What should Tom's gameplan be against Jones?

[Ayreon]

Rush forward with his jab cross combination

It is all he has

 

[JoeRowe]

Fight southpaw alot. Work the body with punches and occasional kicks. Lateral movement. Make Jon chase and then sit down on straight punches. Shoot for a takedown here or there to make him have to respect it. If he can put Jon on his back, even better. I'd like to see Tom's top game come out in this one if possible.

 

[Dbreiden83080]

He didn't gas out at LHW. He's now older with a beer gut. He's had 2 HW fights, one where Gane quit early at the first sign of adversity, and one that was mostly one way traffic vs the ghost of Stipe. I don't think we can say for sure that Jones cardio is the same now as it was in his prime. It **might** still be great (no weight cutting, etc) but he's a different guy with a different body so it's still pretty unknown.

He just knows how to pace himself. Jones doesn’t have a style that really would allow him to completely gas out either. He doesn’t have huge power so he’s not out there Head hunting for anybody. He wrestles, but he does it very methodically. His pace is excellent. I just don’t see it, but hopefully we find out.

 

[mkess101]

He just knows how to pace himself. Jones doesn’t have a style that really would allow him to completely gas out either. He doesn’t have huge power so he’s not out there Head hunting for anybody. He wrestles, but he does it very methodically. His pace is excellent. I just don’t see it, but hopefully we find out.

Absolutely he knows how to pace himself. The issue will be when a bigger guy that's also faster forces him to speed up his game. Which is what I think Aspinall will do. But yeah, I hope we find out either way.

 

[Jibsta69]

Ever since Jones won the title there’s always been really small cracks to Jones’ game maybe showing a weakness or vulnerability but due to Jones high level IQ and reaction time along with his skills and range he can quickly adjust and make you forget about it and worry about another play card he can pull on you. As much I can admit I hate him, it’s why he’s the goat.

Trying to out grapple him is just not the way even if Tom thinks he can out muscle him. If a wrestler like DC can’t then their just no other fighter that can right now in the division. Maybe Tok and his team think they can and can find a way so what do I know but I just wouldn’t as Jones

If you look at how Reyes and Gus had success it was in the striking department and having constant movement and footwork. Using excellent combos that are mixed up to keep him guessing as Jones has high level IQ so you need to mix it up while maintaining the pace.

Gus who not a known grappler was able to do this and go for a takedown as Jones was worried about other attacks. Gus being smart didn’t fall into the I can take you down so I’ll try and out grapple you, it was more so I have another tools as well to keep you guessing so he let him up right away. Not getting into a big argument who won as I don’t think it’s a definite answer and more so just arguable but the fight in the later rounds Jones was adjusting as was Gus and even forced Jones to getting ballsy to adjust(the spinning elbow imo was key in him winning the fight as he was getting his ass kicked in that sequence). It basically turned into a wild battle of chess which I think Jones did enough to make an arguable decesion for him.

The Reyes fight, Dom kinda went for a similar path with the constant movement and activity. Gus did better with the damage given though Reyes did better with the activity in the rounds he won. The thing with the constant movement and activity is the gas tank really failed Reyes in the 4th and 5th.Which cost him the fight. Again not getting into a big argument who won, I agree a scorecard by one judge 49-46 is ridiculous, but I never believed a fight can be a full out robbery due to one close round(round 3) and I can see how Reyes being out of gas 4th and 5th just not a good way to look good for the judges.

Jon Jones does what he does though and he adjust and adapt and maybe not make a fight a definite win, he can still Make it arguable which is better than losing which other then illegal elbows is something he can find a way to avoid doing.

I’m gonna admit I been out of the loop on UFC past few years so I don’t fully know what kinda fighter Tom is. I know he has power and I also know he’s never been to a decision. I don’t agree with just coming out and head hunting right at the bat, it might work right away but not might now. You can’t just be too predictable for a guy like Jones.

The activity and mixing up your strikes has shown to work on Jones but for a guy who’s used to quick fights I don’t think it would be to his favor to do it for a decision path win as he’d probably end up like Reyes.

It be more so a mix of what they did but Tom needs to pick his spots but also find a way to hurt Jones within the 2 rounds. I’ve noticed Jones tends to just start running away the second he feels threaten. I wouldn’t chase him too much and just let him run, if anything it looks bad on him he’s running, it also gives Jones an opportunity to clinch which I think he has the advantage. If he falls down and rocked by all means gets on top and hammer him but if you use a ton of gas, get the stoppage or at least hurt him real bad where it will effect him all fight. Again this is me saying this while admitting I don’t know Tom much as a fighter or how he does with the range and distance.

I guess another factor is Jon Jones is old and might already been declining for years but we haven’t had a full opportunity to see it. I actually think he’s been declining since 2016 where his fight against OSP he dominated but also meh by his standards. It could explain the whole PED controversy surrounded around him after as maybe he knew he was starting to decline and got insecure about it so started using them more. His fights after his 2018 return even though he dominates some like Smith just look like someone content on playing it safe now.

 

[r-harper-1]

Tom plan should be attempted not to drown in deep waters …. He’s gonna gas out hard after those early knockouts ….better end it early

 

[mkess101]

Tom plan should be attempted not to drown in deep waters …. He’s gonna gas out hard after those early knockouts ….better end it early

Huh? Have you even watched him fight? He doesn't chase KO's and swing wildly using a lot of energy. His KO's are organic because he has faster hands and timing and accuracy to go along with his power. His energy expenditure isn't high,, we have no idea what his cardio would look like late in a fight if it gets there.

 

[Gregoire1]

I will quote some great poster here:
"Whilst Aspinall has attributes Jon can never wrench back from age (peak speed, reflexes) and some he never really had (power in the hands) I think in a championship fight with so much at stake beating JJ is a really tall task. Jon has shown the synergy he has with his coaches is one of if not the strongest in the sport's history; he adjusts on the fly so deftly using both his own instincts and the advisement of his corner. He rarely ever gets reactive, rarely falls into traps or exposed patterns, and holds an ace in his sleeve in that he is absolutely dog tough if all of the above is overcome by his opponent; if you want to really beat the guy (not talking controversial decisions) you basically have to kill him. He has no quit, indominable will, and is incredibly difficult to get ahead on scoring let alone finish as a result. All those intangibles plus his wrestling/grappling acumen & unpredictable yet defensively-sound striking make it difficult for me to bet against him. I think JJ gets the decision there or possibly a in rd 4 or 5. Aspinall is damn good, but I think Jon would puzzle him. 60-40 in favor of Jon."

 

[doggo]

Do what Gus did in the first fight and stay unpredictable IF his first big punch doesn't really hurt Jones. If he does hurt him go in for the fucking kill.

 

[r-harper-1]

Huh? Have you even watched him fight? He doesn't chase KO's and swing wildly using a lot of energy. His KO's are organic because he has faster hands and timing and accuracy to go along with his power. His energy expenditure isn't high,, we have no idea what his cardio would look like late in a fight if it gets there.

 

[mkess101]

View attachment 1088843

OMG he got tapped in his 4th pro fight 10 years ago???

Well nevermind about all this then. He must suck, and we should just have Jones rematch Stipe in another 2-3 years to defend his title.

FFS Sherdog, never change LMAO.

 

[OmegaRugal]

It's hard to say. Jones' biggest weakness is short punches from the inside, but there's likely going to be a large skill gap in their grappling, so he can't bank on that. I'd imagine he will have to bank on that same slip and counter he's so good at in the pocket.

You think that most likely because he mostly fights short fighters who can only hit him like that.

When he faced taller LHWs like Gus and Reyes … he arguably lost.

I think his weakness is his boxing defense against people where his reach advantage is minimized.

 

[cburm]

His only game plan is to land a lucky ko punch and to stay alive...

 

[mkess101]

His only game plan is to land a lucky ko punch and to stay alive...

Yeah "lucky". Dude must be REALLY lucky since it keeps happening fight after fight for him.

 

[BjPenn2017]

Be overhyped and lose by first round mercy TKO

And still

 

[10000yearsold]

Hit head