Sunday 22 April 2012

Jon Jones defeats Rashad Evans, Highlights Video and discussion.


At UFC 145, Jon Jones defeated Rashad Evans to retain his light heavyweight title for the third time. He did so by dominating the next best fighter in the division without getting into any serious trouble. The post fight discussion though, has seen people call the fight disappointing for one of two reasons; it was not exciting enough or Jon Jones did not look great in his win. I think Jones looked fantastic and I was on the edge of my seat all the way through the fight.



The first part of that is pretty subjective, you either liked the fight or you didn't. I suppose there is something of a divide amongst MMA fans over what they are looking for in an exciting fight, this divide was exposed after the Diaz vs Condit fight earlier this year. Some people really loved to see Condit find a way to deal with Nick Diaz's forward pressure and hit him without being hit too much. Others really love fights where opponents stand toe to toe. In the Jones vs Evans fight, I was just excited to see someone dominate a fighter of Rashad Evans credentials for five rounds. Add in to that the fact that I like Jones a lot and that I felt Rashad posed a real threat and the tension and admiration added up to some serious enjoyment.

To say that the performance was not that great though, that seems a bit unfair. Jones battered Rashad Evans, a fighter who had only lost once and had looked really dominant himself in his last fight against Phil Davis. Jones did so not by smothering Evans or by being conservative, but by constantly innovating and looking for a way to finish the fight. While Jones complained that a few things he threw were a little sloppy because he was intimidated, the impressive thing is that he nevertheless looked far superior to the opponent he has faced to date.

I guess Jon Jones doesn't exactly need someone to sing his praises, but it has surprised me a little to read that the main event was a little underwhelming and that Jones' performance was a little off par. I thought it was awesome.

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