Who's next for Bones Jones?

I wouldn't blow that load this early, let them work their way up seperately.

Because a loss to the other is the end of either fighter's career?

The UFC never usually makes these logical match ups. Dana is already on record saying he doesn't want a Cain Dos Santos fight. I was shocked when Thiago Silva Lyoto Machida was made.

This fight is pretty much perfect. Two big strong athletic undefeated* wrestling standouts.

Nah it wouldn't be the end of their careers, and is a good matchup, but why mess with their rise

Quote :

Nah it wouldn't be the end of their careers, and is a good matchup, but why mess with their rise

If it was two years ago, and LHW still had players in the title picture like Dan Henderson, Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva, Keith Jardine, Brandon Vera and the other guys who are essentially out of the mix now, then I would be cool with slow tracking these guys, but considering that beyond three fights(Nog Forrest, Rashad Rampage, Shogun Machida) the division is fairly empty. The division is in need of new blood at the top. Thiago Silva and Luiz Cane(both coming off losses) represent the only talent in the division that doesn't date back to the middle of the last decade from the first TUF years and Pride/Japan, and both are Brazilian MT brawler types, where Bones and Bader are athletic American wrestlers.

Wolf it is better to keep them seperate from a business stand point. If one of the guys is #2 and the other is getting a title shot, it leaves whomever for the next PPV fight at that weight class. That is why we won't see it and why DW won't match up Cain and JDS yet. It is all about the money with MMA orgs. They will milk each fighter for what they can. That is what yhe UFC has always done. I was shocked when Machida and Thiago fought. I still count Bones as undefeated to so don't go there. Any other real fan would too. 2 undefeated fighters in a division is better than 1.

I understand all of that BBC. I don't know if this is as comparable to the situation at HW though as much as it is the Thiago-Machida situation. HW's lack of depth creates an environment where prospects are instant contenders, with LHW, there is a higher bell curve that prospects face before they become relevant in the title picture, making this fight make more sense.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

I understand all of that BBC. I don't know if this is as comparable to the situation at HW though as much as it is the Thiago-Machida situation. HW's lack of depth creates an environment where prospects are instant contenders, with LHW, there is a higher bell curve that prospects face before they become relevant in the title picture, making this fight make more sense.

I agree, but you know DW and Joe Silva

They knew Machida was the chosen one in that fight

I'd rather see them pitted against some of the top old gaurd

I could make the case that Jones is the chosen one here.

DW said they plan on moving Jones up closely, but still progressively. If he keeps winning then a title shot would come next year.

I'd think with a solid enough win he could be a fight away, it might sound crazy, but if he fought somesome high enough, it's possible

Jones is only 22 and is 6'5, he said in the past he will probably have to move to HW. He has a big frame to work with, should be interesting to see how he developes over the years.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

I could make the case that Jones is the chosen one here.

Jones has been the chosen one since UFC 100 on another board a little smaller than this I'm on. It's getting tough not to come around though based off of what he is giving me. A lot of those other dudes are riding the I told you so train so hard right now.

Vera is a good win. That said, he should have to pay his dues. Skipping right to Shad or Nog would be premature IMO. Silva is the next logical fight

I was so glad to see Brandon Vera get his ass beat...IMO Vera is one of the bigger D-bags in the UFC.

I think an AWESOME fight would be Lil Nog vs. Bones Jones

Me too, could see, I like both fighters though so wouldn't want to see one of em lose


Does anyone else not want to see Bones go up to HW someday?

tolivendiewithLA wrote:

Me too, could see, I like both fighters though so wouldn't want to see one of em lose


Does anyone else not want to see Bones go up to HW someday?

I don't think Jones will have a choice. At 22 and 6'4 or 6'5 he has a big frame. That cut might not be so easy in 5 years.

All true, but he'll still be an undersized HW the way things are going, he'd be a perfect CW, personally I'd love to see him just stay at LHW.

tolivendiewithLA wrote:

All true, but he'll still be an undersized HW the way things are going, he'd be a perfect CW, personally I'd love to see him just stay at LHW.

Yeah it all depends on how he does in the future, who is still around in 5 years. Brock, Carwin and Mir will be gone or over the hill by that time. Machida and Rampage will be old. Who knows at 22 it is really impossible to say how the future will be for this kid.

Even if Brock and the other monsters are gone, the way the HW division is changing, guys are all gonna be cutting to 265.

tolivendiewithLA wrote:

Even if Brock and the other monsters are gone, the way the HW division is changing, guys are all gonna be cutting to 265.

Yeah I wonder how much weight Jones cuts now, how big he will be in 5 years. If he can get to the 250lb range with his speed and wrestling he might stand a chance. Who knows, maybe he can stay lean enough over the years to make the cut. Just seems like it will be very difficult for him when he gets older.

He is one of the bigger LHWs now, but I just can't picture him gettng as big as some of those monsters.

tolivendiewithLA wrote:

He is one of the bigger LHWs now, but I just can't picture him gettng as big as some of those monsters.

Give him 2 years and let him fight Anderson Silva at 225lbs. Book it.
Best case senario is when in a couple years after he has his run at LHW they make a CW divsion or just up the LHW limit.

Bones athleticism is literally unmatched in the HW division. Brock is an impressive athlete but he has nowhere near the overall fighting skill that Bones already has at 22 years old. He's not even close to his prime yet and when he gets there I think he would be a dominant force at HW.