Rashad was absolutely right about Jon

Rashad Evans is still employed by the UFC as an analyst. Feel like we are in Big John Territory here.
 
Jon needs to get back to clinch work, and wrestling. He doesn't even throw that Teep kick much anymore. He seems to rely on leg kicks, and traditional boxing.
 
I agree with a lot of things but the fourth and fifth rounds were the result of Jones remaining calm while Reyes used way too much energy early in the fight. Rashad seems to think both were tired and Jones dug deep.
 
I think for an older guy like Rashad it's appeaing to think that deterioration is largely mental. It allows a buffer from the harsh reality of your physical limitations. I was never 1/1000th the athlete that Rashad was and I kid myself all the time that I could wind back the clock if I just do X.
 
I saw an interview with John or his team that mentioned “ not getting hit” maybe as he is getting older his concerns about long term damage are becoming more realized.

This concern has altered his style.
 
The difference is now he is allowed to pulse certain roids and can eye poke little less but keep his fingers open!
 
wilKO said:
When he was 25 USADA wasn't there. Now he's only allowed picograms and not kilograms of PEDs.
Click to expand...
I do think this is the biggest factor.

Certain fighters (see Johnny Hendricks) just cannot be the same without the "kilograms" of PED's. Their bodies are forever diminished and ruined.

Jon seems to be one of them.
 
BlackDanaWhite said:
I agree with a lot of things but the fourth and fifth rounds were the result of Jones remaining calm while Reyes used way too much energy early in the fight. Rashad seems to think both were tired and Jones dug deep.
Click to expand...

Same thing each time it goes past the 3rd. Gus, DC, Reyes, Smith...all of his opponents gas, he doesn't.
 
My biggest problem with Jon is that he's never moved up to HW.

Not because I want to see him fail but because I think he has the talent to fulfill a mind blowing legacy of being the most dominant GOAT MMA fighter in both LHW and HW history.

A more mature calculated and cerebral approach combined with a decades worth of championship level accumen inside the cage almost guarantees success beyond what any HW has seen including guys like Fedor, Cain, Brock, etc.
 
Hirashin said:
I don't agree with this, you still can't let Jones breathe for even a couple of seconds. If you do that he jumps right back at you with pressure and kicks and jabs. You must pressure him constantly to score points, Jones is not good when he is being pressured.
Click to expand...

Get in there and sign the damn contract ya goof
 
winkydinks said:
For those that didn't watch Rashad's recent discussion with Rogan, I'll try to paraphrase what I thought was an extremely accurate point he made about Jon's past two performances.

Essentially he said that the biggest difference between 32 yo Jon and 25 yo Jon is how his mentality has changed from one that was offensive to one that's currently defensive. Back then, Jon didn't give af. Still way behind GSP and Silva in the goat conversation, he wasn't afraid of losing, and subsequently felt free to fully utilize his amazing skill set. Utter domination was the result. In the past eleven months, what we've seen is a guy who has realized his octagon mortality, and facing two power punchers, has been much more weary. Ironically, with the exception of Gus 1, this newfound weariness has brought Jon closer to defeat than he has ever been. On the contrary, we saw versions of Santos and Reyes whose mindsets were more akin to that of a younger Jon than current Jon's was. Both were hungry, had nothing to lose, weren't expected to win, and didn't give af as a result. This, combined with their power punching styles, allowed them to take advantage of Jon's weariness nearly to the point of unseating him.

I don't think Jon is any less skilled than he once was. When Jon realized he needed big 4th and 5th roundss on Saturday to retain his belt, the weariness served him zero purpose, and he was therefore able to come into his own and edge Reyes. We also saw enough defensive brilliance early on to make me think that unseating him will still remain one of, if not the most, formidable tasks in the UFC. We also saw him not be weary in recent times, with those instances being his fights with Smith and Gus. In them, Jon was as dominant as he has ever been.

You don't see a fighter really fall off the cliff in the span of months. I think he can continue his reign for a long time if he can recapture his former mindset. Otherwise, I think he'll be unseated sooner rather than later, and a move to HW could yield disastrous results.
Click to expand...

Very much enjoyed this post. I think you may be partially correct in your assessment (I believe age and less PEDs are also an issue).

As a nitpick:

It's "wary" and "wariness". Feeling or showing caution.

Weary and weariness refers to feeling or showing tiredness.

:)
 
winkydinks said:
For those that didn't watch Rashad's recent discussion with Rogan, I'll try to paraphrase what I thought was an extremely accurate point he made about Jon's past two performances.

Essentially he said that the biggest difference between 32 yo Jon and 25 yo Jon is how his mentality has changed from one that was offensive to one that's currently defensive. Back then, Jon didn't give af. Still way behind GSP and Silva in the goat conversation, he wasn't afraid of losing, and subsequently felt free to fully utilize his amazing skill set. Utter domination was the result. In the past eleven months, what we've seen is a guy who has realized his octagon mortality, and facing two power punchers, has been much more weary. Ironically, with the exception of Gus 1, this newfound weariness has brought Jon closer to defeat than he has ever been. On the contrary, we saw versions of Santos and Reyes whose mindsets were more akin to that of a younger Jon than current Jon's was. Both were hungry, had nothing to lose, weren't expected to win, and didn't give af as a result. This, combined with their power punching styles, allowed them to take advantage of Jon's weariness nearly to the point of unseating him.

I don't think Jon is any less skilled than he once was. When Jon realized he needed big 4th and 5th roundss on Saturday to retain his belt, the weariness served him zero purpose, and he was therefore able to come into his own and edge Reyes. We also saw enough defensive brilliance early on to make me think that unseating him will still remain one of, if not the most, formidable tasks in the UFC. We also saw him not be weary in recent times, with those instances being his fights with Smith and Gus. In them, Jon was as dominant as he has ever been.

You don't see a fighter really fall off the cliff in the span of months. I think he can continue his reign for a long time if he can recapture his former mindset. Otherwise, I think he'll be unseated sooner rather than later, and a move to HW could yield disastrous results.
Click to expand...

When he was 25 there was no USADA. When he was 25 he wasn’t facing a lifetime ban if he got caught for PEDs one more time.
 
I've been saying basically the same thing on here since the Santos fight. It's simple. Jon Jones fights not to lose now rather than to win. Once you reach a point where you have way more to lose than you can win, you behave different.
 
winkydinks said:
For those that didn't watch Rashad's recent discussion with Rogan, I'll try to paraphrase what I thought was an extremely accurate point he made about Jon's past two performances.

Essentially he said that the biggest difference between 32 yo Jon and 25 yo Jon is how his mentality has changed from one that was offensive to one that's currently defensive. Back then, Jon didn't give af. Still way behind GSP and Silva in the goat conversation, he wasn't afraid of losing, and subsequently felt free to fully utilize his amazing skill set. Utter domination was the result. In the past eleven months, what we've seen is a guy who has realized his octagon mortality, and facing two power punchers, has been much more weary. Ironically, with the exception of Gus 1, this newfound weariness has brought Jon closer to defeat than he has ever been. On the contrary, we saw versions of Santos and Reyes whose mindsets were more akin to that of a younger Jon than current Jon's was. Both were hungry, had nothing to lose, weren't expected to win, and didn't give af as a result. This, combined with their power punching styles, allowed them to take advantage of Jon's weariness nearly to the point of unseating him.

I don't think Jon is any less skilled than he once was. When Jon realized he needed big 4th and 5th roundss on Saturday to retain his belt, the weariness served him zero purpose, and he was therefore able to come into his own and edge Reyes. We also saw enough defensive brilliance early on to make me think that unseating him will still remain one of, if not the most, formidable tasks in the UFC. We also saw him not be weary in recent times, with those instances being his fights with Smith and Gus. In them, Jon was as dominant as he has ever been.

You don't see a fighter really fall off the cliff in the span of months. I think he can continue his reign for a long time if he can recapture his former mindset. Otherwise, I think he'll be unseated sooner rather than later, and a move to HW could yield disastrous results.
Click to expand...
LOL Jon is off PEDS that is why he looks the way he does now....with that being said it was still enough to win (all be it debatable ..I think he clearly lost)...the point is the wins are not coming easily and gone is the dominance we come to expect when we see a Jon jones fight.
 
Honestly, Rashad is one to talk about being "defensive" if you look at his fight vs Jones. Rashad got hit in the 1st round and basically didn't take a forward step until it was over.
 
Rob Edwards said:
My biggest problem with Jon is that he's never moved up to HW.

Not because I want to see him fail but because I think he has the talent to fulfill a mind blowing legacy of being the most dominant GOAT MMA fighter in both LHW and HW history.

A more mature calculated and cerebral approach combined with a decades worth of championship level accumen inside the cage almost guarantees success beyond what any HW has seen including guys like Fedor, Cain, Brock, etc.
Click to expand...
and he could still move up and perhaps dominate in HW because of how much talent there is in that division.
 
Two recent spectacular finishes over Cormier and Gus tell a different story.

A lot of fighters are refusing to engage with Jon and when they do so tend to throw flurries of full power shots in an attempt to end the fight. Jon sees these flurries coming and defends well but hasn’t been able to capitalize on these openings with counter elbows. He’s almost abandoned standing elbows which are a devastating part of his game.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
1,236,968
Messages
55,457,785
Members
174,787
Latest member
Freddie556

Share this page

Back
Top