guys like Khabib and Jon Lineker in MMA. In fact, even unathletic, slow and plodding fighters like Pat Healy and Darren Elkin have Corvette out successful careers in MMA with their "pressure bursts pipes" style of fighting.

Negating this 'in your face' front foot forward approach takes strategy, skills and excellent conditioning if you intend to overcome it. Jones showed that he has all of them and more in spades last weekend.

First and foremost you have to establish a weapon that creates distance. Normally this means the jab. However, for some strange reason Jones eschewed the jab which could have made things far easier on himself. In its place he implemented an the oblique kicks and hand fighting as the two methods main weapons. His hand fighting consisted of using open palms to press off and create space for offense. There were several times throughout the bout where he used both palms to push DC off of him, create space and then throw a knee up the middle, an outside lower leg kick to the thigh or something over the top, like a right-hand or powerful elbow.

The hand fighting and oblique kicks also permitted the gangly JBJ play matador to DC's bull.

Additionally, when the two men locked horns Jones took advantage by working quick and getting out. He would throw quick hooks and uppercuts before pushing off and angling out to fight in space. considering their physical stature's, fighting in aa telephone booth should have been DC's wheelhouse but Jones turned the tables.

With a 12.5" reach advantage you needn't chase your adversary as they are always going to be close by. What Jones did here was throw a lead rear uppercut followed by a quick elbow or short left hook. Usually the Cardinal rule in boxing is to never lead with the uppercut, but if you are fast enough — like a Roy Jones Jr. or Prince Naseem Hamed — you can get away with it. Jones falls within this category.

Another brilliant tactic Jones used was going to the body from jump street. This is imperative when facing a pressure fighter and it just demonstrates how well-versed Jones is at game planning. So right out of the gate he was working DC over with voluminous body shots. Moreover, JBJ understood that DC had a granite chin and one punch was unlikely to get him out of there, that is why he made the investment to go to that whiskey barrel chassis of Cormier's early.

Indeed, Jones would really sit down on his punches and dig into DC's body with vicious hooks. Additionally, he would hit that step-in knee up the middle when DC entered his bubble. This was assisted by with leg kicks to the midsection. This is key when facing a pressure fighter as it does two important things: (1) it zaps their stamina and (2) forces them to lower their elbows to protect their body, thus leaving them vulnerable for the head kick.

In addition to the aforementioned tactics necessary to deal with a fighter like DC, Jones implemented excellent lateral movement which allowed him to adroitly traverse the cage while placing himself in the most opportunistic position to hit and not be hit.

He presented DC with various looks and angles and refreshingly did so with proper foot work. That is to say, when he felt threatened, Jones didn't take the — all too common — MMA approach of turning your back on your opponent and sprinting back to the middle of the cage to reset. The first time I saw it used was Tito Ortiz against Wanderlai Silva but then Carlos Condit used it against Nick Diaz. Now it occurs in every Alexander Gustafson and Overeem fight you see. It's so fucking frustrating to watch!

However, not only did Jones refuse to sprint across the cage to reset, but he also never let himself retreat backwards in straight lines where he could be pinned against the cage. Instead he circled and pushed DC off of him whenever his back foot hit the black strip that outlines the Octagon. Furthermore, Jones never remained static. Just as soon as his heel hit that black tape, he would immediately pivot and wheel out.

More of the gameplan to beat a pressure fighter meant Jones taking the role of the counterpuncher and fighting off his back foot. This he did with aplomb as when DC come marched forward he was walking unwittingly into ironclad bear-traps. Maneuvering around the Octagon, Jones was using all four limbs to land a multitude of strikes from a variety of angles. Just chipping away at DC giving him something to think about.

A lot of the time, DC was chasing Jones around the cage as opposed to cutting it off. Nevertheless, DC did have moments where he did utilize proper fundamentals and momentarily trap Jones. This is where DC would grab the single color tie and get to work with his dirty boxing in the form of vicious uppercuts. However, unlike the first fight where Jones was a willing participant in a close quarters knife fight, this time he would have little to do with it. Indeed, he would counter by initiating a hand fight, then using his 84.5 inch wingspan and they deceptive strength to shove DC off of him. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

Then there was his ability to take a punch. Facing an orthodox fighter Jones would consistently circle to the right and away from DC's power hand.. The circling to the right also gave Jones the opportunity to slip the punch from the left and avoid those heavy overhands DC was throwing. Still yet, DC was able to tag JBJ cleaning a few times. That said, I believe this is more a demonstrative of DC's improved striking prowess as opposed to a referendum on Jones' poor defense. For even when DC would land that long overhand, because Jones was circling to the right — and with his chin tucked — he was able to roll with it, thus taking out most of the steam behind it.

Ultimately, Jones performed a DVD tutorial on footwork and lateral movement, and the benefits therein. He did almost everything perfectly.

If Mike Winkle-John is responsible for this strategy then he really deserves a lot of credit as Jon was technically, strategically and physically, operating Jedi level.
 
Back
Top