Jon Jones Versus Glover Teixeira

Ladies and gentlemen, give some props to Jon Jones for being the champion in one of the deepest divisions in the sport.  One reason why Jones is considered among the sport's best fighters pound-for-pound, is he has been able to prove himself against some fantastic competition.  Just look at some of the men he's defeated:

Rashad Evans

Rampage Jackson

Lyoto Machida

Vitor Belfort

Shogun Rua

Chael Sonnen

Ryan Bader

Vladimir Matyushenko

Brandon Vera

Matt Hamill

Don't give me grief about Hamill.  Yes, I know that he stands as the only living man with a recognized win over Jones, but Jones was manhandling him prior to the disqualification.  The 12-6 rule is dumb.  For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, I am referring to the rule that prohibits elbow strikes that are thrown straight down with the point of the elbow.  The 12 refers to the number 12 on a standard clock.  The 6, then, stands for the number 6 on a clock.  Jones was disqualified for landing a number of these blows on Hamill.

But back to my point.  Just look at those guys.  They're beasts!  Even the lower-tiered guys like Bader, Vera and Matyushenko run through most guys outside of the top 25.  Yet Jones handled them with ease.

Some of you may have noticed that I didn't put Alexander Gustaffson's mug up there. I did that for a reason.  Opinion is divided concerning whether or not Jones deserved his victory over Alexander.  Personally, I thought Jones did enough to win, but it definitely wasn't easy.

Saturday night isn't going to be easy, either.  Glover Teixeira is a monster.  Chuck Liddell's long-time trainer, John Hackleman, said he's never held pads for someone who hit harder than Glover.  Follow that to its logical conclusion.  Glover punches harder than Chuck!  And Chuck is one of the most murderous strikers the sport has ever seen!  How crazy is that?

Now I first heard about Glover Teixeira when Ramieu Sokoudjou burst onto the scene in 2007 with back-to-back knockout wins over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Little Nog) and Ricardo Arona (Man, whatever happened to him?).  I knew about Glover because he was, at the time, the only man to have beaten Sokoudjou.  Sokoudjou looked so good demolishing those top-ten guys, I just couldn't help but wonder who the heck could have beaten him. And not only had Glover beaten him, he had knocked him out.  

But Glover was a man of mystery.  For several years, he barely fought. In fact, he knocked out Sokoudjou in 2006.  He didn't fight again until 2008.  He fought twice that year and won both fights by knockout.  But then he only fought once in 2009.  It boggled the mind!  How could a man with such potential spend so little time fighting?

Finally, in 2010, he started fighting regularly.  He fought and won 4 times that year, and he finished 3 of his 4 opponents.  In 2011 he fought 5 times, and won every fight by knockout or submission.  And he beat some good names while he was at it.  Marcio Cruz is a world champion jiu-jitsu fighter who once beat former Frank Mir nearly to death.  Glover knocked him out.  Marvin Eastman holds a win over Rampage Jackson.  Glover knocked him out. Ricco Rodriguez is the former UFC heavyweight champion.  Glover knocked him out, too.

That's when he was finally invited to the big leagues.  The UFC. He's gone 5-0 since and only former champion Rampage Jackson was able to go the distance.

He's clearly ready to face Jon Jones.

Or is he?

Coming off his toughest fight ever, Jones is going to have a chip on his shoulder.  He will be looking to silence the critics.  Putting the stamp on Glover would do just that.  There's a part of me that believes Jones took Alexander lightly.  After all, he had beaten bigger names with far less effort.  He won't be taking Glover lightly.

A motivated Jon Jones is one of the scariest fighters on the planet. If you doubt me, scroll up and take a second look at the leviathans he has already trounced.  And while Glover has looked great, he has never faced a man like Jones.  No one fights like Jones.  No one.  No one has Jones's combination of athleticism, height, reach, skill, unorthodox style and true grit (John Wayne would have been proud of the way he gutted through his match with Alexander).

But Jones has faced hard hitters.  Rashad, Rampage, Machida, Belfort, Bader, Rua, Vera, Hamill--all those guys can knock you dead with one shot.  Jones had no problems.

Jones has also faced good wrestlers.  Rashad Evans, Chael Sonnen, Ryan Bader and Matt Hamill are fantastic wrestlers.  Jones had no problems (other than the DQ against Hamill...).

The only thing he hasn't faced is a world champion jiu-jitsu specialist.  But Glover isn't a world champion jiu-jitsu specialist (though he did beat up a couple of them...).

I predict a great fight.  These guys have the potential to bring out the best in one another. But I think Jones will use his reach (both with his hands and with his feet) and his unorthodox style to keep Glover off balance and out of rhythm. 

Jon Jones by 5 Round Unanimous Decision.

Until next time.

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