Hyden's Take
HYDEN BLOG: A Future Opponent For Jon Jones
Aug 22, 2012 - 9:40:56 AM HYDEN BLOG: A Future Opponent For Jon Jones

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By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor

Jon Jones fights Dan Henderson next week at UFC 151, with Lyoto Machida next in line, a prospect Jones isn't exactly thrilled with. Jones spoke with a lot of candor when he said that one of the reasons that he doesn't think Machida should be next in line is that Jones vs. Machida was the lowest-drawing of his defenses in terms of pay-per-views. It's rare to see an athlete be so honest, but I like it.

My reason for thinking that Machida shouldn't get another shot at Jones is that he's only one fight removed from losing to the Champ in spectacular fashion. I don't think Machida has done enough to justify getting another title shot. It's not that Machida is a bum or anything, but I'd rather someone else get a shot.

There is a fighter who is moving back to light heavyweight, and he's in the process of talking his way to another title shot. This fighter is slated to fight Forrest Griffin in his return to the division. What's interesting is that this fighter is apparently taking for granted that Jones will defeat Dan Henderson at UFC 151, even though he and Henderson are good friends.

I'm largely ok with this fighter talking his way to a title shot so long as he defeats Griffin soundly. If he puts on another middling performance like he did when he beat Michael Bisping, I'll be against him getting a title shot. However, if he fights like he did when he submitted Brian Stann, I'm alright with it.

The main reason for this is that I don't think anyone in the division is head and shoulders above anyone else when it comes to getting a title shot. If this fighter were to fight Griffin earlier and beat him, I would be in favor of him getting a title shot ahead of Machida. Why not?

Jon Jones recently said that he doesn't think that he's cleaned out the light heavyweight division. I disagree with him there, as he's beaten all the top contenders, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a name that deserves a title shot who hasn't gotten one. We're entering rematch territory now. If any of the first fights had been close, everyone would absolutely want a rematch. That didn't happen, though, as Jones beat all of his challengers cleanly and decisively.

Of course, there's still the fight with Henderson coming up. That could be a close fight, you never know. I happen to think that Jones will stop Henderson by the third round at the latest, and I don't think the fight will be that close, but regardless, the UFC can't just plug in fighters who have lost cleanly to Jones and expect the audience to be that excited about watching it again.

That's why this unnamed fighter might be a good option to go with. Like it or not, people will pay to see this fighter get his ass kicked by Jones, and make no mistake, that's exactly what will happen. This unnamed fighter had a clear wrestling advantage when he fought Anderson SIlva. He will have no such advantage when or if he fights Jon Jones.

I only hope that this fighter doesn't go so far over the line this time. Trash talking is fine so long as you don't cross the line. A rule to keep in mind is that if you have to ask if something is over the line, don't say it because it probably is.

If there was anyone else in the light heavyweight division who deserved a title shot more, I'd say go with him over this fighter. However, everyone who could lay claim to a title shot has already lost to Jones convincingly.

The only way I wouldn't go with this fighter after UFC 151 is if Henderson beats Jones by a close decision. Outside of that, I would go with him because it would draw eyeballs. Just make sure that this fighter doesn't go overboard and you've got a marketable title fight.

Jones said recently that fighting Machida was a lose-lose because even if he wins, that fight will probably do numbers that aren't that great. Jones vs. this unnamed fighter is a win-win. Jones gets to fight an opponent that he should have no problem beating, and the fight should do well on pay-per-view. I think Jones will beat Machida if they do have a rematch, so why not go with a fight that should draw much bigger numbers?


Comments and suggestions can be e-mailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com