Jon Jones vs. Rampage Jackson: Can Jones Live Up to the Hype?

Tonight's UFC 135 event in Denver, Colo., comes to a head when light-heavyweight beltholder Jon Jones defends his title for the first time against MMA veteran Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

There has been plenty of hype surrounding this one. Accusations from Jackson that Jones has a spy planted in his camp has helped to ratchet up the rhetoric. Whether they actually like each other or not, both men have said plenty about one another, and that has only fueled the prefight frenzy.

At this stage, Jones is a heavy favorite to defeat Jackson in his highly hyped affair. The question on every fan's mind is whether Jones can actually live up to all this hype.

We won't know for sure until the smoke clears following the main event, but the guess here is that Jones lives up to the hype. And then some.

With his panoply of flying fists, knees and elbows and his utter dominance over every single opponent he has faced, the hype surrounding Jones as a fighter is largely self-created. His style is exciting, but not purely for excitement's sake. It works. And works. And works some more.

It worked against Shogun Rua and Vladimir Matyushenko. It worked against Matt Hamill and Brandon Vera. Has Jones ever fought anyone of Jackson's caliber? Maybe not. But has Jones given us any reason to doubt that he can't or won't do to Jackson exactly what he's done to everyone else? Not in my opinion.

As for the actual fight itself, Jones has been vocal, but more in a play-along kind of way. It's Jackson who has more to worry about it when it comes to backing up his boasts for what will happen in the fight.

Here's guessing he'll have a lot less to say about Jones after UFC 135. Jones by second-round TKO, and a spectacular one at that. And like LeBron James before him, Jon Jones will be that rarest of athletes who not only meets but exceeds the hype of a hype-happy world.

Be sure to check out Bleacher Report for all things UFC 135. B/R is your home for MMA, from pre-fight predictions to in-fight coverage, and post-fight analysis...which you can check out at our event hub.