BEAUMONT, TX, September, 21, 2011 – It’s that time again for another TXMMA Fight Fan Breakdown! This time we go deep into the heart of East Texas as Beaumont’s Jordan Burton give us his take on the UFC 135 main event taking place in Denver this coming weekend between UFC Light Heavyweight World Champion Jon “Bones” Jones and former champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
Heading into the bout, the defending champion has won his last five in a row in dominating fashion, including his last fight against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, where he devastated the former champion to win the coveted title. While he’s now being touted as a top-three fighter P4P by some people, others say you’ve got to defend the belt to truly be considered a real champ, much less one of the best in the world. With this bout, “Bones,” will get a chance to claim that status with a victory over “Rampage,” a former UFC and PRIDE champion himself who’s not quite ready to fade into the spotlight after two terrific wins over his own against Matt Hamill and Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida. All in all, this sets up a very intriguing main event at UFC 135 this Saturday night.
As you can see by the televised interview below, there’s a little bit of a rivalry with this fight with Rampage doing his best to get into the champion’s head prior to Saturday night.
UFC 135 Pre-Fight Interview with Jon Jones and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
Based on this interview, who do YOU think will win this fight?
It’s time for Jordan to give us his thoughts on this fight. Read through his analysis and chime in with your own through our comments section. We’ll see who’s right come fight night!
Fan Perspective on UFC 135 Main Event: Jon “Bones” Jones versus Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
By Jordan Burton III
The Jon “Bones” Jones versus Quinton “Rampage” Jackson matchup is a highly intriguing fight to me. Personally, I’m torn on my pick between who I’d like to win and who I believe, logically, will win this main event. Plus there’s another factor called a gut feeling that I’m trying to push to the side so I can this one based on what makes sense.
Psychologically, I give Rampage Jackson the definitive edge going into this fight. During the UFC: Battle at the Bayou telecast, commentator Joe Rogan interviewed both these fighters and I noticed an interesting dialogue as well as body language. Jones looked uneasy, wasn’t as articulate, and even admitted “You got into my head …” to his opponent!
That is something that didn’t sit well with me.
If the fight were to happen that night, I’m picking “Rampage” Jackson!
That gut feeling I mentioned earlier makes me think that in a 25-minute fight, Jackson could catch Jones with “something” and knock him out. However strong that feeling though, logic tells me it’s probably not happening.
Bottom Line – When it comes down to fight night, I think the ELITE training staff of Jones will have him PSYCHOLOGICALLY, physically, mentally, and emotionally in PEAK CONDITION to fight “Rampage” Jackson. I believe Jackson is a better boxer in close quarters with his short, salvos; but, he’s going to have to get close enough to Jones while paying a minimal price. That’s easier said than done. Jones is very good with a varied striking skill set at a distance and he’s even good infighting with his clinch. Combine that with his takedowns from the clinch and better ground fighting skills and he’s going to be a handful for Jackson.
I’m picking Jones to win by a dominating Unanimous Decision.
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