A big part of Jon's struggles against Gustafsson were seen simply in the way that Alex fought. Alex was probably the first opponent that actually made an effort to consistently back Jon up. Gustafsson certainly doesn't have a great jab, but the mere fact that he was willing to use it and the fact that he is generally quite fast allowed him to get inside far more than any of Jones' other opponents. Out of Bader, Rampage, Vitor, Machida, Rashad, Shogun and Sonnen, only Shogun, Sonnen and Rampage ever really put a lot of effort into pressuring Jones and backing him. Shogun and Sonnen came forward and were immediately nullified and outgrappled and Rampage, who has never really been all that comfortable coming forward and taking the lead, was simply too slow and easily deterred. When opponents try to fight on the outside off of the backfoot, Jones is at his most comfortable. He thrives walking opponents down and keeping them at range with his great array of kicks.
It is part of what makes Jones such a difficult matchup. You have to back him up to have real success, but in pressuring him, you risk getting taken down and subjecting yourself to Jones' top game. When Jones is forced onto the backfoot, his lack of true deterrents at closer range becomes evident. He lacks a strong jab and his other punches don't have a great deal of power on them. Jon also stands quite squared up which makes him a relatively open target and he generally looks uncomfortable with being put in this position. Despite all this, he is one of the few fighters in MMA that has made a solid use of standing elbows and these formidable weapons ended up turning the fight for him. He is a very versatile and clever fighter, but like almost any other fighter in history, he still has weaknesses. Gustafsson's ability to stop the takedown (which only a small amount of fighters LHW or HW will be able to duplicate), coupled with the fact that he has fast, heavy hands and that he realized he would have to jab his way in and back Jones up in order to have success, led to Jones almost losing. Still, his fight IQ, toughness and versatility carried him through. That's impressive.
Based on this performance, I feel even more confident in giving Daniel Cormier a real chance to beat Jones. Though Cormier is shorter than Gustafsson, he is the better wrestler, he is comparably fast and he has shown himself more willing and able to jab his way in against fighters and move them back. Glover could pose some problems, as well, but I question whether he has the craft or speed to do the job (unlike Cormier or Gustafsson, he has never showcased a serviceable jab).
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