Sports Interaction
Promotions
Sports Interaction
Promotions

UFC 135: Jon ‘Bones’ Jones can Overpower ‘Rampage’ Jackson (VIDEO)

  • Al Dannity's Author profile. Al Dannity

Add Sports Interacton as Your Preferred News Source

Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson may possess one-punch knockout power but he’s in for the fight of his life on Saturday night. Rampage thinks he’s seen it all in MMA but he’s never been inside the octagon with Jon ‘Bones’ Jones.

The maze
For all the fans of Rampage, I’m going to get this out of the way early. Yes, he can win this fight. If Jackson can land a clean shot to Jones’ head then this bout could be over in a hurry. There’s just one problem. How on earth is Rampage going to get a shot through?

Of all the weapons in Jon ‘Bones’ Jones’ arsenal, none are as perplexing to opponents as his massive reach. The UFC Light Heavyweight Champion has an unparalleled ability, across all divisions, in dictating the range of a fight. Rampage’s offense will rely on finding a way around the long arms of the champion, a feat so difficult that nobody has been able to seriously test Jones’ chin yet.

A big target
Rampage has a problem defending leg kicks. The champion has quite an uncanny ability to land them. MMA betting fans should expect to see a flood of leg kicks early and often from Jones as he looks to tire the challenger. Rampage is a much smarter fighter than when he lost to Rashad Evans last year but he remains heavily flawed in this department. Even if the former champion finds a way to counter this element of Jones’ offense, there are plenty of other ways in which this young phenom can hurt him.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBf2YzYHXqw[/youtube]

The verdict
The main question hanging over Jones heading into this fight is the lack of real tests he has faced so far. It’s not that he hasn’t faced great fighters, his dominating victory over Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua will attest to that. The issue is that he has been so dominant, we’ve yet to see how he will cope when under pressure. That is a problem for another day. Maybe Rashad Evans will find a hole in his defense in a future bout but Rampage does not look like the fighter to expose any potential weakness. The former champion simply doesn’t have the tools to unlock Jones. Maybe nobody does. This Saturday night I like Jon ‘Bones’ Jones to win via stoppage, adding yet another big notch to his belt.