Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 15, 2012 Author Paid Members Share Posted March 15, 2012 Rashad speaks on Jones  "I know how to beat him. There are things about his game which he can't change. The fact that we used to train together gives me a lot of confidence. I know where I need to get to with Jon in order to fight my game. Jon's a tall guy, I can't, obviously, fight on the outside. I gotta get inside where I can fight my game. I see a lot of spaces in Jon's game for a lot of different things. I'm to the point where it doesn't matter who you are, if I take you down, I'm going to unleash my ground and pound on you. I think I've improved more since the last time we trained together. I'm in a new environment, I had to learn. He's in the same environment, same coaches, learning the same thing. I will defeat Jon Jones and become UFC light heavyweight champion." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stone Cold Jane Austen Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I'd love to see Rashad beat Jones but I can't believe it. The guy hasn't broken a sweat in his past few fights and Rashad has never struck me as world class in the same way as Jones' past challengers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 15, 2012 Author Paid Members Share Posted March 15, 2012 Yeah I've got Jones winning aswell. Rashad seems confident but it seems like he's basing his opinion on the Jon Jones he trained with. We've seen how quick Jones improves fight to fight, he might be like a completely different animal than the one Rashad remembers by fight time. Â Not totally counting Rashad out, there's always a possible mental edge he could hold plus he's never really failed to take someone down before (bar Machida) so it will be interesting to see how it plays out. Â But I can't really see an obvious way for Rashad to win. It's hard to see any of the current crop of LHW's dethroning Jones at the minute. I don't think Hendo would fare very well, Shogun's too inconsistent and Rampage is fucking off. If I had to pick someone, I'd probably give Machida maybe the best shot in a rematch. Â Or maybe a young gun like Gustafsson could cause him some bother down the line? It's too early to tell with Gustafsson so I'm not saying he'd beat Jones. He certainly has some heavy hands and the kind of lanky frame that could possibly minimize some of Jones' advantages though. We'll see how he deals with the step up against Thiago Silva, but it's worth thinking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rey_Piste Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Whlst Rashad is right about him having to either be inside his range his range or taking him down, but Jones has a lot of tricks we've not really seen. I also think Jones will clinch take Rashad to the cage and use that to break it up and get back on the inside. We've not really seen what Jones is like off his back so if Rashad does take him down what's stopping Jones getting a sub from the botttom with his long limbs being an obvious advantage in that position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Kaz Hayashi Posted March 16, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted March 16, 2012 Soz Rash, but its all about Jones. I think he is holding on to the title for a long time to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Or maybe a young gun like Gustafsson could cause him some bother down the line? It's too early to tell with Gustafsson so I'm not saying he'd beat Jones. He certainly has some heavy hands and the kind of lanky frame that could possibly minimize some of Jones' advantages though. We'll see how he deals with the step up against Thiago Silva, but it's worth thinking about. On paper Gustafsson has the physical skills, but as we saw with Phil Davis against Rashad sometimes that does not count for much.  Like said above it is too early to tell, I fear though with the lack of depth at 205lbs they may rush Gustafsson like they rushed Davis. If Jones as expected handles Rashad who else is there.  There is Hendo, but I am convinced he is flirting with going down to 185lbs to face Anderson if he beats Sonnen. He has mentioned his next fight will be a title shot at either 205lbs or 185lbs here. Hendo woud have a better chance against Anderson or Sonnen than Jones who he a punchers chance at best.  http://www.opposingviews.com/i/sports/boxi...nd-nothing-else  If Hendo does take on Jones, I think Jones walks through him. So then who? Machida is too soon and would need at least 2 more wins to get a title shot. Shogun is coming of a loss. Rich Franklin is a gatekeeper in the twilight of his career. Bader has not done enough and a rematch at this point would be pointless.  More oppurtunities open up if Rashad wins, but I cannot see that happening. I fear if Gustafsson beats Silva next month he could be thrown to Jones sooner rather than later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajmcstyles Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 - preview Every day Jon Jones believes his own hype and has his head so far up his arse that I hope Rashard will crush him. Id be happy to see Rashard pin Jones to the floor for 5 rounds to shut up Jon, id just rather see Jon loose the belt bring some normality back to the division instead of Jon thinking hes the greatest thing since slice bread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 18, 2012 Author Paid Members Share Posted March 18, 2012 On paper Gustafsson has the physical skills, but as we saw with Phil Davis against Rashad sometimes that does not count for much. Like said above it is too early to tell, I fear though with the lack of depth at 205lbs they may rush Gustafsson like they rushed Davis. If Jones as expected handles Rashad who else is there.  Yeah, I was saying for ages that I thought Phil Davis wasn't ready for the step up. I agree that the same probably applies to Gustafsson aswell. People seem to want to rush everyone, they forget that not everyone is a Jon Jones, Cain Velasquez type who can compete at World Title level after a handful of fights.  I know what you mean about the division's lack of challengers. I don't think it's lack of depth in the division because it is one of the most talent stacked weightclasses in MMA, second only to 155 imo. But it's just that Jones has ran through all of them. Just like Middleweight, people have been saying it's a weak division for years but if you look who's at 185 it is choc full of great fighters. Anderson Silva is just so good it makes the rest of them look bad. I know what you meant by lack of depth though, it's lack of depth for Jones.  There is Hendo, but I am convinced he is flirting with going down to 185lbs to face Anderson if he beats Sonnen. He has mentioned his next fight will be a title shot at either 205lbs or 185lbs here. Hendo woud have a better chance against Anderson or Sonnen than Jones who he a punchers chance at best. If Hendo does take on Jones, I think Jones walks through him. So then who? Machida is too soon and would need at least 2 more wins to get a title shot. Shogun is coming of a loss. Rich Franklin is a gatekeeper in the twilight of his career. Bader has not done enough and a rematch at this point would be pointless.  More oppurtunities open up if Rashad wins, but I cannot see that happening. I fear if Gustafsson beats Silva next month he could be thrown to Jones sooner rather than later.  I think Hendo would rather stay at 205 but I agree I think if it comes down to either fighting Anderson or Jones he would rather fight Anderson. He's fought him before and had some success and at least with Anderson if he's getting tagged standing he can take him down. With Jones' takedown defence and length, that chance might not be there with him.  I think Hendo will just sit and see how things play out at UFC 145. I think if Jones wins, Hendo might fight Anderson. If Rashad wins I think Hendo will stay at 205 and fight Rashad. Not to say Hendo is ducking Jones but I think he'd see Anderson as more favourable to his style.  But another interesting scenario is what if Sonnen beats Silva? Would Hendo fight Sonnen with their Team Quest history? I think he probably would for a title.  We'll see. But I think with the shortage of challengers for Jones (if he beats Rashad), Dana will be doing everything he can to talk Hendo into staying at LHW for that fight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Yeah, lack of depth for Jones is the best way to put it. Â I agree also that Hendo in a perfect world would stay at 205lbs, he does not like that weight cut at his age. But like said he does have half a chance against Silva that he does not have against Jones. Not saying Jones is a better fight than Silva, but the physical aspect and style match ups do give Hendo a hope against Anderson that he does not have against Jones. Â If Sonnen won, I think he would fight Jones. That said Team Quest are a weird bunch, other than suprisingly Sonnen, the other players like Couture, Hendo and Lindland have all fallen out over the years, so maybe loyality wont stand in Hendo's way. I doubt Sonnen would openly duck anyone with his personality either. Â Glover Texeria is a very good prospect, even at 33 or however old he is big things are expected of him upon his UFC debut. I would not sniff at him being fast tracked like Carwin was, at that age its the best way. Gustafssen I think should be brought along a bit slowly in the next 18 months or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 18, 2012 Author Paid Members Share Posted March 18, 2012 Yeah Teixeira's got experience and some good names on his record. With a few nice wins in the UFC I could see him being 'in the mix'.  For Gustafsson, I'd like to see him fight Bader if he beats Thiago Silva. His only loss was to Phil Davis but he's handled wrestlers very well since as seen against Hamill/Vlad so it would be a good fight to make for him I reckon. I think he'd have a pretty clear advantage on the feet with Bader myself aswell.  In the next few months at 205 I'm hoping we get  Bader vs Gustafsson/Silva winner Machida vs Rampage 2 (or Shogun vs Rampage 2 whoever's available when Rampage is healthy) Griffin vs Ortiz 3 Phil Davis vs Vlad Teixeira/Kingsbury winner vs Vera  And any combination of Shogun, Franklin, Little Nog and Bonnar would do nicely. Just match them 4 up any way and you can't really go wrong I reckon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 25, 2012 Author Paid Members Share Posted March 25, 2012 Check out these trailers the UFC's put together  Jon Jones - Believe Your Eyes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv4VTeuc6CY  that was shown on one of the FX shows recently so most will have probably seen it, but they've put one out for Rashad now aswell.  Rashad Evans - The Payback http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIaYJb66A0E  Rashad's wins for me, for the James Brown song alone  I really like these new hype vids, hope they keep it up. Primetime's gonna be good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajmcstyles Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Good promo for Rashard. But Jones's promo just reminds me of what a prick he was after beating Lyota Machida. Hendo and Rashard believe they both could have Jones's number. I'm looking pumped up about this fight than the whole of wrestlemania for some reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Bus Surfer Posted March 25, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted March 25, 2012 Rashad Evans is cool as fuck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Whilst I think this will be a walkover for Jones, one thing that Rashad fans can hold on to is Rashad has a habit of suprising in match ups that dont favor him. Â Chuck Liddel was seen by me and others as the worst possible match up for Rashad, Liddel was seen as a good enough wrestler to keep it standing, and having much better striking as Rashad whilst improved since TUF was still at the time seen as a inferior striker to the big boys at 205lbs, we all know how that worked out for Rashad, his biggest win of his career at that point. Â Most also felt that Bonner would be too big and Rashad would be thrown around by him and walloped on the feet, instead Rashad scored takedown after takedown and won very easily. Â The same applied also to the Rampage fight, most felt Rampage could defend the takedowns and outbox Rashad, again most were proven wrong as despite a dicey moment late on Rashad dominated Rampage. Â I am sticking with logic and picking Jones, but if Rashad makes me and the majority look stupid it will not be the first time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 25, 2012 Author Paid Members Share Posted March 25, 2012 Yeah Rashad's fucked up many people's predictions in the past. I'm firmly on the Rashad James Brown Payback Soulwagon for this one. Â Althought realistically, I've also got Jones winning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.