For the last few years we have seen an influx of athletes trying their hand at MMA. Hershel Walker is one of the more prominent figures who has succeeded, but we cannot forget the boxing crossover Lights Out Toomey fight either. The difference in my mind between a Walker and a Toomey is athleticism: while both are great athletes, one clearly is more athletic than the other. Athleticism has translated into success in the MMA, because whether the purists like it or not, sometimes raw talent, power and speed can overcome form and skill. That is what the Jon Jones-Mauricio Rua fight was about in a nutshell. I won’t sell Jones short, the kid has got some form and skill, but he seems to disregard the classic fighting poses and styles and instead leads with his athleticism. This was on display for the entire fight. Watch it again and see that he was the faster, stronger fighter. He almost always got off first, landed the bigger shots, slipped away when he wanted to and dict
ated where the fight took place. Rua looked uncomfortable, like he was grasping, in addition to gasping, when he would dive on a leg for a weak submission attempt that inevitably backfired. Suffice to say, Rua could not figure out how to penetrate the athleticism of Jones: his length, his speed, his power and his confidence.
Confidence is an underappreciated part of a fighter’s weapons. One always seems to do a lot better when he is comfortable. And when you allow Jones to get comfortable, we, the viewer, are treated to a man who thinks he can do anything. And usually he does. Three exchanges highlight this sense of invincibility: a superman punch to the body, a spinning back elbow from the clinch, and a transition from top guard to a leg lock to a spinning back hammer fist to end round two. I tried to think about how many times I have seen any of those moves (the answer I could count on one hand per move). Then I wondered why don’t we see fighters do crazy things like that? The answer MMA purists will tell you is that such moves expose you to unnecessary risk or are less effective. But when you are confident that you can handle the risk because of your natural ability, because of your athleticism, then everything becomes a possibility.
I want to be clear that Jones is a lot more than just an athlete. He is a terrific wrestler (most people don’t know because he doesn’t fight like one), and despite the hoopla around his strikes, finishes more people on the ground via submission. Just a few weeks ago he dominated Ryan Bader, another well respected wrestler (undefeated too). That he has never really been hurt in a fight is astonishing as well given his style and pace. His elbows, the basis of his ground and pound, will be mentioned in the discussion with David Loiseau and Kenny Florian for most vicious. And his overall gameplan for the fight was brilliant (thanks Greg Jackson): to the body. Jones was able to deliver knees in the clinch (against a Muay Thai specialist), leaping hooks to the body, the superman punch, and at the end, it was a knee on the ground and then a hook standing up, both to the body, that saw Rua crumple and fall.
Jones is a natural talent that is absorbing the mixed martial arts game at an alarming rate. He is the future of the UFC according to Joe Rogan. I would expect more freakish athletic talents to get into the game now that they have a role model to look up to (crime fighting, humble, good looking, what more do you want?). There are some of these athletes floating around the UFC now, Brendan Schaub and Matt Mitrione from TUF season X are two examples. Neither of these guys are super exciting, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson in the welterweight division I think has potential if he gets his head on straight and develops some form of a strategy. He is fighting on the next UFC card (for free March 26th) against Dan Hardy a classic puncher.
ated where the fight took place. Rua looked uncomfortable, like he was grasping, in addition to gasping, when he would dive on a leg for a weak submission attempt that inevitably backfired. Suffice to say, Rua could not figure out how to penetrate the athleticism of Jones: his length, his speed, his power and his confidence.
Confidence is an underappreciated part of a fighter’s weapons. One always seems to do a lot better when he is comfortable. And when you allow Jones to get comfortable, we, the viewer, are treated to a man who thinks he can do anything. And usually he does. Three exchanges highlight this sense of invincibility: a superman punch to the body, a spinning back elbow from the clinch, and a transition from top guard to a leg lock to a spinning back hammer fist to end round two. I tried to think about how many times I have seen any of those moves (the answer I could count on one hand per move). Then I wondered why don’t we see fighters do crazy things like that? The answer MMA purists will tell you is that such moves expose you to unnecessary risk or are less effective. But when you are confident that you can handle the risk because of your natural ability, because of your athleticism, then everything becomes a possibility.
I want to be clear that Jones is a lot more than just an athlete. He is a terrific wrestler (most people don’t know because he doesn’t fight like one), and despite the hoopla around his strikes, finishes more people on the ground via submission. Just a few weeks ago he dominated Ryan Bader, another well respected wrestler (undefeated too). That he has never really been hurt in a fight is astonishing as well given his style and pace. His elbows, the basis of his ground and pound, will be mentioned in the discussion with David Loiseau and Kenny Florian for most vicious. And his overall gameplan for the fight was brilliant (thanks Greg Jackson): to the body. Jones was able to deliver knees in the clinch (against a Muay Thai specialist), leaping hooks to the body, the superman punch, and at the end, it was a knee on the ground and then a hook standing up, both to the body, that saw Rua crumple and fall.
Jones is a natural talent that is absorbing the mixed martial arts game at an alarming rate. He is the future of the UFC according to Joe Rogan. I would expect more freakish athletic talents to get into the game now that they have a role model to look up to (crime fighting, humble, good looking, what more do you want?). There are some of these athletes floating around the UFC now, Brendan Schaub and Matt Mitrione from TUF season X are two examples. Neither of these guys are super exciting, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson in the welterweight division I think has potential if he gets his head on straight and develops some form of a strategy. He is fighting on the next UFC card (for free March 26th) against Dan Hardy a classic puncher.
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