Last night at UFC 128 we seen one of MMA's top prospects Jon Jones snatch the UFC Light Heavyweight title out of former Prider Middleweight Grand Prix winnter and UFC Light Heavyweight champion Maurico 'Shogun' Rua. Jones went into the fight as clear favourite which many doubted the bookmakers were going a little extreme however like usual the bookies don't get it wrong.
Going into the fight i honestly thought that 'Shogun' would prove too much for the new comer. Jones had really only faced double leg takedown wrestlers such as Ryan Bader, Matt Hammil and Jake O'Brien with his best striker he had fought being either Stephan Bonnar or Brandon Vera. Taking nothing away from all those guys they arn't really tough tough opponents. Shogun brought to the cards fantastic Mauy Thai striking, a very under-rated Jui-Jitsu game along with vast experience.
Lets skip to the fight, we all know what happened: Jones can out with his flashy moves which proved effective and the takedown signafied the end of the fight for Shogun. When he did manage to get back onto his feet he was seriously goosed throwing what us from the UK would call 'alehouse punches.' Jones looked like he could have ended the strike whenever he wanted. Vicious elbows in round two after a knee bar attempt from the veteran misfired with Jones gaining top position and making an easy transition into half guard were he dropped his vintage elbows. Eventually in the 3rd round after a good combination, a knee from the challenger hit Shogun which dropped him causing referee Herb Dean to interveen.
So lets get down to the arguement: Was it a poor Shogun? Firstly what i noticed which i believe was key to winning the fight was that Rua didn't throw a leg kick. With all of this hype at ESPN's sport science zone about Shogun's kicks surely this was the way to win the fight. Yet Shogun looked timid even in throwing his lethal hands he has. Secondly we have to talk about his cardio. After four minutes of the fight after some ground 'n' pound from Jones, Shogun looked like he had ran a marathon: he looked absolutley knackered! I believe this was down to his training camp: think about it, how hard did Shogun work as he may have been thinking about busting his knee again.
On the other hand however we cannot take anything away from Jones. As much as i hate the guy especially with his run up leading to the fight signing himself as 'Champ 2011' he backed up the hype. Jones' stand up looked better than Shogun's from the word go which none of us expected. Additionally the way he managed to control Shogun on the ground for long perioids of time aswell as the way he dropped those vinatge elbows. It was a great performance and great gameplan which Jon Jones executed perfectly.
In conclusion even though it was a phenominal performance from Jones i believe Shogun was nowhere near his pinnacle. His cardio was pathetic, his stand up sloppy and most of all it seemed like his heart wasn't in it. If i were to give Shogun a piece of advice, i'd tell him to move camps. Yes you are probably thinking want is this guy saying right now but think about it: Shogun along with his brother Murilio 'Ninja' Rua own their own training camp. This is always the death of fighters. They are never pushed when they are vertually top guy in the camp. Fighters such as Brock Lesnar have proved his however Randy Couture is the only acception due to his work ethic and experience. When Shogun was at Chute Box he was around the best of the best where he was pushed every day by guys like Wanderli Silva and Anderson Silva. Now who is Shogun pushed by?
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