Shogun describes Bones Jones as "too damn good" !!

UFC light heavyweight champion, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua has given his assessment on top rated up-and-comer, Jon “Bones” Jones, describing the Greg Jackson trained fighter as “too damn good”.
Speaking via Sherdog.com, Rua said:

“He is a great young fighter, too damn good, and he’s coming with everything in our division. He is very good in wrestling. I think he and Cain Velasquez are the two guys with the best wrestling in MMA today, together with Georges St. Pierre. He’s a very good wrestler, very dangerous. He’s a guy who will give a lot of people trouble.”

The pair could be on a collision course over the next few years if Jones continues to progress at the break neck speed he’s shown over the past two years. He’s next due to step back into the octagon on August 1st on the UFC on Versus 2 card against Vladimir Matyushenko

Bones is a bigger threat to him than Rampage, Evans, Couture or even a Machida rematch. Bones would be able to take him down and he is so much bigger I could see him GnP Shogun or just puffing him from making him work off his back. IF the fight happens in a year and Bones continues to improve I think he is going to be champ.

Having said that will Bones be able to keep making 205lbs as he gets older? Or will the weight cut drain him once he fills out? He is one of the biggest 205ers about and probabally still filling out.

He's said before that he'll probably move up to heavyweight as he gets older.

As for Bones being the one to dethrone Shogun, it's possible. He's probably got a better chance than any of the others.

I voted yes he will be, because utill then, outside Machida, I can not see anyone else beating him. Rampage, Evans, Lil Nog, Randy are ALL easy matchups for Shogun.

Bones is different, his takedowns look incredible so far. No one has been able to stop his takedowns including a great wrestler like Hammil and Vera who has been proven to have great takedown defence. Both were taken down with incredible ease. And then when it has reached the ground, it has just been brutal, both guys were fucked up like no else has been able to. I've said this before, but no matter how good Shogun's ground game is, there is no defence to getting elbowed and punched in the face. Jones is very long as well, he can effectively punch you from gaurd. Shogun isn't a really small LHW but he isn't big either.

As for the weight cut, I don't think it should be a problem. He is big but not overly massive. Bader is actually much bigger than he is, a few years older and can make 205 with seemingly no problems. Also, Greg Jakson's camp is excellent for overall cardio and fitness, they will help him make the cut with ease.

I fear for the 38 year old Janitor when he fights Jones.

Shogun is pretty awesome on the ground aswell as striking. Kinda like Aldo there so good at striking that people forget about their Jitz.

Shogun almost submitted Arona of his back, that omaplata was secured and any lesser grappler than Arona (which is alot of people) would have been finished there and then i feel.

Bones is amazing for his age at the moment, but i could see him in a bit of trouble against the likes of Shogun or Nog with those long limbs of his.


But im still picking Bones as the guy to beat Shogun.

I'd agree that eventually, Bones will probably be the biggest threat to Shogun, but Shogun is a different fighter off his back than Vera or Hammil. Even though Vera can fight off his back, he has a tendency to sit back in his fights and be a bit passive, something that probs didn't help him in dealing with Jones. And whilst Bones' striking is pretty visually jaw dropping, it's easy to gloss over the flaws in that part of his game. I mean IIRC he was outboxed by Stephan Bonnar in the third round in their fight. I still don't like his chances standing against Shogun at all at this point.

Ultimately, need to see more how Jones develops.

Machida is the biggest risk. Evans and Rampage will both get beaten by Shogun, as will Couture if Dana gives him an undeserved shot. Lil Nog would be a very tough fight.

Bones is a great talent, but he'll never get a shot against Shogun.

i think he is the only person at the moment apart from lil nog that can beat shogun guy has so many different tools if he can keep progressing he could become a really amazing fighter

There's a couple of fighters that could beat Shogun. It's hilarious to see people proclaiming him as unbeatable after one fight in which luck played a big part in his win. These same people were writing him off a year ago. Some of them picked Chuck Liddell to beat him!

Sorry Anfield, but luck played no part in Shogun's win whatsoever. He simply blew Machida away,

the most impression thing about Shogun's victory was how he figured out Machida's game.

he really did. He watched tonnes of tape and found the techniques that would beat him.
Machida isn't some untouchable fighter, Shogun dropped him with the EXACT same punch he hit him with in the first fight, and it was the exact same situation when Machida came in with a knee.

he figured his style out Anfield, it was no luck. I think Machida knew it too after the first fight, he looked like he was trying to grapple.

first fight:

second fight:

I though you were a Shogun fan Anfield? You seem awfull Bitter, Its like saying Evans was lucky to spark Liddell because Liddell was winning the fight untill he got his lights turned out. If you are a KO artist like Shogun... 19 wins 16 KO's Id hardly say KO.

Infact a 1st round KO is pretty much the normal result when Shogun fights!

Machida could handle a Shogun when Shogun played Machida's game, when he was patient and fought from a distance they were a 50/50 fight but Shogun just turned up the agression like the Shogun of old and it was too much for Machida to deal with.

Machida just doesnt have the power to stop Shogun rampaging forward and doing the same again, Great post Chesty that is a great comparison, he really saw holes in Machidas game and Muay Thai was going to beat Karate any day!

Anyway it just comes across as bitter to say Lucky, when you mean to punch someone and do I dont see Luck having any part of it. Infact It wasnt even 1 "lucky" shot, Shogun got into Full Mount and pounded him out.

Ive said I though Shogun was the best for years, I always put his bad preformances down to ring rust and injury. The guy is the best Lhw about now that much is hard to argue. He beat Rampage, Machida, Liddell, Lil Nog. Maby he will get a crack at Evans and Randy and I really do see him as a big favorite against either.

Anfields5thKing wrote:

Bones is a great talent, but he'll never get a shot against Shogun.

Why? Because he is too young and you think Shogun will get beaten before that or other reasons?

Shogun is clearly a very talented fighter and I could see him be an "unbeatable" for a while in the same sense as Silva and GSP, but lets not get carried away. No one has been able to keep the LHW belt for long since Liddell.

Rampage made on defence and lost it to Griffin, Griffin lost it straight away to Evans, Evans lost it Machida, and Machida made one defence before losing to Shogun, the same fighter he defended it against first time round. Its difficult to keep the title at LHW.

I honestly don't think Lil Nog can beat Shogun though, outside BJJ he isn't better in an aspect of MMA. His boxing is probably sharper and more crisp, but Shogun's muay thai> than Lil Nogs boxing.

I think anfield just likes to stir things up a little bit, if that was luck then the majority on fights fought in MMA must be "lucky"...

Bones is going to be a great fighter in time and he has to fight and beat some top contenders before he is considered as a title threat... I hope Shogun defends his title many times I love the guys style, he's very aggressive and is always looking to finish fights, which seems to be fading a little in MMA at the moment.

Interesting results so far, alot people seem to think very highly of Bones and 7 of which have him to be the guy to beat Shogun.

Some think that Bones wont be able to beat Shogun, and one person thinks Shogun will lose to someone else before/if Bones gets a title shot. (No prizes for guessing who)

"It has been revealed that exciting UFC light heavyweight up-and-comer, Jon Jones turned down the chance to step into the octagon with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira when the promotion was notified about Forrest Griffin’s injury.

According to the report by Yahoo!Sports.com, the man from New York explained to Dana White and his team that he hadn’t been in the gym since he defeated Brandon Vera at UFC on Versus 1 on March 21st in Broomfield, Colorado."

Bones Ducked Nog then

Eh still, he is very young and Nog is on superb form I dont really blame him. Still got the same high hopes for Bones but maby a year is a little ambitious to think of him as a title contender.

I think it's kind of understandable. Nogueira is a pretty bad match-up for him - very dangerous standing and Bones would have a hard time doing anything to him on the ground, and he's still only been training 2 years or something crazy.

He is a little too young to say that is "ducking" its a smart move from him. There is no need to rush in and fight one of the best LHWs in the world so soon (even though id give him a good chance against Lil Nog) he needs to be smart about his career and take it step by step. The Janitor is ok but Id like to see more of a step up after that.

Thats not ducking in my book, no top fighter would take a fight against Nog calibre on such short notice especially when they havent been training or in the gym for months

Its kindof like Randy and Rampage turning down to fight Crocop in Oz, that may have been shorter notice but Randy was in shape and had just wiped the floor with Coleman 2 weeks beforehand.

wise decision or not...

it doesnt change the fact that he didn't take the fight for fear of losing to Nog.

he is afraid he might lose all his hype.

its the Lashley situation again.

The_Axe_Emperor wrote:Sorry Anfield, but luck played no part in Shogun's win whatsoever. He simply blew Machida away,

He was losing the fight and caught him with a punch when he was off balance. Luck played a big part.

ChelseaQuinsfan wrote:

Anfields5thKing wrote:

Bones is a great talent, but he'll never get a shot against Shogun.

Why? Because he is too young and you think Shogun will get beaten before that or other reasons?

I honestly don't think Lil Nog can beat Shogun though, outside BJJ he isn't better in an aspect of MMA. His boxing is probably sharper and more crisp, but Shogun's muay thai> than Lil Nogs boxing.

Because he'll have to face either Silva, or Machida again, before he gets to Bones. And both are better fighters than Shogun and will beat him.

Shogun's Muay Thai is not better than Nog's boxing. Nog's boxing is the best in MMA. Rua's Muay Thai is very good but it's not on the level of Anderson Silva or Jose Aldo.

manschesthair_utd wrote:the most impression thing about Shogun's victory was how he figured out Machida's game.

he really did. He watched tonnes of tape and found the techniques that would beat him.
Machida isn't some untouchable fighter, Shogun dropped him with the EXACT same punch he hit him with in the first fight, and it was the exact same situation when Machida came in with a knee.

he figured his style out Anfield, it was no luck. I think Machida knew it too after the first fight, he looked like he was trying to grapple.

When he landed the punch that knocked him down Machida wasn't throwing a knee. He was throwing a punch. So your little theory has no basis.

Shogun claimed after the fight that he'd managed to read the parries and that is what he'd picked up from the tape. Then after seeing the finish he changed his story to claim he knew Machida would drop his hand.

Machida took Shogun down to prove that he was better standing, which he proved in the first fight, and grappling.

Was great to hear Rogan's completely biased commentary again, what a cock.


Don't be surprised if Machida runs out his contract and walks from the UFC. Apparently he's extremely pissed off about how he's been treated since 104. Can't blame him.

rudeboyben84 wrote:I though you were a Shogun fan Anfield? You seem awfull Bitter, Its like saying Evans was lucky to spark Liddell because Liddell was winning the fight untill he got his lights turned out. If you are a KO artist like Shogun... 19 wins 16 KO's Id hardly say KO.

Infact a 1st round KO is pretty much the normal result when Shogun fights!

Machida could handle a Shogun when Shogun played Machida's game, when he was patient and fought from a distance they were a 50/50 fight but Shogun just turned up the agression like the Shogun of old and it was too much for Machida to deal with.

Machida just doesnt have the power to stop Shogun rampaging forward and doing the same again, Great post Chesty that is a great comparison, he really saw holes in Machidas game and Muay Thai was going to beat Karate any day!

Anyway it just comes across as bitter to say Lucky, when you mean to punch someone and do I dont see Luck having any part of it. Infact It wasnt even 1 "lucky" shot, Shogun got into Full Mount and pounded him out.

I have a lot of time for Shogun, i've met him a couple of times. Generally a nice guy. His conduct since 104 has been quiet shameful though. He's redeveloped the ego that made a lot of people dislike him when he was at Chute Boxe. Shame, because when he is being humble he's a great guy.

Evans was lucky to spark Chuck. And if you go find the threads about it on 606 you'll see that most people said that.

The punch that put him down was lucky. and the fact that he fell into full mount was lucky. The finish was brilliant and all credit goes to Shogun for that finish.

Shogun WAS LOSING the fight when he was being aggressive. Muay Thai didn't beat Karate at all. What complete shit.

redmeanie77 wrote:Interesting results so far, alot people seem to think very highly of Bones and 7 of which have him to be the guy to beat Shogun.

Some think that Bones wont be able to beat Shogun, and one person thinks Shogun will lose to someone else before/if Bones gets a title shot. (No prizes for guessing who)

I haven't voted in it so you best get your prize ready.