UFC 128: Jon "Bones" Jones Defines the Concept of the New Mixed Martial Artist

In case you didn't already know, Jon "Bones" Jones has indeed arrived in the UFC. With another dominant victory—this one over a wrestler, Ryan Bader—Jones is on his way to a light heavyweight title shot at UFC 128. 

While many people on B/R and many other places fail to give "Bones" his due respect, they learned a lot about him this past weekend. Jones will now face UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua on March 19.  

Whether you like Jones or not, there's no denying his raw talent and incredible physique at 205 pounds. This kid has an unprecedented 84.5" reach which gives him an obvious advantage over any opponent. The UFC has never had an athlete of his caliber; he's very special in the Octagon and always leaves his audience wowed.

Everyone thought that it would be a wrestler that could ground him, but Jones quickly turned the tables en route to victory. Jones outwrestled Bader and submitted him via guillotine in the second round. "Bones" again took a viable opponent and made them look weak, in this case dropping Bader down the totem pole. 

Jones' bevy of unique moves make him a dynamic fighter and quite exciting to watch. His uncanny ability to combine spinning back elbows and kicks with Greco-Roman wrestling throws is something special. That's what makes it so difficult to prepare for him, which is why Shogun's title reign may be in high jeopardy.

As soon as I saw Joe Rogan come out and say that Jones would be awarded the title shot, I immediately said, "This is it, he's gonna run through Shogun and win the title." I firmly believe that at the spry age of 23, Jones' time is now.  

Amazingly, Jones comes into this showdown holding a firm eight-inch reach advantage over the champion Rua. Typically, a 76" reach is pretty solid and seldom ever puts a fighter at a disadvantage.  

Jones' innate ability to throw multiple combinations of moves makes him even more unorthodox. Not only is Jones' unorthodox style unique, but also the fact that it's generally very accurate. As we've come to know, most fighters' attempts at spinning moves and such usually fail miserably.

That's what makes this fight even better, Rua is known to be an unorthodox striker, too. Though their styles show similarities, they're also a lot different from one another.  

In all honesty, Rua would've been much better off facing Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, who declined the title shot when the opportunity was granted to him. Rua would hold the edge over a still-rusty Jackson, but certainly doesn't against Jones, the future of MMA.  

Jones is the perfect embodiment of how this sport has changed. He's a fair representation of today's multi-faceted fighter. Simply put, he can do things that other men cannot do.  

For now, we can only speculate as to how this showdown will play out. As for me, I see a changing of the guard so to speak, as the new wave of mixed martial artist arrives at UFC 128 as Jones claims title gold.

Although everyone is mentioning an inevitable GSP-Silva superfight so long as GSP defeats Jake Shields in April, I don't believe that's the true superfight. The real superfight has to be Jones vs. Silva. Keep that in mind as both matches are very possible for the future.