When Rampage dispatched of Liddell, Liddell was rightly feared as one of the most elite strikers the UFC had ever seen with his devastating overhand right dropping opponents left, right and centre. It was expected that if Rampage could outstrike Liddell, what chance did any other contenders have? Well Forrest Griffin answered that question with a series of brutal leg and arm kicks, and took a lop-sided decision over Jackson
to become the new king of one of the most stacked UFC divisions. Could his dogged determination see off all challengers?...No. Rashad shot down that idea as he pummeled Forrest into a state of semi-consciousness. His well rounded skillset was the future of the division. Until of course Machida, the most elusive and unorthodox striker in the history of the UFC stopped Rashad, in a fight that was widely marketed as a battle between two undefeated superstars. Joe Rogan declared that the Machida era had arrived and that it was likely to last for a long time (who can blame him? I think we all believed him to be untouchable). But how wrong he was. In Machida's first defense Shogun pummeled him for five rounds before unfairly falling foul of the judges. But that's okay, because in the rematch he made sure the judges were a non - factor. Again this reign only lasted one fight, with a (in my opinion) terrible looking Shogun turning up to be destroyed by the young phenom Jon Jones...and so the Jackson's MMA soap opera began.
I won't go into the details of the Jones/ Evans feud as it has been widely documented but to cut a long story short; "we won't fight each other"..."I'm the champion now so I'll fight Rashad if I have to" (in an interview on national television)..."he should've at least warned me that he was gonna say that, now I'll fight him". An injury sustained by Jones 'forced' him to scratch his fight with Evans. Evans was paired with Phil Davis a few weeks later and miraculously Jones was suddenly well enough to be paired with Rampage. In my honest opinion, when Jones was well enough, he should've been paired with Evans again, and Rampage with Davis. It's at this point in the saga that I feel the UFC have tried to protect their new asset (but who can blame them - he's the most marketable fighter since GSP) - they could've easily paired him with the elusive Machida who many believe has the skill set to beat Jones, or have reorganised the Evans - Jones fight; I personally believe, as do many others, that Evans will beat up Jones like a metaphorical big brother does to his younger sibling. But no, alas, they decided to pair him with the fighter who arguably has the skillset least capable of dealing with Jones.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I hate the hype train surrounding Jon Jones. I don't have anything personal against the guy (how could I? I don't even know him) but I just despise hype trains (this is why I was so glad to see Rick Story lose to a nobody - though the arrogance of his manager definitely plays into my disdain also). The fact that people are already comparing Jones to GSP and Anderson Silva, when in my humble opinion he has beaten a number of journeymen and a horrible looking champ, is a disgrace! - this is nowhere near the achievements and domination exercised by the aforementioned greats.
As much as it pains me to say, I think that Jones will beat Rampage, provided he can avoid getting tagged with one of Rampage's savage hooks. I just don't think Rampage's defensive wrestling will be good enough, but I sincerely hope I'm wrong. However, even if Jones makes it past Rampage, that's still only one title defence. He'll be unable to dodge Evans after that fight, and a consecutive defence will be a much taller order. I believe that Jones is massively overrated, and that this hot potato will continue to be passed along...
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