Jon Jones' underestimated strength

[SnowBlynd]

"lanky" = leverage which multiplies strength.

This is why lanky guys can appear to be surprising strong, they usually hit harder as well since they can generate more speed on he end of their punches.

You started off right. The first part is true but by the end of that post you are way off.

 

[stonecold22]

Shit, I've been saying this for years. Jones outmuscled every opponent he has faced, either on the clinch or on the ground, he gets into positions that most can't sustain.

Also the recent shoulder lock on Glover is a technique that isn't used often because it requires massive strength

Jones outmuscled gustaffson?

was it when jones was tossed to the ground like a little kid?

or was it the 1 take down out of 12 jones got and Gus dragged him to the edge and stood up?

 

[JoeJohnston]

Gus must be worlds strongest man then. He said he was weak. I think his leverage is what he uses, not being strong. Not to mention he has faced a lot of MW's or doppy LHW's

 

[jerky7331]

Longer levers only work better in 1st class levers (think a sea saw), human limbs generally work in a similar fashion to class 3 levers, and work better (in terms of applied strength) if they are short. Take the elbow joint and the biceps for example. If our muscles can generate the same force, but my forearm is shorter, the weight will require less force from the biceps to move than your longer forearm. So, while the muscle itself has the same 'strength' I will seem stronger functionally because I will still be moving more weight. Try holding a sledge hammer with one hand in the middle of the handle, then hold it near the bottom of the handle, which is more difficult to do.

Physics, bitch! (not that I think you're actually a bitch, just wanted to say that.)

A taller opponent does have better clinch leverage due to the fact that he can lean his weight over, lift and more easily manipulate the shorter opponents weight distribution . This makes it easier to do hip throws, trips etc which are the types of takedowns jones excels at

A shorter opponent would have an advantage with the lower takedowns (single legs, high crotch, double legs) obviously due to the lower center of gravity making it easier and quicker to drop down.

But it basicly all boils down to how the practitioner applies the slight advantages in these areas and other factors.

 

[Dman4Life8017]

I'm pretty confident that Jones' won't be able to bully Cormier in the clinch very easily. And I doubt Jones' is any stronger than Barnett.

I wouldn't consider Josh Barnett a "strong" person. He's a skilled catch wrestler which uses a lot of momentum and skill based techniques. But he's been thrown around by others before, so I wasn't surprised that DC did it as well.

 

[ShreddinMMA]

I wouldn't consider Josh Barnett a "strong" person. He's a skilled catch wrestler which uses a lot of momentum and skill based techniques. But he's been thrown around by others before, so I wasn't surprised that DC did it as well.

I'm pretty confident a 250 pound HW who generally ragdolls other 265 pound men is at the very least, just as strong as Jones. The only other person who really ever ragdolled Barnett is Cro Cop in the third fight.

 

[Polish Punisher]

Well because most people equate strength with the farce bodybuilding has imposed onto culture where big muscles = strength.

People train or compete in combat sports or Olympic lifting or Powerlifting know this can be a huge misnomer.

Tendon strength is more important than muscle strength whether it be jumping, running or even lifting heavy weights.

Which is why you have skinny ass bastards who can deadlift over 600 lbs when there are HW's riddled with muscle can barely lift 500lbs.

Jones has freakishly strong tendons much like Anderson Silva. They might not look it but they are both very powerful guys.

Jones is still probably in terms of functional strength one of the 3 strongest guys in the division.

Silva proved his strength when he ragdolled the heavily muscled Rich Franklin around in the clinch like he was a child.

 

[Polish Punisher]

its well known that guys with shorter arms will be able to lift more in bench press. longer limbs can work against you. that pectoral at one end of your arm has to act right to the end of that lanky limb, which is at a disadvantage to a shorter limb. its just biomechanics, look it up. not as simple as you make out.


try doing dumbell flies with a slightly bent arm vs a totally straight arm, the further that weight is from your chest, it gets wayyyy harder

Here we go again touting the overrated bench press as a means of judging one's power.

What you say is true yes. But the Deadlift is 1000x more the ultimate indicator of someone's true strength than the silly bench press.

And guys with long arms have an advantage in deadlifting because they are able to generate a leverage advantage that all the T-rex armed bench pressers cannot achieve.

The Bench Press has almost zero correlation to wrestling.

Deadlifts translate directly to wrestling. If you can deadlift over 400lbs you can pick a 205lb fighter up and slam them on their head.

Add in olympic lifts and you have the perfect power base for outwrestling your opponent.

 

[CPH]

I think that the biggest weapon Jones has (by far) is his ring intelligence.

He isn't the best wrestler and certainly not the best striker or BJJ guy but he has a pretty rare ability to make the right split-second choices, manage risk, etc. That is actually one thing that all champs have in common.

And yes, I do think he is stronger than people think. Sonnen said it surprised him, and this was when he was discussing their fight seriously, not in his usual WWE mode.