By: NYC’s Funniest Young Comedian 2010, Scott Yager
See more of Scott’s take on MMA and pro wrestling with his Fightin’ Words with Bryan Alvarez podcasts
For the second UFC on Versus special in a row Dana White has obviously made a conscious effort to base the entire show on his young up and coming star Jon “Bones” Jones. A few months back Jones headlined the first ever free UFC Sunday Night Event on Versus when he dismantled the face of Brandon Vera with vicious elbows to the head but for some reason last night had a slightly different vibe.
Although Jones vs. Vera was the main event on the last Versus telecast it was marketed more as a fight between two fighters in the light heavyweight division that were just below the group of title contenders and one of them had the opportunity to take that leap into the section populated by the elite and well known.
Insiders and people who follow MMA closely have been talking about Bones for about a year now. He lost via DQ in December when he was charged with two many downward elbow strikes in his otherwise dominating performance over Matt Hamill and his win over Brandon Vera in the spring continued the buzz throughout the world of MMA. Last night’s show felt a little different. Whereas before it seemed like supporters of Jones felt the need to be outspoken, going to war with Dana White over how soon the kid deserves a shot at someone noteworthy, now it seems like everyone is on the same page.
Sunday’s show, headlined by another Bones Jones domination, this time over 39-year-old light heavyweight Vladimir Matyushenko, seemed to be a two-hour event dedicated to exposing Jones and his clear path to the top of the division to the masses. Dana has said that he did not want to rush the kid into a huge fight without giving him the proper treatment coming up. By headlining two free television shows with him, White has done a great job exposing Jones to the casual fans who may have not been ready to spend $40 on a PPV, but surely love to watch people get pummeled.
During the fight and after the show it was clear that this will be the last minor stop on the train ride taking Bones Jones to the center of the 205 lb. weight class. After the show Frank Mir actually compared him to Michael Jordan (maybe a little much) showing how the hyperbole was in full effect following the first round TKO performance put on by the “LeBron James of UFC.” Basketball and UFC could not be any more different when it comes to sports but there is room to understand the comparisons. Bones is only 23…very young for the sport and very young to be dominating the way he is – just like say, LeBron James when he came up.
The reason UFC and all the writers that follow the sport are so quick to jump on this guy and make him into the next big thing is that MMA has not had too many self-generated superstars lately. A lot of the guys who have populated the major divisions in the sport became stars in Japan, in other sports (Brock Lesnar in pro wrestling) or through the reality show. With Jones having the skill set and exciting fighting style that he does, he was the logical choice for everyone to jump behind and try to turn into the next big thing that we were able to watch grow from the start.
Jones got Vlad in a crucifix on the ground (the same move Roy Nelson has used to win two fights in the last year) and, after vicious elbows to the head in almost robotic fashion, referee Herb Dean stopped the fight in what was his only choice. The fights keep getting shorter and Bones keeps proving that the opponents just need to start getting more noteworthy and challenging. No matter how much was said about Matyushenko and his record and experience, the odds were still Bones -600 and no one really thinks Bones did anything spectacular by winning. Whether it is someone like Chuck Liddell or Tito Ortiz who is on their way out, or someone like Rampage Jackson who is on the outskirts of their prime, Jones needs to fight someone who will bring just as much attention to the show as he will. Jones’s next victory must come with some sort of accomplishment and adoration and not seem like someone put in front of him to slow down the inevitable climbing of the ranks.
The show on Versus last night as a whole was very good with almost all the fights offer up some excitement and serving their purpose. Takanori Gomi had a very impressive knockout over Tyson Griffin, albeit a replacement for Joe Stevenson. Gomi finally did what everyone talked about him doing over in Japan – knocked somebody out. With the long list of stars who come over from Japan and do not have the same success in the US growing by the minute it was very nice to see one of them break out of their shell and remind us why we got excited for his arrival in the first place.
Anderson Silva takes on Chael Sonnen in a loaded card for UFC next week and hopefully I will be back with Bryan Alvarez for another addition of Fightin’ Words sometime shortly after that! Keep checking The Campus Socialite for Fightin’ Words! Our exclusive podcast dedicated to MMA!
