FanPost

The UFC 178 Shuffle: Jones vs Cormier

The Light Heavyweight title picture just took a detour from its intended course, from Jon Jones vs Alexander Gustafsson, to Daniel Cormier vs Jon Jones. Jones has said that he wanted this fight from the start, and as a fan, so did I. The big three at the top of the light heavyweight division, Jones, Cormier and Gustafsson, is likely going to be where fan interest is drawn to over the next year. I don’t imagine any other 205s will do enough to get their name into the number one contender equation anytime soon, until the dust settles between these three - I think Chris Weidman will be in the title talk sooner than anyone else. Let’s just imagine a few hypothetical scenario’s this shuffle can provide fans. In a perfect Jon Jones world, Jones beats Cormier, vacates his title, and moves up to heavyweight, dethrones Cormier’s training partner, and heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez - its possible, but likely not so straight forward.
Cormier adds elements to the light heavyweight division no one, including Jones, brings. Olympic gold medal experience, wisdom that comes with age (along with being in his physical prime), the mentality of an undefeated fighter (Jones is also undefeated, only loss is a DQ), but what sets Cormier apart, is a solid resume with dominant wins over Josh Barnett, Antonio Silva, Roy Nelson, and Frank Mir. Jones wins are over much smaller opponents, most who have competed at middleweight. I think Cormier’s wrestling, trumps the reach advantage both Jones and Gustafsson have on him. Cormier could potentially rule the division, don’t forget he exited Strikeforce as the Heavyweight champ.
Gustafsson is now the odd man out, forced to the sidelines which is not all that bad. He will have time to watch the championship bout, train for the champ who will surely have some additional wear and tear after the UFC 178 main event, and step in as the number one challenger to face whomever wins, and pose a legit threat. Gustafsson is also a young, confident fighter, who has time on his side. He has shown improvements since he lost to Phil Davis, to improve his ground game. Against Cormier though, his takedown defence will be no issue at all; I think Cormier would toss around the big Swede like a toddler with a Raggity-Anne doll.
So back to reality, Jones reminds me of a bigger version of GSP in his prime, a truly gifted fighter, with unmatched athleticism in the division. Jones fighter IQ is arguably the best, finds a way every time to win, and is also still improving with every outing. He is also still growing, when he hits 30, I doubt even if he wanted to, he would no longer be able to cut to 205. That said, Gustafsson really pushed him in their first fight and I believe was the wake up call he needed to not get complacent. I wasn’t as excited for the "rematch of the year" because I thought that Jones would have a better outing, and beat Gustafsson in a more convincing fashion, even finish him this time around. My prediction for Jones vs Cormier, is Cormier gets a hard fought win, with his wrestling being the deciding factor. We all saw how Gustafsson, who neutralized the size advantage Jones had over previous opponents, was able to take down Jones, with his boxing background no less. Imagine what a big wrestler with Olympic wrestling will do to Jones takedown defence.