Everyone wants Jon Jones and Junior dos Santos on the Fast Track
by Zak Woods on Mar 23, 2010 9:00 AM EDT
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Two prevailing thoughts came out of the UFC on Versus.
- Jon Jones is f***ing sweet and should be placed on the face track!
- Junior dos Santos is f***ing sweet and should be matched-up with Cain Velasquez!
WKR doesn't necessarily disagree with either point of view but we will say that we are dealing with an incomplete picture. At heavyweight, we don't yet know if Brock Lesnar will be ready to go for UFC 116 (as rumored) and we don't know the outcome of the interim title fight between Mir and Carwin, which takes place this weekend. If everything lines up nice and neatly then a Cain-Junior match-up makes sense but things in MMA very rarely work out according to plan. Besides that fight would essentially chop off one of the young challengers for the top of the division. Plus, we still haven't seen Junior fight off his back and a fight against a top wrestler may devolve into a 15 minute ground-and-pound session, which could stunt the Brazilian's growing star.
For Jon Jones things are a tad bit more complicated. He is really, really, REALLY good --especially for such a young fight-- but unlike the heavyweight division there is some depth at 205. Perhaps it would be wise to go on the lateral fast track rather than the vertical. In other words let Jon keep beating up mid-tier 205ers while still developing his skills and, most importantly, build his star up,before heaving him into the top-ten. Besides, the top of the division is all booked up this spring and it would be nice for Jones to get another fight and fast like Phil Davis did.
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These seem to be the options for Jon Jones:
1. Loser of Machida/Rua at UFC 113
2. Luis Cane if he wins at UFC 114
3. Loser of Griffin/Nogeuira at UFC 114
4. Loser of Rampage/Evans at UFC 114
5. Thiago Silva
And the issues with each:
1. Probably too big a step up at this point.
2. Might be the perfect step competition-wise. The earliest this could take place is Boston in August, provided Cane wins and is healthy. Otherwise, couldn’t do it until Sept/Oct, too long for Jones to sit on the sidelines.
3. Probably right level of competition, but same problem of not being able to be booked until Sept at the earliest. And if it’s a brutal loss, likely much later.
4. Might be too big a step if Rampage loses. Likely wouldn’t fight Evans if he loses. Same problem as above, Jones on the shelf until the fall.
5. A bigger step than Cane, but about right. Could go in July or August with no problem.
Jones vs. Silva co-main for UFC 116 or 117?
by FragglesHateKos on Mar 23, 2010 10:52 AM EDT reply actions
Recent Bloody Elbow Article - "Put Jon Jones on the Fast Track" - lol
Agreed, Dos Santos is currently ranked 6th (SB Nation) and I don’t think he should fight Brock or obviously winner of Mir/Carwin. So that leaves loser of Mir/Carwin or Cain. Would he fight Big Nog, being in the same camp? Also I guess if they want to wait on Dos Santos he could fight Kongo, not many other options though.
With Jones I hope he doesn’t get any top 5 LHW fighters for at least 2 fights. I think Thiago Silva, Luis Cane (if he wins his upcoming fight) or a loser of one of the upcoming upper-tier LHW fights would be good options.
by Doors Hate MMA Fighters on Mar 23, 2010 10:57 AM EDT reply actions
Dos Santos has the most impressive HW UFC record in the company. Better than Cain, better than Brock, light years better than Carwin. So I really don’t think his is a case of putting him on the “fast track;” he’s already at the top of it. For him it’s just a matter of working out the timing for his title shot.
Junior dos Santos has already done more to deserve a title shot than anyone else… in less than a year and a half, he’s beaten Werdum, Struve, Cro-Cop, Yvel, and Gonzaga. Meanwhile in the same timeframe, Mir beat Big Nog, then lost a title shot against Lesnar, then beat Kongo. Carwin beat some nobody scrub, then Gonzaga, then hasn’t fought for over a year. Velasquez beat a scrub, Kongo, Ben Rothwell, and Big Nog. Cain’s win over Big Nog is higher-profile than any of Junior’s individual wins, but the combined strength of Junior’s UFC record is arguably better.
Yet even though Cain and Junior undeniably have the most legitimate claims to a title shot, it’s Mir and Carwin who get to fight for the next shot, basically just so the UFC can capitalize on the Mir-Lesnar rivalry while it’s still hot. But who does the winner of Lesnar vs Mir/Carwin face for his first defense? Really you could say either Cain or Junior, but since that’s two fights away and both Cain and Junior just fought, the timing makes Cain vs Junior a no-brainer.
Definitely a statement that’s never been uttered before and should never be uttered again.
by FragglesHateKos on Mar 23, 2010 4:22 PM EDT up reply actions
