White : Jones may face winner of Minotoro vs Bader.

http://mmajunkie.com/news/20190/jon-jones-next-move-not-determined-until-dust-settles-in-ufc-light-heavyweight-division.mma

Jon Jones' next move on hold until "dust settles" in UFC's 205-pound division
by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Aug 06, 2010 at 12:30 pm ET
Depending on who you talk to, UFC light heavyweight prospect Jon Jones (11-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) is either progressing nicely on his path to what seems like certain superstar status or already prepared for a title shot.

Count UFC president Dana White among the former.

White is sticking to his "top eight" assessment first issued in the days prior to Jones' recent UFC on Versus 2 drubbing of Vladimir Matyushenko and says Jones' next move might not be determined until the rest of the 205-pound division has time to shake out.

"I see [Jones] fighting top eight guys in the world now," White said on Thursday. "He jumped right up in the top eight."

Jones needed less that two minutes to dispatch of Matyushenko, a 13-year veteran of the sport. And impressively, rather then his dynamic striking, it was Jones' own grappling prowess that proved the difference against the former international wrestling stud.

Jones' performances seem to get better each time he steps into the cage, and with Matyushenko, Brandon Vera, Jake O'Brien, Stephan Bonnar, Andre Gusmao and really, even Matt Hamill (who was awarded a dubious disqualification win over Jones) proving less-than-effective, the obvious question regarding "Bones" is, "What's next?"

White said there is no obvious answer.

Lyoto Machida and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson are slated to meet in November. Forrest Griffin, Rich Franklin, Thiago Silva are all on the shelf with injuries. But there is one matchup in September that White feels like may provide a suitable foe: the UFC 119 clash between Ryan Bader and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

"We'll see who wins between Bader and 'Little Nog,' White said. "[Jones] could fight one of them.

"The problem is right now everybody's fighting in that division. When the smoke clears and the dust settles, we'll see who's where, and we'll start picking fights for 'Bones' Jones.

"One more fight, and then I could see him fighting top five."





Winner of Nogueira vs Bader is top five already. Either fight would be huge. Jones would be title ready after this bout if he comes away with a win. Nog has a tough road ahead if he wants a title shot.(Bader for that matter too)

Minotoro is running a Wrestlers Gauntlet here. Next thing you know Kevin Randleman will step out of a time Machine and track him down.

sounds good for jones i know you love him wolf just like king mo!

If Bader wins then that will be a fascinating match up between two rising prospects/contenders.

i do love darth vader though!

How huge would it be for Nogueria's legacy to be the first to truly defeat both Bader and Jones?

it would be huge but never gonna happen.

josh200612 wrote:

it would be huge but never gonna happen.

It's certainly not impossible

Nog will take out Bader. Don't see him beating Jones though. Certainly not impossible

I actually see him giving Jones a major problem on the ground. The way Jones left his arms out for Vera won't fly with Minotoro. He has better technical striking than Jones and he is hard to knock out. I could see him snagging a sub on those long limbs of Bones.