Jones annihilated Shogun in a way that no one ever has. From the onset until the end, Jones was all over him. Shogun's face was a swollen, bloody mess and his body was littered with welts from an onslaught of body shots and knees. According to FightMetric, Jones outstruck Shogun 102 to 11. Jones effectively used his range and takedowns and went through the fight unscathed while landing everything he wanted to at will. If he continues to improve at the rate he has from fight to fight, he could end up being the most terrifying specimen in MMA history.
Other Thoughts:
- What was the deal with the fans chanting "USA" during the main event? They didn't chant it during the Cro Cop-Schaub fight or the Miller-Shalorus one, and that featured a Jersey native against an Iranian. To chant that during the main event was disrespectful to Shogun, a true legend in the sport, and moronic. This isn't the World Cup. It isn't about country vs. country. It's just a fight.
- I thought the Greg Jackson fighters on the card tonight, except Nate Marquardt, fought dirty. Brendan Schaub was deducted a point for punches to the back of the head, something he did throughout the fight. Jones got away with a lot of illegal choking via forearm and the rape choke during his fight. He also headbutted Shogun in the midsection, which I'm pretty sure is illegal as well. Herb Dean was the referee in both matches, and he is usually on the money, but I thought he really dropped the ball with that. Especially in the Jones fight, as Jones was dominating even without having to resort to choking. Speaking of Jones, his push kicks to Shogun's surgically repaired knee, while legal, were a bit cheap. He already had a speed, strength, and size advanage and didn't need to resort to that. I don't like it when Anderson Silva does that either. It can cripple an opponent and to do it to someone coming off of knee surgery is double uncool.
- I mentioned Brendan Schaub a few sentences ago, and I must say that he was lucky. He did nothing for two and a half rounds except for rabbit punches, wall and stall, and lay and pray. He was gassed and Mirko seemed to have risen from the grave in the third round and was really taking it to him. It looked like Cro Cop was going to salvage a draw or even a victory, before a lucky shot crumpled him. Upon multiple viewings, I thought that the punch was to the back of the head. When Joe Rogan said that Schaub was scary because he has wins over two legends, Gabe Gonzaga and Cro Cop, I had to laugh. Gonzaga is no legend, and he struggled mightily against a Cro Cop that hasn't been considered truly dangerous since Gonzaga of all people knocked him out in 2007.
- The brothers Miller crying in the locker room was a touching scene. Evidently, it would have been the second birthday of Dan Miller's deceased son. Combined with Dan's tough (but clear cut) decision loss and Jim's knockout victory, the emotions were running wild in their locker room. Words can't really do it justice.
- With the knockouts of both Cro Cop and Shogun, Pride was pretty much buried for good. Cro Cop has been finished for awhile, but Shogun has never been handled in that fashion. It seems like there are only two guys who achieved a great deal of success in Pride that are relevant still: Quinton Jackson and Dan Henderson. Over the next few weeks, I'm going to try to write a series of articles on Pride and its legacy in MMA, including the death of the Pride superstars.
Jon Jones: A battle against former training partner Rashad Evans has been confirmed, one in which I would expect the undersized Evans to be manhandled by Jones. Evans usually succeeds due to better wrestling and a speed advantage, neither of which he will have in this fight. I think Lyoto Machida, if he can get himself back into title contention, would be the biggest challenge to Jones. Jones exposed his back and legs a few times to Shogun, who was too beat up to really capitalize. Machida is a much better grappler than Rua and more willing to let Jones come to him, rather than try and fail to get in on Jones' monster reach advantage. People are clamoring for Anderson Silva to move up and face Jones, which would be an exciting fight and, as a fan of Silva's, a terrifying one. Silva has enough reach and is lanky enough that he could succeed in attaining the head and arm triangles that the shorter Rua could not get. Silva's biggest weakness is wrestling and Jones is one of the best in the sport at it. And unlike Chael Sonnen, Jones can finish his oponents. It would be the first time Silva would be at such a massive disadvantage in size and reach. If they were to fight, it needs to happen before the year ends, otherwise Anderson will be far too old for a youngster like Jonny Bones.
Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua: Maybe a rematch with Forrest Griffin, or Rampage Jackson if he somehow loses to Matt Hamill. Randy Couture would be an option as well. I think a lot of Shogun's future hinges on that of his knees. Was he slow and sluggish because Jones made him look that way, or was it because his layoff and knee surgery made him a lot slower. His next fight should go a long ways in figuring that out. A move to middleweight has been floated around, but I think that should only be considered if he loses his next fight at 205 lbs. The Jones fight is the only one really in his entire career where he has been dominated. On the other hand, I would say the odds of him ever beating Jones would be nil, so a move to 185 may be better long term.
Urijah Faber: Either a title match with Dominick Cruz or a fight with longtime 135 fan favorite Miguel Torres. That fight seems less exciting now that Torres has decided to fight a much safer style, but it would still be a big one for fans of the lower weight classes. The title match makes the most sense because Faber was the biggest draw in the WEC and putting him in the title picture will help put more interest in that weight class and in champion Cruz.
Jim Miller: A title eliminator, maybe with Melvin Guillard. Miller has the longest winning streak in the lightweight division and has been taking care of business in exciting fashion. I think that after the Pettis-Guida fight determines the next contender, Miller-Guillard should be the next contender.
Nate Marquardt: Who knows? Marquardt is one step above gatekeeper status, but one step below top contender. He just lost to Okami and Sonnen in the past thirteen months, so maybe Michael Bisping or Vitor Belfort would be the best bet for him. A winner between Bisping and Marquardt could be the next contender for the MW title after Okami, or potentially GSP if he moves up in weight.
Brendan Schaub: A class in not punching the back of the head? I'm not impressed by Schaub, although he has decent size and power. He is still a prospect at this point. He has no business with the big boys in the division, as they would lay him to waste. I guess Stefan Struve would be a good next step, with the winner of that one fighting the winner of Frank Mir-Roy Nelson. It's more likely he'll go right to the winner of Mir-Nelson.
Mirko Cro Cop: According to Dana White, retirement from the UFC. It's fair, as he has not been very good in his stints inside the octagon, but he looked better than he has in some time in this fight. He was active, moving, and actually looked motivated. Besides, how many chances did Chuck Liddell get after a first round KO loss? At least Mirko's last two losses have come in the third round, and this one after multiple hits to the back of the head. I think he should at least get a retirement match against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, as neither of them really have much business fighting anymore and it would be cool as a fanboy to see those two go at it again.
That's it for now. There's a Fight Night this weekend, so hopefully I'll figure out a way to access those fights and comment on them.
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