Jon Jones Defeats Brandon Vera

This was a breakout performance from Jon Jones. Lots of people thought Bradnon Vera was too experienced for Jones to handle. After all, Vera is now acclimated to this weight class, so he’s going to start living up to all that potential he has.

Or…not.

Sadly, Vera has become the victim of his own hype. In his initial run as a heavyweight (which feels like 10 years ago) he promised to get both the heavyweight and light heavyweight title. He also called out Chuck Liddell, back when Chuck was still dangerous. I think Brandon threatened to punch-out God too, but…I can’t be sure about that.

Vera is still a great striker. Nobody can take that away from him. But then again, you don’t have to. Jon decided to not deal with it at all. It was a smart move. Vera forgot that Jones has the ability to fling his opponents to the mat from almost any angle. All he needs to do is grab a hold of you.

Joe advertised Vera as being great off his back. Mike Goldberg said that Vera is a better grappler than a striker. Just what fight were they watching? Furthermore, what fights HAVE they been watching? We’ve already seen Vera get pounded out by Fabricio Wedrum. Here, his only offense was an illegal up-kick that cost him a point. To me, Vera looks like he needs some work developing his guard.

Joe said that Brandon was being “sneaky” about getting his legs around Jon’s back. Joe figured Vera was setting up a submission in stealthy fashion. Well, there’s a big difference between being sneaky and just being lazy. Brandon may have some moves off his back. But, when you’re fighting Jon Jones you need to be as explosive as he is or else you’re in trouble.

After watching this match, there’s not much to criticize about Jon Jones. It looks like he’s gained the composure to not throw any of those dastardly 12-6 elbows. He’s got wicked ground and pound. Not many people can throw a sleep-inducing elbow like he can. Vera will be nursing that goose egg on his cheek for days.

The only question mark surrounding Jones is his cardio. He looked slow in the third round of the Stephan Bonnar fight. He still won. Since then, he hasn’t had to deal with the third round. However he’s going to have problems when he uses all his energy and his opponent is still standing.

He’s only 22 (wow), which means his body is still growing. He could outgrow this weight class. Anthony Johnson is another guy with tons of explosiveness. But, we saw Johnson wilt in his fight against Josh Koscheck. Johnson, like Jones, has to cut a lot of weight.

Obviously, there’s no need to talk about Jon moving up to heavyweight yet. Unlike Johnson, Jones hasn’t suffered a loss (not counting the DQ to Hamill) at his chosen weight class. The really irony about this match is that Jon has now usurped Vera as the guy who can potentially win a belt in two different weight classes.

Just don’t get caught up in the hype Jon…or eat too much ice cream.

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