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By: Rich Hansen, MMATorch Columnist
Toronto mixed martial arts fans have had the privilege of seeing three Jon Jones title fights in the last twenty-one months. In 2011, Jones’ fight with Lyoto Machida shocked everyone as Machida became the first fighter to take a round off of Jones before Jones submitted him in the second round.
In 2012, Jones’ fight with Vitor Belfort shocked everyone to a larger degree as Belfort almost submitted Jones with an armbar in the first round before Jones almost took Belfort’s arm home as a trophy.
But those last two fights were just the setup for the biggest shock of them all: Jon Jones has a peer. I know that doesn’t sound like a big deal, but if you’ve watched Jones’ career in the UFC, you understand that not one competitor has looked worthy of being in the cage with the greatest light heavyweight fighter of all time.
Alexander Gustafsson came into the UFC 165 main event as a gazillion to one underdog. Even the UFC’s marketing machine couldn’t come up with anything better than “He’s tall, damn tall,” in their efforts to make this fight marketable. But Gustafsson did what not many people outside of Alliance thought he could do. He gave Jones the biggest beating of his life, he held his own in the grappling game, he landed seemingly at will for long stretches of time, and he damn near won the title.
Many observers thought Gustafsson won the fight. And even most of the people who thought Jones won are calling for an immediate rematch. Not just because the fight was close, but because they want to see the follow up to the greatest fight in UFC history.
Jones vs. Gustafsson might happen next. If might not. Read on to see my thoughts on what fights might be made following UFC 165.
JON JONES SCENARIO NUMBER ONE
Jon Jones: First and foremost, if Jon Jones’ foot is in fact “shattered” as Mike Winkeljohn intimated could be the case, then there’s not going to be an immediate rematch no matter what. It is eminently possible that we won’t see Jones fight until Memorial Day 2014 and there’s no reason for a healthy Alexander Gustafsson to sit out for ten months if this is in fact the case. Regardless, I think Jones is going to take an extremely long break. Long enough where Gustafsson is going to take another fight.
Alexander Gustafsson: So if Jones is going to be on the shelf for a while, this is pretty cut and dry. Gustafsson is going to fight Glover Teixeira in the winter. Personally, I would make this the main event of a Fox show so that we get five rounds of action. Gustafsson would be a heavy favorite, and this is a no-lose situation for the UFC.
Next fight: Alexander Gustafsson vs. Glover Teixeira in a number 1 contender fight while Jon Jones recovers from his foot injury.
JON JONES SCENARIO NUMBER TWO
Jon Jones: Now for the sake of argument, let’s say Jones’ foot is fine, and he headlines the Super Bowl weekend show in February 2014. Does he fight Gustafsson? Teixeira? Daniel Cormier? Chael Sonnen? Well, that’s a good question. OK, the Sonnen question sucks, but the general question is a good one. There’s money to be made on a Gustafsson rematch, but there’s also the temptation to let it ride by keeping each man apart for a year to let the hype build. Glover Teixeira for all his skill and his impressive UFC run doesn’t have much buzz. Daniel Cormier has a lot of buzz, but not much else. So keeping all that in mind, if Jones returns in February, here’s how I’d do it.
Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira
Alexander Gustafsson vs. Daniel Cormier
There’s always a risk when stretching out the hype for a big money fight in an attempt to make it a bigger money fight. But I see these fights as relatively safe endeavors for Jones and Gustafsson. If Gustafsson can keep Jones at bay and can keep Jones from taking him down (Jones took Gustafsson down once in ten attempts), Cormier doesn’t have a chance against the rangy Swede. And personally, I don’t think Teixeira can get inside on Jones.
Now, with all that said, assuming Jones and Gustafsson are physically up for it, I fully expect Jones and Gustafsson to rematch on Super Bowl weekend in New Jersey. I’m just partial to the idea of the rematch being spaced out a little more than five months.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
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