Jon Jones lived up to the hype and then some at UFC 128, decimating Mauricio "Shogun" Rua to become the youngest champ in UFC history at 23 years-old. Already some are clamouring for a super-fight with Anderson Silva, and after Jones's amazingly dominant performance tonight against one of the best light-heavyweights (current and all-time), it's hard to blame them.
Gleison Tibau def. Kurt Pellegrino via split decision
Mike Pyle def. Ricardo Almeida via unanimous decision
Edson Barboza def. Anthony Njokuani via unanimous decision
Luiz Cane def. Eliot Marshall via TKO (punches), round one
Brendan Schaub def. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic via KO (punch), round three
Nate Marquardt def. Dan Miller via unanimous decision
Jim Miller def. Kamal Shalorus via TKO (knee, punches), round three
Urijah Faber vs. Eddie Wineland via unanimous decision
Jon Jones vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua via TKO (knee, punch), round three, for the light-heavyweight championship
Some stray thoughts on the action:
- Brendan Schaub was always going to win this fight, but that doesn't mean I wasn't hoping for a miraculous Mirko Cro Cop head kick KO. But oh well. Sad night overall for fans of the PRIDE glory days.
- That said, Cro Cop looked pretty alright here, bloodying Schaub's nose and staying overall competitive. But still. It's time for him to hang it up already.
- Nate Marquardt, perennial contender. Dan Miller had some decent moments in this fight, but I think it's time he stopped taking fights on such short notice.
- I always love those little flashes when Marquardt breaks out his karate skills.
- Jim Miller. Needs a. Title shot.
- Kamal Shalorous hopefully learns to keep his hands up. Iron chins only get you so far.
- I'm pretty sure we'll see Urijah Faber and Dominick Cruz as TUF coaches. At least that's what I'm hoping for.
- Shogun looked a little extra doughy and sluggish. Did his knees hinder his training again? Did he take Jon Jones too lightly? (Or does Jones just make people look that slow?)
- Jones's performance was simply amazing. Loved the way he kept Shogun at a distance with the side-kicks to the knee.
- That said, this wasn't even Jones's perfect performance. He looked gassed by the second round. Nerves? Crazy to think we're still going to see better from him.
- After seeing him against a top dog it's hard to imagine anyone at 205 giving Jones too many problems. If the champ can cross out a couple more of the old guard (Evans, Rampage), and he more than likely will, I think Phil Davis should be ready for a shot. The new generation of MMA fighters will be in full swing.
- Aside from that though, do we see Anderson Silva move up to 205 to challenge him? I think Machida could slide down to 185 easily enough, solving their problem of not wanting to fight each other. Machida would have a better shot at the 185 belt at this point anyway.
- Or is heavyweight the inevitable destination for Jones? He's so young. Whatever happens down the road, I don't think it's hype anymore to say we're witnessing something truly special. War Jones -- congrats to him and his team, and hat's off to Shogun Rua.
