UFC 172: Jones vs Teixeira

[wandshogun09]

See, I never even thought about the cut. I was thinking of eye pokes. That's a good point and it can't have helped obviously.

 

Dana was saying to the media after the show that they are considering doing Jones vs Gustafsson 2 in Sweden but still doing it on PPV in the US. So they'd start the show at 4am Sweden time so it would be prime time in America. He was on about doing it at a big stadium and a possible crowd of 60,000 and all sorts.

 

Would be awesome. But fuck, I know Gustafsson is really popular with the Swedes but it would surely hurt attendance holding the show at 4am. I suppose they have to weigh up if the potential loss at the gate would be offset by the money they could make on PPV. If they do go this route they'll probably stack the card up to really maximise buys.

 

Imagine how electric the atmosphere would be for that fight in Sweden?

[ColinBollocks]

Can't understand the negativity Jones gets, certainly ability wise. He's the best out there right now for me and could surely be considered one of the best ever?

It's simply impossible to deny his greatness. Anybody that does is being irrational or clueless.

 

His confidence can often come across as arrogance, which rubs folk the wrong way (myself included). Although, as I said, I wish I had his self belief.

[firstnameunknown]

Dana was saying to the media after the show that they are considering doing Jones vs Gustafsson 2 in Sweden but still doing it on PPV in the US. So they'd start the show at 4am Sweden time so it would be prime time in America. He was on about doing it at a big stadium and a possible crowd of 60,000 and all sorts.

 

Would be awesome. But fuck, I know Gustafsson is really popular with the Swedes but it would surely hurt attendance holding the show at 4am. I suppose they have to weigh up if the potential loss at the gate would be offset by the money they could make on PPV. If they do go this route they'll probably stack the card up to really maximise buys.

 

Imagine how electric the atmosphere would be for that fight in Sweden?

But then what would be the point in even doing it if they didn't think they could FILL a stadium..?!

[wandshogun09]

I'm not saying the UFC don't think they could fill the stadium. I'm not even saying for sure that I think they can't. It's a big fight, with the hometown boy going for the title in a rematch of one of the greatest fights in MMA history. They might pack the place for all I know. I'm sure it'll do well on PPV in the US.

 

My point was just that it could possibly dent ticket sales in Sweden having the show at 4am. It's one thing doing shows in Australia in the afternoon, I think that would be pretty cool actually. But 4am. I'd still go at that time for the right fight, but not everyone would feel the same. Dana mentioned an outdoor stadium as well. Sweden isn't the hottest country, is it? I wouldn't fancy shivering my tits off at 4am in an open roof stadium. And what if it pisses down?

 

And even if they don't fill the stadium and they can't shift 60,000 tickets, if they sell say 40,000 that's still a huge gate. Way bigger than their usual 10-20,000.

[mim731]

You have to imagine it would be the Friends arena, and outdoor stadium, holds 50k for football, and has a retractable roof if it rains.

 

Wiki here

[wandshogun09]

Yeah, makes sense. Looks awesome as well. I hope they do do the fight in Sweden. Jones probably isn't going to like it though. Enemy soil, the travel etc. But it would be such a great event. Imagine the atmosphere. The two times they've been to Sweden so far the crowds have been incredible. And one of those shows was fucked up by Gustafsson pulling out and being replaced last minute, and the crowd was still mental. The Swedes were great at the O2 in March as well for Gustafsson vs Manuwa. I can only imagine what a stadium full of them for Jones vs Gustafsson 2 would be like.

 

OK, since we're on about it, Jones vs Gustafsson 2 then. Who wins the rematch? I've got a feeling Jones wins another decision but a bit more clearly this time. Maybe even a submission in the later rounds. Gustafsson showed how skilled a fighter he is the first time but I think there might have been an element of Jones underestimating him as well. He won't do that next time.

[deathrey]

I was thinking the same thing Wand. I would love Gusty to win though. Saying that, I didn't think Gusty would be much competition for Jones the first time and I was wrong about that, I'd love to be wrong again. Jones doesn't have seem to have been effected mentally by the Gustafsson fight at all, I'm guessing he will go in equally as confident again so Gustafsson will have to bring something new to the table.

[ColinBollocks]

You wonder if Jones will drop the "I'll beat the bloke at his own game" plan and try to wrestle with Gustafsson? When it comes to stand up, last time they fought, there was very little to separate the pair of them. Both have improved since that fight, so you wonder who has the edge.

 

I can see Jones' toughness and heart winning it for him again. Jones' ego will clearly want to rectify the decision victory with a KO, but Gustafsson is a crafty nightmare for most.

 

The last fight was so close and both men have had impressive wins since, it makes it really hard to pick a clear favourite. Can't wait to see what sort of hype job the UFC do for this. I've not really been that invested with MMA, this year, this fight will definitely spike my interest.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah, you'd think Jones won't take the same risks against Gustafsson as he did against Glover. But then again, Jones tried to wrestle at times in the first fight and Gus defended excellently. That was the real shocker about that fight for me. I always thought Gus could probably hang with Jones standing but I never envisioned him coping with Jones' wrestling at all. Not only did he defend Jones' takedowns, he was the first guy to ever put Jones on his back. When you compare that Gustafsson to the one who fought Phil Davis back in 2010, it's night and day. The improvements he's made are incredible. And I think training with Phil Davis the last few years has done wonders for his grappling.

 

So yeah, it's not an easy one to predict, this rematch. Gus actually won the wrestling battle last time. They're both going to have to maybe try something different to throw the other guy off. It's a fascinating fight when you think about it.

 

I was convinced Gus had rattled Jones' confidence for a while after that first fight. But I don't know, everything I've heard or seen from Jones in the build up, the actual fight and the fallout of UFC 172, I think he's stronger and more confident than ever. I think the way people doubted him after the Gustafsson fight has lit a fire under him to prove everyone wrong. There seemed to be a real chip on his shoulder this week, and more of a nastiness to him in the cage as well.

 

I could be totally off base here but I've just got this feeling Jones might have taken Gustafsson a little bit lightly last time. You look at the build up to UFC 165 - it was all about this guy is this tall, look at their reach, wingspan, all that bollocks. 90% of pundits, fans etc were expecting Jones to walk right through Gus (I was one of them). The promotion was all about how they measured up size-wise because I don't think they thought they could sell Gus as a threat on his skills. Now they can obviously, he rose to the challenge and then some, but at the time it wasn't like that. On fight week for that event, there seemed to be more talk about Jones sponsors and what he'd do next than the matter at hand in Gustafsson. Even the media were overlooking Gus. It's not out of the question that Jones was being told that much that he was going to smash Gusty, that he subconsciously let complacency seep in. Luke Thomas on MMAFighting's 172 post-fight show was saying he'd heard Jones' camp for Gus the first time wasn't great and that Jones was probably at less than 80%. It's all speculation but there's enough of it that I think there's some truth there.

 

Not to take anything away from Gustafsson. He fought his lanky arse off and regardless of how on point Jones was or wasn't, or if he'd taken Gus lightly or not, Gustafsson's own performance blew me away. But I've just got this feeling that we didn't see the best Jones that night. And he won't want to go through another war like that again.

 

That's what makes the rematch so great. Jones wants to come in at his absolute best and smash Gustafsson to obliterate the memory of the close first fight. Gustafsson wants to prove that his performance last time wasn't a fluke and that he's the man who has Jones' number. On paper this could be even better than the first fight.

 

Rematches are funny. It could go like Machida vs Shogun - where the guy who lost the debated decision comes out and gets revenge in style. Or it could be like Silva vs Sonnen - where the champ is taken to his limits the first time, but destroys the challenger in the rematch. I haven't quite made my mind up which one Jones vs Gustafsson is yet. But my initial gut feeling is that Jones makes some adjustments and wins this fight impressively.

 

Can't wait to see it. At the start of 2014 there were two fights I was dying to see. Anthony Pettis vs Jose Aldo and Jon Jones vs Alexander Gustafsson 2. Pettis vs Aldo is definitely not happening this year now. And if Glover Teixeira or Jimi Manuwa had their way, Jones vs Gus 2 wouldn't be either. This is the most anticipated fight of 2014 for me.

[ColinBollocks]

The point about Jones now knowing what to expect is fair and, while speculative, he maybe didn't expect Gustafsson to trouble him as much - if there is a bloke that you maybe expected/expect to buy into his own hype it's a young Jones. However, Gustafsson also knows what he's up against and he'll no doubt feel confident, seeing as there wasn't really all that much between them in the last fight. Both men have something to work hard for and train harder for; Jones wants the legacy of GOAT and Gustafsson is desperate to capture that ugly gold belt.

 

Hopefully both men come in as injury free as possible, as this has the makings of something exceptional and nobody wants excuses.

[Rey_Piste]

Any news on if Jones actually broke his right hand last night or not? I know Rogan was going on about how he was using a his left a lot and seemed to primarily be in a southpaw stance for a lot of it.

[wandshogun09]

I don't think he did break his hand. He started throwing it quite a bit in the later rounds and when asked how he felt physically at the post-fight press conference he said he felt great and the only complaint he had was a toe was hurting. I think he's fine. I can see why Rogan thought he'd injured his hand but in hindsight it might just have been a tactic to throw Glover off. He was switching stances more than usual anyway, I thought.

 

Jones was funny at the press conference. He kept saying he was happy and started doing a little dance and said "dance with me, Luke" to get Rockhold joining in. Then he said something like "We're all happy up here. Phil Davis isn't happy." Then he started high-fiving Rumble and laughing about Davis losing. It was dickish but I found it funny.

[Rey_Piste]

I did start watching the post fight conference, but Jones wasn't there at the beginning, there was just the belt sat on the table next to Dana. I was nodding off watching it last night and I turned it off about 10 minutes in.

[wandshogun09]

Gustafsson [GSPvoice/]was not impressed with Jones' performance[/GSPvoice].

 

"He was dominating Glover from the beginning, no doubt about it. But, I don't know it seemed like he didn't perform like he used to do. I thought that, I don't know, he did enough to win the fight basically."

 

"We used to see spectacular things with Jon Jones when he fights. He mixed things up and he did it in this fight too. But he didn't do it like he used to do in his previous fights."

 

"I think I'm in his head now. I've been learning a lot in my years, it's not just the fight itself, it's a lot mentally fighting each other, that's something I learned later days. I realize now it's very important. I think it's all in his head now and he gets irritated just by my name. I think that's good. I'm not a trash talker, that's not my thing. But if someone asks me, I'm going to say what I feel and what I think."

 

On the talk that Jones was only at 80% last time they fought;

"If he fought at 80 percent, I would have finished him. I'm a whole new type of fighter now. There's going to be a finish. A win is a win, but a decision for me is not an option any more."

 

On the possible Sweden rematch and if the fight being at 4am would put fans off attending;

"It would be a dream come true for me. It wouldn't be a problem. They'll be there."

 

These are from the MMA Hour. Ariel also asked Daniel Cormier if he thought Gustafsson wins the rematch and Cormier replied "No chance". This is going to be one of those hotly debated fights in the build up like Silva vs Weidman, isn't it?

[jimufctna24]

If there was flaw in Jones's performance on Saturday night it was that he fought Glover's fight a little too much. Dana mentioned that instead of deploying more takedowns and GnP, he stood and traded with Glover for prolonged periods of time. Jones also fought up close with Glover up against the cage, which on paper should have given Glover more of a chance to cause damage (the opposite happened)

 

Jones probably should not box with Gusty in the rematch (which is Gusty's key strength). I still contend Gusty is the better boxer out of the two. Maybe not the better striker, as Jones has more weapons, but in a straight boxing match I would pick Gusty. Jones needs to mix things up in the rematch, and indeed try and score takedowns (which might be hard given how well Gusty defended last time).

 

Jones could try fighting up close up against cage against Gusty, I would assume he might be the stronger man. But Jones does not want a boxing match with Gusty, as we saw how well Gusty boxed last time.