UFC on Versus: Will Jon Jones vs. Brandon Vera Vie for Fight of the Year?

If you look at some at some of the best fights from 2009, you will notice that almost all of them have one thing in common: they all went to the judge’s scorecards.

Whether it was the thrilling battle between two legends in Antonio Nogueira and Randy Couture at UFC 102, or the back and forth action between Benson Henderson and Donald Cerrone at WEC 46, the best fights of the year usually keep us on the edge or our seats for all 15 or 25 minutes of action.

A battle-tested prerequisite when looking for a potential fight of the night (year) is more often than not a clash of styles that provides an intriguing contrast throughout the bout.

In “Henderson vs. Cerrone” you saw a wrestler vs. a grappler, a fight which featured takedown attempts vs. submission attempts.

Henderson dictated the pace, and where the fight went, but Cerrone was always threatening, almost ending the fight on more than one occasion.

The styles don’t always have to clash, though.

When Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thompson stepped into the cage for their must anticipated rematch at Strikeforce: Evolution, you saw two wrestlers that were more than happy to go toe-to-toe, and with neither able to knock the other out, we got five rounds of non-stop action.

With the first quarter of the 2010 winding down, and no high-profile fight of the night candidates in the book, it feels like perfect timing for a game contender to take center stage.

Tomorrow night, fans will indulge in a fight that may have all the elements needed for what this year is in desperate need of Brandon Vera certainly felt this fight has fight of the year potential, vocalizing it to the crowd after his minor mêlée with Jon Jones at the weigh-ins.

So could Brandon Vera vs. Jon Jones not only earn fight of the night, but vie for fight of the year?

The first condition is that the fight must go to the judge’s scorecards. Or, at least make it deep into the late third round, with back and forth action, punctuated with a dramatic knockout finish or submission.

Looking at each fighter’s respective record, it’s hard fathoming that either will be easy to finish off, at least early on. Vera, who has four losses on his professional record, has only been finished once in his career–a first-round T(KO) loss to Fabricio Werdum at UFC 85.

As far as Jones, his only loss came via a disqualification in his one-sided affair with powerful wrestler Matt Hammil. 

Coming into this battle, when it comes to finishing fights early, Jones and Vera look to be going in opposite directions.

Brandon Vera started out his career winning eight straight fights, and recording 6 T(KO) wins in the process. Since then, Vera has gone a middling 3-4, with only one of those wins coming by T(KO).

As far as Jones, he started out his UFC career recording two impressive decision wins, and in his last two fights, he’s finished his scraps early and decisively (unfortunately, the decisive finish against Hammil ended in disqualification).

While anything can happen with four once gloves on, especially with the explosive Greco wresting of Jones and the lethal Muay Thai of Brandon Vera, this fight appears headed for deeper waters.

Speaking of Greco and Muay Thai, it is the respective styles of each fighter that could deliver one of the most exciting fights of the year.

Jones brings to the octagon an aggressive Greco wrestling style that the sport of MMA has never quite witnessed. Sure Randy Couture and Dan Henderson have Olympic-level Greco bases, but when was the last time you saw them executing a suplex inside the Octagon?

Vera has wrestling of his own, and on paper, it would appear that Jones doesn’t possess the mustard needed to cut Vera down. But the same opinion was held in regard to Hammil, who exited the cage with a dislocated shoulder.

Mix in the spinning back kicks and spinning elbows, and “Bones” unorthodox striking will provide for a compelling come to blows with the technically sound Muay Thai attack of Brandon Vera.

How those two styles correspond could determine who emerges victorious. Both fighters have promised to stand and test the other, and if that holds true, expect fireworks.

One big question looking to be answered is if Jones will in fact unleash his care free striking against someone as seasoned in that department as Vera.

Jones said he wants to attack his opponents at their strengths , so this would be the perfect place for that.

Another intriguing aspect of the fight will be if, and when, Jones puts Vera on his back. Vera has said that he will be less concerned with defending the takedowns since he is ready to feel comfortable again fighting off his back and working for submissions.

If there is an area of Jones game that could get exposed, outside of his Urijah Faber like stand up attack, it could be his submission defense.

Vera has said he is more then confident in his jiu-jitsu, and he will need all of it if he can’t keep the fight with Jones vertical.

Jones's ground and pound vs. Vera's guardwork could provide for one of the more compelling components of the fight: think Martin Kampmann vs. Carlos Condit.

The key to this fight being a fight of the year candidate will be if both fighters really engage with each other as much as they have talked about in the media.

Talk is just that and this fight could easily turn into a calculated chess match, with each fighter biding their time and looking for their opening.

In his fight with Jake O’Brien, Jones was pensive in the first round, not fully unleashing until the second when he realized O’Brien was little match for him.

Against Vera, Jones will not have the luxury of being contemplative if “The Truth” actually comes out guns blazin’ like he declared he would.

If Jones does come out of the gates dawdling, he could be on the bona fide losing end for the first time in his career.

As for Vera, his fight with Couture gave further evidence that, when it comes down to it, he may lack the aggression required to compete with the best at 205. Vera admitted to as much, and said he doesn’t plan on sitting around and waiting with Jones.

The only problem is that if his strategy is too heavy on the haphazard, it could lead to an early-round demise for the grizzled phenom.

On paper, this fight has all the ingredients needed to cook up one of the best dishes on this year’s all you can eat buffet of fights.

Both fighters stated at the weigh-ins there will be no holding back. Jones and Vera hold the fate of this fight in their hands. If their words translate inside the Octagon, we could be looking at one of the most superlative fights in 2010.