We are quick to anoint them and quick to watch them fall. It doesn’t take long for a MMA prospect to vault onto the top 10 pound for pound lists. A few impressive wins and people will start talking about the Hall of Fame. If you’re Brandon Vera, you’ll even convince yourself that it’s not too early to talk about winning two UFC titles. Sometimes it’s not as easy as it looks to live up to your potential. Other times, with guys like Jose Aldo and Cain Velasquez, a fighter is everything he’s supposed to be. The latest in a long line of can’t miss prospects is Jon “Bones” Jones. The question many fight fans are asking this week? Which kind of prospect will Jones become?
I’m usually one of the last to buy into the hype. But I remember seeing Jones for the first time live against Stephan Bonnar and agreeing with everyone else on media row-we had just seen a potential champion. So far matchmaker Joe Silva has been very careful with Jones, giving him time to progress and develop his formidable natural talents. This is a fighter who was practically self taught until joining Greg Jackson’s team last year. Considering his dearth of experience, his success so far is mind blowing.
Although many mocked the choice of Vladimir Matyushenko, the Russian veteran is actually the perfect test for Jones. Many want to propel the young fighter immediately into main events-even here on Bloody Elbow I’ve seen fans clamoring for Jones to fight everyone from Anderson Silva to Brock Lesnar. As his teammate Brian Stann told our own Luke Thomas, Jones isn’t there yet:
Rashad Evans would beat Jon hands down. Rashad has been in the sport a lot longer. I think he’s just now hitting his prime. He’s so focused mentally on training and evolving. He’s able to put all his skills together now much more easily than he used to. And his wrestling style of fighting where he continually takes someone down is the most cardio taxing style there is in our sport. Most of the time, unless it’s a fight like my last fight, you have to continue to take someone down. Not many guys have the cardio or mental toughness to do that, but that’s where Rashad is right now. As for Jon, he’s still so young. I really hope they don’t rush him, because he can really be something special in two years and be one of the top fighters in the world pound-for-pound.
More after the jump.
Since MMA fans are a sensitive lot, that will be seen in some circles as “hating on Jones. It’s nothing of the kind. In fact, Stann believes Jones will be special-he just needs the time to get there:
I train with Jon everyday. It’s great. He’s a kid. He just turned 23. He’s got every physical tool you can have in this sport, so there’s not a lot I can offer him there. It’s more on the mental side where I try to help him out and just be a friend to him. When you’re that young and that good, there are a lot of negative people that try to invade his life. But being in Albuquerque and being with Greg Jackson’s camp where we all look out for each other, we’re able to help him exclude himself from that. It’s special to train with a guy where every move works for him. But he’s still very raw. He hasn’t even reached ten percent of his potential. When he learns a new move, five minutes later he is using it.
At 39, Matyushenko has a dozen years in the game. He’s got a moxie, a veteran presence you just don’t get from fighters like Matt Hammill. Vlad spent lots of time on the mat with Randy Couture and Frank Trigg and the other Real American Wrestlers. If anyone has the kind of tricks up his sleeves to beat Jones, it’s Matyushenko. Of course, even the Russian doesn’t quite seem to believe this is a fight he can win without a good deal of luck. He told MMA Weekly that he just needed to keep the pressure on Jones and hope for the best:
“I’ve watched his fights and tried to find holes in his game,” said Matyushenko. “But it’s very hard, because he’s very unpredictable. He doesn’t have a particular style where he is consistently doing certain things. There are a few things he does, but he changes from left-hand stance to right-hand stance and just does some crazy stuff. But I think in order to win, I have to keep him backing up, keep the pressure on.”
To answer the question posed in the headline, the response is yes. If he can survive a 10 inch reach disadvantage, a distinct difference in speed and quickness, and the unpredictable nature of Jones’s attack there’s no reason Matyushenko can’t win. If he can get the fight to the ground at least once in two of the fight’s three rounds, there’s no telling what the judges will decide. So, though the answer is yes, it’s a qualified yes. As “Bones” Jones himself explained, it will be no easy task:
“Right now, I feel sharper than ever,” said Jones. “My ground game from the bottom, and ground passes from top, boxing, kicks are more proper, going back to my wrestling. I just feel sharp all around.”