Let's be clear: I strongly believe that the reason jones beat Gus is that he had a more diverse striking game. That being said, I do not think that Gus' cardio was the problem, but rather how many spinning back kicks Jones hit his abdomen with. TJ Dillashaw did an excellent job against Barao in regards to avoiding these, and I know Gus could do it as well if he made a diligent effort during his training camp. In addition, I would absolutely not lay off of the TDD if I were him. Keep it going strong, and don't let Jones' takedowns hinder him. Check those atrocious "oblique kicks" that Rogan loves oh-so-much by jerking the knee tight (maybe there's a better way? Just my best guess), and check the low kicks. Gus's hands appear to be the better between the two fighters. I've seen that sometimes Jones' spinning back elbows simply can't be avoided. My advice in that regard, is to avoid the clinch and stick to striking distance for as long as possible. Anybody have anything else? Constructive criticism I suppose.
His power. That's it. He had a flawless 3 opening rounds vs Bones Jones, who is dangerous everywhere esp with that reach yet GUS still stood and passed the test. He landed his combos under and straight through Bones'. He is an artist
Be more agressive. If you find an opening, explode on it. If you lose the fight you're not getting a third fight again so soon anyway.
I think he needs to add some power on those strikes, he showed he can hit jones. Now....he's gotta take it further and show he can hurt jones
More power? I hadn't thought about that, but it would be a truly excellent fight if Jones gets dropped by a punch. People think he can take a punch since that glover fight... But like the pros always say, it's the shot you don't see coming that puts you out.
5 keys to Gus' success in the rematch would be 1) Excellent, on point boxing 2) Stout TDD 3) Watch out for unorthodox spinning shit and elbows 4) Maybe add a little more power to his strikes. 5) Avoid the clinch
Like I said, I don't think his cardio was as much a factor as Jones' multiple kicks to his midsection.
That's true, that's why I didn't view Glover as much of a threat. The punches you don't see take you out
Not being challenger, so the refs don't strip rounds from him? Being serious, he did everything right against Bones. Yes, his cardio could have been a little better, but the guy was still standing after a 25 minute war.. AND eating several clean head kicks. Like some have said, he should be a little more aggressive early, and try and stop Bones with strikes.
So you want Gus to utilize kicks he has never used in the biggest fight of his life against a very dangerous fighter who has a long history of using oblique kicks and is a better kickboxer than Gus. Thats bold Jones is dangerous in the standup for a good reason and that is because he is unpredictable. He throws wild elbows, oblique kicks and does it from unusual angles and it is one of the reasons why fighters are hesitant to go full throttle. ADD that jones is very slick within his clinch and has a penchant for using a fighters momentum against them when they push into Jones clinch, and you have issues with overextending. Gus does not want jones on top of him so I think he will do what he did in his last fight and be cautious but strategic. Jones is not Manuwa, he actually hurt Gus in the fight with a crazy spinning elbow our of nowhere from a setup. If Gus plays games, then he is gonna get hurt.
Gus should throw leg kicks, Jones has problems walking after everyone of his fights and that's just from throwing leg kicks himself. Maybe Throw the calf kick cause it's harder to catch and get taken down!
I have and it says things Gus should work on but playing kicking games against a better kicker/kick boxer is very dangerous. One rule of fighting is dont do things in a fight you are not use too and its pretty bold to try that on jones who is the better kickboxer. Might be the opening jones needs to put Gus on his back or possible strategy for Gus.
Gus just needs to get a guy in there to desperately spam spinning elbows at him over and over then he should be good.
Well, I seriously doubt Jones would expect a teep kick so it would at least be interesting to see how he'd react to it. I am one of Jones' few remaining fans by the way and hope he wins. I am simply interested in seeing whether Gus does exactly the same again or if he makes changes to his gameplan.
Kick defense is the biggest improvement he can make. He boxed jones up, but head kicks and a late spinning elbow won it for jones. He can also emphasize not relying primarily on his right hip for defense, because that's how jones was able to land both the head kicks and the spinning elbow.
