So Jones and Gustaffson will have similar reach - which makes it like a regular fight

[ACT]

I've got to disagree. Reach is very important in MMA.



It helps Jones striking a lot. Who's gonna kick his legs when they got to worry about catching a punch to the face? Having long reach helps his wrestling and judo. Sure, he could be more susceptible to an armbar. But we know he trains to defend that. It also helps his GnP, especially from the guard.

Long reach does NOT help wrestling.

 

[ACT]

Jones reach is only so good because he knows how to use it well. Many fighters with long arms fail to use it to their full advantage. Every fight you can see Jones people people at the distance he wants them at until they get fed up and rush in. Then they get clinched, taken down, and hellbowed into oblivion.

 

[Shonuff1980**]

who gives a flying fuck about reach... i swear some of you guys masturbate to arms or something.

the ultimate deciding factor in this fight... well any of jons fights is wrestling.... not his gumby arms.

exactly, but logic is frowned upon on Sherdog. Jon main asset always has been and always will be his wrestling.

 

[Combat Wombatt]

Long reach does NOT help wrestling.

And you know his how?



I've wrestled and I can tell you it does.



You can use it to reach out farther and pull your opponents in, you can use it to keep an opponent at bay and from clinching, it is useful in the clinch for defending the takedown, and it can help when you are wrestling with your opponent on the mat.



So don't say long reach doesn't help with wrestling.

 

[ACT]

And you know his how?



I've wrestled and I can tell you it does.



You can use it to reach out farther and pull your opponents in, you can use it to keep an opponent at bay and from clinching, it is useful in the clinch for defending the takedown, and it can help when you are wrestling with your opponent on the mat.



So don't say long reach doesn't help with wrestling.

Because I also wrestle and the short stocky guys are the hardest to take down. Reaching to pull your opponents in is almost always a bad idea. You will get arm dragged and suplexed. Keeping people away from you in wrestling is pointless, and if you're trying to push them away at close range it's better to have short arms. It's a disadvantage in the clinch, longer arms mean more room between you and your opponent, giving them space to disengage or slip in underhooks.

Shorter people have an easier time shooting and defending shots.

The only advantage is for ankle picks, which rarely work on good wrestlers anyways.

 

[Shonuff1980**]

And you know his how?



I've wrestled and I can tell you it does.



You can use it to reach out farther and pull your opponents in, you can use it to keep an opponent at bay and from clinching, it is useful in the clinch for defending the takedown, and it can help when you are wrestling with your opponent on the mat.



So don't say long reach doesn't help with wrestling.

Lots of FAIL here. Never wrestled huh?

 

[eNoq]

3.3 inch reach advantage is still huge if its a striking match

 

[seanb1979]

Umm ... Cormier.

we dont know that cormiers drop to 205 will leave him looking like the same fighter, or if he can even make 205

 

[reddhelium]

I think they are making too big a deal about Gustafsson's reach. It'd be a big deal if he had a large reach advantage over Jones.

i think the bigger issue which is often overlooked is that gus will be facing a fighter with a longer reach than himself. considering he is primarily a striker, this will present a huge problem for him.

jones will be facing another fighter with a shorter reach, so no change there.

 

[method115]

I don't understand the obsession with the reach of Jon Jones. He isn't the first tall, lanky fighter. Every division has had those types of guys and none of them have risen to his level. I remember Bas back in the day saying that the perfect build for mma was that of Igor Vovchanchyn. Honestly I think every body type has positives and negatives in the fight game.

Jones long limbs make him more susceptible to armbars. His skinny legs may not hold up well against a fighter with a strong leg kicking game (yet to be seen).

The reach is definitely something that fighters have to train for before they face him, but come on, it is not unfair the way some people make it sound.

His length should actually make him easier to take down, but he is just that damn good at wrestling.

Everybody knows this already. During the Shogun vs Jones fight no one mentioned Jones size just how easily Shogun would dominate him. Now that's he's beating everyone suddenly he's to big. Same thing happened to GSP once he was on top he was suddenly to big.

 

[IcemanFan75]

Could not agree more, gustafsson was getting tagged by hard overhand right counters by shogun. If he can't deal with someone who has a significant reach disadvantage jones is going to tag him a lot.

He's pretty much a lesser-machida

That didn't stop him from beating Shogun up. The thing is, he seems to have an iron chin, and is willing to wade through punches to land his own. Honestly, against Jones I kind of like that about Gus. Yes, he's absolutely going to get hit by Jones, but I don't think Jones will be able to hurt Gus with anything. If Gus can walk through the several bombs Shogun landed clean then I am pretty sure he'll be able to take shots from Jones, who isn't known for having big punching power.

If (and that's a big if) Gus can keep the fight standing, I believe he will eventually land some hard punches on Jones. I wouldn't be that shocked if Gus landed a big shot that drops Jones and then swarms for the finish. Gus has dropped a lot of his opponents with a single punch.

I also wouldn't be surprised if Jones had a more difficult time than usual getting his timing and distance right in this fight for a couple of reasons.

1. Gus uses great footwork and stays moving constantly.
2. Gus has an 81 inch reach, which is much longer than that of Jones' last several opponents.

I think this same thing happened to Anderson against Weidman. His timing and distance was a bit off and I believe it contributed to his loss to Weidman and the fact that he was not landing much on Chris (not to discredit Weidman, he slipped a lot of punches and did well).

In the end I don't think Gus will pull it off, unfortunately though. I'd bet on Jones via some kind of choke in the 2nd round.

 

[AP_RESURRECTION]

A lot is being said about Gustaffson's reach being close to Jones. With Jones having 84.5 inches compared to Gustafsson 81.2 inches.

Firstly, that still gives Jones a sizeable reach advantage. Jone's long reach is the best asset you can in MMA because unlike speed, athleticism, reflexes, strength, or an iron chin, reach won't degrade with age. And Jones knows how to utilize his reach unlike some such as Skyscraper.


Secondly, even if Gustaffsson had the exact same reach as Jones, that just makes it like the majority of MMA fights where fighters have similar reaches.


I think they are making too big a deal about Gustafsson's reach. It'd be a big deal if he had a large reach advantage over Jones. In the end, it's just like an average fight with the fighters having similar reaches.


Jones will be too fast, too strong, his wrestling will be too good, his striking will too overwhelming, and how he mixes his striking and takedowns will be far too much for Gustaffson. Expect a late 1st round to early 2nd round finish via TKO/KO or submission.


Glover is the next so-called worthy opponent after Gus and he showed that he will not even make Jones break a sweat after his fight with Bader. There really is no opponent for Jones including Glover or Gus. I'd say superfight with Anderson or Cain.

haters attribute jones's success to his reach which is comical - however, this fight will be a good selling point for him - make the haters work harder

 

[xn7]

Expect a late 1st round to early 2nd round finish via TKO/KO or submission.

really, a finish via tko/ko or submission? how special

 

[MisterFists]

I don't understand the obsession with the reach of Jon Jones. He isn't the first tall, lanky fighter. Every division has had those types of guys and none of them have risen to his level. I remember Bas back in the day saying that the perfect build for mma was that of Igor Vovchanchyn. Honestly I think every body type has positives and negatives in the fight game.

Jones long limbs make him more susceptible to armbars. His skinny legs may not hold up well against a fighter with a strong leg kicking game (yet to be seen).

The reach is definitely something that fighters have to train for before they face him, but come on, it is not unfair the way some people make it sound.

His length should actually make him easier to take down, but he is just that damn good at wrestling.

Anderson Silva says hello.

 

[ACT]

That didn't stop him from beating Shogun up. The thing is, he seems to have an iron chin, and is willing to wade through punches to land his own. Honestly, against Jones I kind of like that about Gus. Yes, he's absolutely going to get hit by Jones, but I don't think Jones will be able to hurt Gus with anything. If Gus can walk through the several bombs Shogun landed clean then I am pretty sure he'll be able to take shots from Jones, who isn't known for having big punching power.

If (and that's a big if) Gus can keep the fight standing, I believe he will eventually land some hard punches on Jones. I wouldn't be that shocked if Gus landed a big shot that drops Jones and then swarms for the finish. Gus has dropped a lot of his opponents with a single punch.

I also wouldn't be surprised if Jones had a more difficult time than usual getting his timing and distance right in this fight for a couple of reasons.

1. Gus uses great footwork and stays moving constantly.
2. Gus has an 81 inch reach, which is much longer than that of Jones' last several opponents.

I think this same thing happened to Anderson against Weidman. His timing and distance was a bit off and I believe it contributed to his loss to Weidman and the fact that he was not landing much on Chris (not to discredit Weidman, he slipped a lot of punches and did well).

In the end I don't think Gus will pull it off, unfortunately though. I'd bet on Jones via some kind of choke in the 2nd round.

While Gus is great offensively his striking defence is quite poor. Unless he gets a KO I can't see him outlanding jones. This is evident from shoguns 43% sig strikes landed to gus' 46% compared to 23% sig strikes landed to jones' 66%.

Gus' typical step back and counter when they come in approach will not be as effective against jones who doesn't give chase, instead just kicking them when they back up.

I agree though, I see the story of the fight being wrestling ending with a submission.

 

[L0ki]

really, a finish via tko/ko or submission? how special

Hahahahahahah

Hopefully Gus wins but both Thiago and Shogun punched Aleks in the mouth several times really hard.

He has a good chin, but if they can do that, Jones should be able to win relatively easily.

 

[Combat Wombatt]

Because I also wrestle and the short stocky guys are the hardest to take down. Reaching to pull your opponents in is almost always a bad idea. You will get arm dragged and suplexed. Keeping people away from you in wrestling is pointless, and if you're trying to push them away at close range it's better to have short arms. It's a disadvantage in the clinch, longer arms mean more room between you and your opponent, giving them space to disengage or slip in underhooks.

Shorter people have an easier time shooting and defending shots.

The only advantage is for ankle picks, which rarely work on good wrestlers anyways.

We're talking MMA wrestling here. Not a lot of guys arm dragging or suplexing each other. Although some suplexes occur, it' rare.


And long reach is an advantage in the clinch for Jones because he can use his vicious elbows standing in the clinch and also on the ground. He also uses his long reach to keep people at bay. It also allows him to do unique moves such as his submission on Machida.


People say that what makes Jones great is his wrestling, well, his reach plays a big part of that too. And if short arms are what you want then how does Jones ever win a fight?



And short arms where as great as you say, Sean "T-Rex Arms" Sherk would still be champion.