No disrespect to Jones - he has the phenom factor for sure - but did Shogun look like complete ass to anyone else?

Nope, he needed a warm up fight to prepare for someone like Jones. But I think, barring another knee surgery, he can get it back. he is only 29.

GDPofDRC wrote:

The very first strike landed in the fight was one of the hardest in it as well. The flying knee. Shogun was not prepared physically, be that from the layoff or the beating that began and continued throughout the fight. He was still dangerous in several instance. Middle of the third he ducked a right head kick by Jones by less than an inch and came over with a counter right that was less then an inch from being a knockdown blow. But he did not look good at all, not normal.

How I saw it that knee rocked him and he had to recover but ended up on his back, all down hill stamina wise after it.

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2011/3/21/2063505/ninja-the-very-first-knee-and-kick-took-shoguns-gashttp-contenti1

Ninja saw it the same, no excuses but points to a reason for the difficulties.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

Slow, fat, no spring in his step. Like when he fought Forrest. Not the same Shogun who fought Machida at all.

This. I thought the same thing.

GDPofDRC wrote:

GDPofDRC wrote:

The very first strike landed in the fight was one of the hardest in it as well. The flying knee. Shogun was not prepared physically, be that from the layoff or the beating that began and continued throughout the fight. He was still dangerous in several instance. Middle of the third he ducked a right head kick by Jones by less than an inch and came over with a counter right that was less then an inch from being a knockdown blow. But he did not look good at all, not normal.

How I saw it that knee rocked him and he had to recover but ended up on his back, all down hill stamina wise after it.

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2011/3/21/2063505/ninja-the-very-first-knee-and-kick-took-shoguns-gashttp-contenti1

Ninja saw it the same, no excuses but points to a reason for the difficulties.

a couple of pretty solid elbows to the body didn't help.

What about the head butt to the sternum, that was I think the turning point in the fight, no really Shogun looked a little soft but he is never rocked out, I think he underestimated Jones' abilities and certainly wasn't expecting a flying knee to open the fight.

I agree with all that, when watching the fight live I didn't think that knee hit real good. Second time I watched, paused and played it frame by frame, it jars his head pretty drastically, given it was so early in the fight it would of had to of hit the ko button for it to be noticeable, but I think he never was able to recover, was on his back and taking shots in the minutes after it getting worse.

Im in the camp of not putting too much weight on the ring rust/return from injury factor.

Yes there is a track record which suggests that it was an issue, but there is also the Jones track record in which he beats the pulp of any opponent put in front of him.


Im thinking Jones taking the fight right at Shogun, starting with the knee, continuing with the takedown, and continuing further with the brutal GnP were the bigger factors in making Shogun look slow. I think Jones's reach forcing Shogun to lunge with the telegraphed shots didn't help either.

Was it a different shogun then what we saw vs Machida? Im not so sure of that. Machida did nothing to wear Shogun out. In fact it was shogun pushing Lyoto against the cage and then working the leg with the knee's, and then continuing to work the leg with the leg kicks that many thought gave Rua an edge later in the fight. But certainly Lyoto was not making Rua work, nor laying a beating, the way Jones was.

Shogun was huffing minutes into the fight.

Ring rust and long layoffs are one of my pick'ems rules, long layoff likely loss.

Also guys coming off injuries, especially knee and back are usually bad bets.

Well said LA, with that being said Evans is going to be coming off of over a year with no action, that is not the position I would want to be in going into this fight

cascade_run wrote:

Well said LA, with that being said Evans is going to be coming off of over a year with no action, that is not the position I would want to be in going into this fight

Evans is going to get fucked up.

I think Evans gives Jones a good fight.

timthebim wrote:

I think Evans gives Jones a good fight.

His chin worries me the most in this fight... Jones via stanky leg

killerofchicken wrote:

timthebim wrote:

I think Evans gives Jones a good fight.

His chin worries me the most in this fight... Jones via stanky leg

Yeah I wouldnt pick him to win but i dont think its going out on a limb to far to say rashad puts up a better fight than Shogun did.

timthebim wrote:

killerofchicken wrote:

timthebim wrote:

I think Evans gives Jones a good fight.

His chin worries me the most in this fight... Jones via stanky leg

Yeah I wouldnt pick him to win but i dont think its going out on a limb to far to say rashad puts up a better fight than Shogun did.

the way Shogun fought on Sat. night i could have put up a better fight lol

killerofchicken wrote:

timthebim wrote:

killerofchicken wrote:

timthebim wrote:

I think Evans gives Jones a good fight.

His chin worries me the most in this fight... Jones via stanky leg

Yeah I wouldnt pick him to win but i dont think its going out on a limb to far to say rashad puts up a better fight than Shogun did.

the way Shogun fought on Sat. night i could have put up a better fight lol

Easy now

killerofchicken wrote:

timthebim wrote:

killerofchicken wrote:

timthebim wrote:

I think Evans gives Jones a good fight.

His chin worries me the most in this fight... Jones via stanky leg

Yeah I wouldnt pick him to win but i dont think its going out on a limb to far to say rashad puts up a better fight than Shogun did.

the way Shogun fought on Sat. night i could have put up a better fight lol

Come on. Part of the reason Im not putting too much weight in the rust factor is shogun went deeper into the fight then any of Bones's previous 5 opponents.

thats only because Shogun has a mean chin, he's never been knocked out and hardly ever gets rocked... tough sob

Shogun saying his knee was 100% is a fucking joke. He threw no kicks almost. Remember how fast and explosive he was against Machida? The reason the body shots hurt him is conditioning. The reason his conditioning sucked is his knee. I wonder if this may not be it for Shogun. Bones can toss wrestlers with journeyman talents and Ryan Bader around all he wants, Shogun at his best is/was one of the most dangerous fighters out there. That dude was no where to be found. Are we supposed to believe Bones is an order of magnitude better than anyone at LHW ever? Or that Shogun's knee makes his career suffer from BJ Pennism...? Which sounds like the easier pill to swallow?

gulp

Long lay off, hurt knee, anybody else see the out come of Jone's next fight, the only difference is Rashad is never out of shape, but will that even matter.

captain organic wrote:

killerofchicken wrote:

timthebim wrote:

killerofchicken wrote:

timthebim wrote:

I think Evans gives Jones a good fight.

His chin worries me the most in this fight... Jones via stanky leg

Yeah I wouldnt pick him to win but i dont think its going out on a limb to far to say rashad puts up a better fight than Shogun did.

the way Shogun fought on Sat. night i could have put up a better fight lol

Come on. Part of the reason Im not putting too much weight in the rust factor is shogun went deeper into the fight then any of Bones's previous 5 opponents.

It was actually Shogun's toughness which got him that far...

Shogun was huffing minutes into the fight, just look at him after the 1st Rd bell. And it isn't a "fuck this guy's tough as hell" huff, more like a "shit been a while" huff.

Also Rashad is a much more game opponent then people are giving him credit for here. As much as MMA comes down to skills and talent, match-ups also play a big role. Rashad has the wrestling to keep it on the feet, is a much quicker fighter with better footwork, and a better boxer. He also said himself he knows how to fight Jones from training with him (could be used both ways though). When the fight comes around, I'll be picking Bones, and Shad coming off an injury does factor in, but he also is probably Bones toughest fight yet, considering IMO Shogun barely showed up.

Maybe LA but Shogun has a chin I'd rank tentimes more durable than Evans has shown in the last few years. Jones KO round 1 or 2

Considering bones doesn't really throw punches as much as wicked elbows mostly from the ground, as big as he is and as small as Evans is wrestling background or not that is going to be tough for Rashad to get back to his feet, it goes to the ground and Evans is on bottom, that could be it.