An overview of the results for UFC 128 where we picked 11 of 12 winners.
Jon “Bones” Jones
While it’s
not surprising that Jon “Bones” Jones claimed the UFC light heavyweight title
on Saturday night, the derision directed at him by many fans and even some
pundits certainly was. If you read my
column and followed my UFC free picks, I had Jones winning in a TKO in the 3rd round (and correctly
predicted 11 out of 12 winners on the UFC 128 card with Raphael Assuncao as my
only loser) and fortunately for me, and all the other punters who laid 2 to 1,
the fight went according to plan.
However, it should be noted that although I am an unabashed JBJ fan, not
once did I consider degrading Shogun because he was and continues to be among
the best light heavyweights in the world.
Jones,
however, is a freak of nature. His
unorthodox stance, razor sharp elbows, flying knees and entire arsenal is a
veritable tornado of devastation. He is
6’4” inches of unbridled fury and whatever his opponent is truly good at, Jones
is better. He out-wrestles the wrestlers
and out-strikes the strikers. There is
not a weakness in his game, though many were eager to concoct such phantom
flaws. I wrote earlier that Jones reminded
me of Mike Tyson, who 25 years ago tore through the heavyweight division and
his ascendance to the throne was almost a fait accompli. I felt the same way about Jones and although
Shogun is a wonderful MMA practitioner, he does not have “it”. Jones does.
Jon “Bones”
Jones did to Shogun what he does to most of his opponents. He wears them down and knocks them out. I have yet to see Jones take a big hit and
perhaps when he does, that will truly tell the tale of how great a champion he
will be. His future is limitless and at
the age of 23, he will be the standard-bearer for all light heavyweights for as
long as he desires. The only fighter in
the division who has a chance is his teammate Sugar Evans, but even Rashad
ain’t sweet enough to pick these bones.
No, Jones will reign but eventually he will make the step up in class to
heavyweight. I can already hear the
groans and the protestations that those skinny legs of his will never carry him
into the heavyweight category. Just
wait.
Urijah Faber
Urijah Faber is a
pretty face in what can be a very ugly sport but did what he had to do and
decisioned Eddie Wineland in his UFC debut.
In the opening round I noticed Faber could not physically control
Wineland like he does most of his opponents.
He tried to push, pull and shake the former WEC champ but was stymied at
every turn. It wasn’t until the 2nd
and 3rd rounds when Faber began drilling knees and landing punches
that he was then able to take Wineland to the mat. It was a convincing victory for Faber who
will now be in the conversation for a shot at the UFC bantamweight strap.
Nate “The Great” Marquardt
Marquardt
beat a guy he should have beaten in Dan Miller.
It was a convincing though unspectacular decision and basically did
nothing to harm Marquardt’s chances of fighting a top tier opponent but it won’t
have fans clamoring to buy a ticket either.
Brendan Schaub
The kid can
hit. I guess at 28 years old Schaub is
hardly a kid but he is relatively new to the sport. I had him KO’ing Cro Cop in the 3rd
round and wasn’t surprised when the referee had to rescue the Croatian
sensation in the final frame. He’s got a
fist full of dynamite and should get another opportunity to fight a notable big
banger in the future.
At 36 years old, with almost 40 professional
fights behind him and having been knocked out in his last two fights, it may be
time for Cro Cop to think about building a champion instead of trying to become
one. Even if Schaub hadn’t crumbled him
in the third, it was clear he was losing on all cards if it went to the judge’s
scorecards.