Most of these high-profile fighters who lost this year had something in common: They either fought someone their own or larger size or they were outmatched with the hands. Let's even go back to the Fall of 2013, when Jon Jones won by a hair against a superior boxer his size. It's only a matter of time before Jones' relatively inferior hands get exposed by a large, fast, accurate, and powerful boxer.
I agree boxing is on the rise in MMA. Conor, Stipe, Cody, Holly etc. But let's not pretend for a second that without takedown defence, boxing wouldnt do anything in this sport.
I think Eddie Bravo was on.... There has to be a new wave of grappling. 1. The GSP and Matt Huhuges thing is over. The Newbs find it boring,& the UFC panders to that. 2. The Rubber Guard/Darce thing, that Tony Ferguson is doing, with heal hooks is the new Jits. Thank god for Demian Maia, For the Jitz.... Good luck with him getting a title shot anytime soon.
Honestly.. Rumble is going to avenge the loss to Cormier and would beat anyone else Jones has ever fought (at 205lbs). If he hadn't wasted so much time cutting too much weight we'd all be calling him the lhw GOAT right now.
These guys are training UFC, not boxing. Boxing doesn't work in a real fight. All the bobbing and weaving - what use is that against a flying inverted omoplata?
I see what you're saying, but Jon isn't Ronda. Sure, he was out boxed, but Jon's versatile striking, range, grit, and stamina kept him in the fight. Jon would not take 30+ punches to the face in the 1st round. Panic wrestling is even a more effective strategy than Ronda's zombie clinching... Ronda's overall fight IQ is just not good. Jon can edge out a very good boxer with footwork (Gus) because he has a tool bag. Ronda has terrible striking offense, no footwork, no defense, and without her grappling is a sitting duck. The goal isn't for her to be a striking phenom, but to make her grappling effective by utilizing her striking to set it up hence why a good grappler can beat a good striker. She looked completely lost in there. It was horrible.
Stop making this about Ronda specifically. The point is Jon has been tagged before by some mediocre strikers, St Preux for example... There will come a guy that can make him pay for slipups in distance and sloppy probes.
This thread is retarded lol Jon showed that boxing means fuck all when you can elbow, kick, and knee your opponent into running across the ring. He also showed that you can take dudes down and blast them to bits or sub them unconscious.
No, I really do see boxing as an important aspect. If Jon comes in sloppy sure, he can get knocked out. Any good striker can still get mauled though no matter how good their boxing is. Khabib was getting worked on by Johnson, but had enough fight IQ to figure out how to get Johnson to the mat. Condit is a wayy better striker than Maia, but got folded in the first round. It really depends on how sharp the fighter is in his skills to make it happen.
Maybe. He truly is a unique fighter in that regard. Still...he's been tagged by fairly so so strikers
So-so strikers? Lyoto, Vitor, Gus, Shogun. All top LHW strikers (except Vitor, he's a roided up MW). All lost to a complete MMA arsenal, with an emphasis on Muay Thai strikes and wrestling. Jon Jones also went on to put a clinic on Glover and then actually beat DC (would've been Gus but injury bug was hungry). Jon would beat Gus again because he has more. You win MMA by being complete. You guys are overhyping boxing b/c 2 current champs are strikers. But Conor has already been steamrolled and looked vulnerable af against Nate and Mendes, and Nunes isn't just a boxer. Nunes has also lost and Ronda and Miesha are just shit strikers. Remember when HH got choked tf out by Tate? Yeah. To add, Gus is 1-3 in his last 4 fights and is pretty much retired. His best strikes against DC were knees from the clinch. Boxing won't get you Ws against complete fighters.
Lol, this thread made me want to write a 50 page essay like usual but I will say dis: It's really not that easy. Just because Jones' opponent has superior boxing, doesn't mean they're going to beat him. Jones has a lot of weapons that he uses very effectively that often neutralizes his opponents' entire game, no matter what aspect we're talking about. He's already faced a few guys who are better boxers than him and he beat them. His boxing can definitely be better than what it is but the most skilled and technically sound boxer doesn't always beat the lesser skilled and technically sound boxer. It's all about effectiveness and Jones is very effective in all aspects of the game. There's tons of fighters in the UFC/MMA in general that aren't very good strikers at all in terms of their technical ability and overall skill and such, but they're effective and that's all that matters - a good example of this is Khabib.
