If you weren’t aboard the Jon Jones Hype Train before Saturday, we can still make some room up here for you. After thwarting off a car burglar in the afternoon, Jones showed up to the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, and dished out a beatdown to UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. The accomplishment is made more impressive by the fact that it was Jones’ fourteenth professional bout and just under three years since making his fight debut in 2008.
What was the high spot in this bout?
The manner in which Jon Jones dismantled an elite fighter like “Shogun” Rua. Over the course of three rounds, “Shogun” managed all of 11 successful strikes.
Where do these guys go from here?
Jones is already scheduled to fight former teammate and training partner Rashad Evans, though a date for that bout has not been set. But fans are already looking past the fight with Evans and debating the merits of a superfight with Anderson Silva and trying to predict just how soon Jones will move up to heavyweight. With the victory, Jones became the youngest champion in UFC history, and the seventh man to hold the light heavyweight title since 2007.
There are already calls for Rua to drop down to middleweight, but that talk seems premature given the course of “Shogun’s” career. It is pertinent, however, to have concerns over his future given his performance after a third surgery on his knees.
Watch it now, later, or never?
If you haven’t watched this already, MMA might not be the right sport for you.