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By: Cameron Lyman, MMATorch Columnist
Many MMA writers do what we do because we love this sport. It is our fanaticism that drew us here and is the reason why we feel the need to share our beliefs with the world. However, non-writing fans also share their beliefs via message boards, comment boxes, and Twitter. Our measured approach to what we write separates someone crafting an article from someone ranting off the cuff from what they just witnessed.
We all have forces of emotion and logic that battle for real estate in our perception. Logic, by its nature, is cold and emotionless. Numbers and facts. Emotion, though, can make you ignore certain truths when fires are burning hot. The MMA fan in me would have watched Jones-Gustafsson once, and written an article about how Alexander "The Mauler" just got robbed of a decision and deserves an immediate rematch. However, as an MMA writer, it is my responsibility to be more measured, taking logic into account over emotion.
To preface this piece, there are a few facts that are important. I am an Alexander Gustafsson fan. His UFC run leading up to the Thiago Silva fight showed that he was a young skilled striker, who was quickly putting together an all-around good fighting game. This is when we started talking about The Mauler in a title shot, but with Jones fighting middleweights, and The Mauler not having fought top 10 competition, the fight needed to wait. We saw a more matured and calculated Gustafsson in his fights with Silva and Shogun Rua, and it finally looked like this fight made sense.
Did I believe he would actually beat Jones? No, but I did believe he was the best possible option. With his UFC run, he definitely earned it. That being said, I'm also a Jon Jones fan. The way that he dominated most of his previous opponents is unbelievable at the level he was fighting at. I didn't buy into the hype that reach mattered in this fight, because Jones would probably take Gustafsson down, negating that supposed leveling of reach advantage. I knew The Mauler would land some strikes, but I did not for one second think he would be able to avoid the Jon Jones take down. I most certainly did not think it would be a competitive fight, even though in my heart, the fan in me had a feeling that Gustafsson would surprise us all.
After watching the fight for the first time, I thought that Gustafsson won rounds 1, 2 and 3, and Jones had won the last two. I thought without a doubt that Bruce Buffer would be announcing the NEEEWWW UFC Light Heavyweight Champion of the World. When Jones, name was called, the emotionally charged fan in me thought that this was bulls***. Gusto won three rounds and Jones benefitted too much from the Champion's Advantage in the judges scoring. The rematch simply had to happen. Like I said, the fan in me would have written some different things had I not done what I am supposed to do as an MMA journalist.
Alas, today I loaded up the main event and took a second, more measured and logical approach to what I was about to see. I no longer have the preconceptions that Jones would roll over The Mauler. Most importantly, I no longer put the huge expectation on Jon Jones to deliver some sort of incredible highlight finish. So after watching the fight again, I must say, the analyst in me has provided a different perception on what I saw Saturday night.
Round 1: In this round, we saw Gustafsson land clean shots, cut the Champ and take him down. It was clear that Jones was not used to fighting someone with a build similar to his. He most certainly had a hard time finding a training partner who had similar build, hand speed, movement and striking style as The Mauler. Gusto won this round in my eyes and foreshadowed a tough night for The Champ.
NOTE: Towards the end of round one, we saw Gusto land a good combo and shortly after a good right over the top. Next we saw a bloodied Jones step in and drop his hands leaving his chin open. Maybe now he can understand why Silva does it?
Round 2: At the beginning of this round Gusto caught one of Jones kicks and then kicked his back leg out from under him. We didn't see Jones scramble away like Chael Sonnen did against Silva. He looked human and a bit bewildered. However, after watching the fight again, I did in fact give this round to Jones with an overall striking advantage. Sure a lot of the strikes were not to the head, but he did control the round more with his overall striking. However, with the trip at the start of the fight, Jones being unable to land his takedowns and Gustafsson's competitive striking, I can see how many people, including myself scored the round for The Mauler. However, after re-watching I would give it to Jones, although it was just too close to be definitive.
Round 3: Again, I gave this round to The Mauler the first time I watched, but the second time I noticed that Jones was starting to really turn up the quality of his strikes. He landed more upstairs and more damaging shots then he had previously. This was one of the closest rounds of the fight and you really could have given it to either fighter.
Round 4: I gave this round to Jones after my first watch. After the second time I had to ask myself a few questions. Does badly hurting an opponent win the round for Jones no matter how much of the round he had already lost? Gustafsson won the first four minutes of this round. Jones smoked and staggered him with an elbow, setting up a decent barrage of strikes in the last thirty seconds. It's a tough call but I think I would give this to the Mauler after re-watching. He was effective as all hell until that elbow landed and even though he was hurt, it didn't drop him and his heart kept him in the fight.
NOTE: Between round 4 and 5, the doctor's wanted to stop the fight. Jones and referee McCarthy pleaded for them not to stop it and the show went on. Nobody wants to see a fight stopped by a cut, or a dislocated toe, but you have to feel like Jones should be thanking his lucky stars that both of these fights were not stopped by the docs. In the case of this fight, the damage came from Jones being beat up, so it makes it all the more unfortunate for the Mauler. That being said, I'm glad we got to see round 5.
Round 5: This was the round that made an epic fight even more legendary. What we saw was Jones prevail as the fighter who could simply outlast during unarmed combat. He looked more fresh, was landing more strikes and had there been no time limit, he probably would have won the fight. He clearly won the round and showed that he, like a true Champion, was able to fight though an extremely tough test to do more than his opponent. This round clearly went to Jones.
So after watching the fight, I gave Jones rounds 2,3 and 5. However, if I watch the fight again, maybe I would give Jones 2,3,4 and 5. Maybe another re-watching will result in me giving Gustafsson rounds 1, 3 and 4. Either way, rounds 2 and 3 could have gone either way, and round 4 is a matter of subjective opinion. What we can say for certain is that this was by far one of the best fights we have seen in recent memory. I think what happened the first time I saw the fight is that, with the expectation for Jones to be super-human, him looking human resulted in me giving the first three rounds to Gusto. Jones didn't dominate and was taking shots, therefore he lost the rounds. It made me not realize that Jones was landing quite a few shots of his own. Also, the fact that Jones could not take The Mauler down, gave huge weight to his claim to the first three rounds. As for round four, we have a short memory, so a guy taking a barrage at the end of a round may skew our perception of what happened before said barrage occurred.
Before this fight, Jones talked about how his sees each fight as a puzzle to be solved. As a cognitive fighter, we have seen him solve each of these puzzles, sometimes in short order. In this fight however, it seems that Jones is the one who got solved, and Gustafsson's ability to effectively trade with The Champ may have made our emotional side forget about the logic of what we were actually seeing. However, as Jones may have fumbled with the Rubix cube that is Alexander Gustafsson, he did not throw it down in frustration, cross his arms and pout. He overcame, outlasted and put on one hell of a performance while taking a ton of hard shots from a very game competitor.
The one constant feeling I have after seeing the fight is that the rematch does indeed need to happen. This fight was too close and I'm hoping that Jones doesn't take the "you had your chance," route. Jones stated that if he beats Gustafsson, then he will take on the role of entertainer and make superfights that the fans want to see. I'm assuming that means that if he beats Teixiera next, he will challenge for the heavyweight strap or face Anderson Silva next. Well MMA fans, ponder this scenario: What if Jones beats Teixeira next, then moves to heavyweight and wins the belt there, and meanwhile Gustafsson wins the vacant light heavyweight strap? Well, that would in fact would be a true superfight and will be one of the most highly anticipated rematches ever.
Thanks for the read. Don't forget to follow me @cameronlyman on twitter
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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