MMA: Top 5 Fighters Who Can Give Jon Jones a Run for His Money
Jon Jones has certainly splashed onto the MMA scene over the past few months eliminating every opponent that has stood in his path en route to his thrashing of Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 128 in which he took home the Light Heavyweight Title.
Though Jones has been anointed by many to be the next big thing in MMA, and as the man who will reign supreme over the Light heavyweight division for years to come; he still has flaws and a lack of experience that a select number of top fighters can exploit and use to their advantage.
5. Maurício Rua
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Yes, I know what you're thinking. "Bones" just beat the daylights out of this man and ended their title bout in two rounds; but are we forgetting how fantastic a fighter Shogun is and has been for so many years?
Shogun has brawled with the best of them for many years. From guys like Alistair Overeem to Quinton Jackson to Lyoto Machida, this guy has beaten them all! As a living legend of the sport, Shogun has seen it all and he can definitely take the fight to Jones in a another go-round.
As a time tested veteran, Shogun also holds a key advantage that others on this list do not: He already faced Jones.
This allows him to learn from the mistakes he made in the first contest and better prepare for a possible rematch in the future.
Seeing the type of fighter Rua is, you know he won't be embarrassed like he was the first time around.
4. Quinton Jackson
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Another true veteran in the cage, Rampage has fought in Pride and has won many fights and taken names in the UFC for a long time.
After having been out of the Octagon for over a year, Jackson returned to action against Rashad Evans at UFC 114 in one of the most anticipated and long awaited match ups in UFC history. Jackson turned in a disappointing performance and lost by unanimous decision, in a fight where ring rust was clearly a factor.
Despite the tough lose to his hated rival, Rampage returned and defeated top contender Lyoto Machida to place his name into the discussion as one of the best Light heavyweights in MMA once again.
The problem that Rampage poses for Jones is not only his sheer strength and amazing punching power which can overwhelm Bones, but also that he has a tremendous amount of experience just like Shogun.
One punch by Jackson can certainly end the night for Jones and end his reign as Light heavyweight champion.
3. Rashad Evans
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The very man who is scheduled to face the champion next comes in at number three.
Jones and Evans are former team mates at Greg Jackson's camp and have become good friends over the years, even stating that they would never fight each other.
It's amazing how things change.
After being named the number one contender for the title, Suga Rashad decided to part ways with one of the most stacked and decorated camps in MMA. Since then a little rivalry has begun to to brew.
Evans' main aspect of his fight game is his wrestling which allows him to take down his opponents and keep them on the ground. The wrestling is his bread and butter. It allowed him to keep Rampage off his feet to avoid his deadly punches; but Jones can certainly pull his own on the ground so it will be interesting to see how Evans is able to neutralize this and Jones' other strengths.
Another aspect to this whole situation is of course that they are former team mates, which usually means they know quite a bit about each other from training together day in and day out down in Albuquerque.
Just how big of an impact this will have on the fight is hard to predict, but we can be sure this will be a great bout with a lot of pride on the line and a lot hanging in the balance for both fighters.
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2. Lyoto Machida
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Despite coming off two straight losses to two fighters before him on this list, their is a reason why the Dragon is ahead of them and that reason is his fighting style.
Machida presents an intriguing style that Jones can have been problems with. He prefers to fight off the counter attack allowing his opponent to push the pace and then going in for the kill. The reason Jones can have problems with this is because he likes to take chances and go into an all out attacking mode.
This can leave him vulnerable to counter strikes where Machida can capitalize and finish him off and regain his world title.
1. Anderson Silva
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The pound for pound best fighter in the world undoubtedly presents the biggest challenge for Jones.
Silva has defeated every opponent he has faced in the octagon, and most of his fights have ended in spectacular fashion, like his recent KO of Vitor Belfort via front-kick. Their is no doubt that Silva has been one of the most dominant fighters in UFC history and he poses the most problems for Jones out of any of the fighters listed.
Silva possesses a skill set that is unmatched in the MMA world. His striking is superior to just about anyone in the sport and his ground game certainly doesn't lag behind and can't be underestimated as we saw against Chael Sonnen, when the Spider pulled an almost miraculous submission in a fight he was mere minutes away from losing.
Silva also has a very similar body type to Jones, both are extremely long and can use all their limbs to punish opponents which would make this match up all the more intriguing.
Silva has reportedly stated that he will not fight Jon Jones, but If this match up were to happen it would have the potential to go down as one of the greatest fights in UFC history. An up and coming phenom that is Jon Jones would stand toe to toe against the Brazilian legend that is Anderson Silva in what would be a fight that would showcase every aspect of MMA in amazing fashion.
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