Official MMA thread

[KML]

As an MMA aficionado of nearly 20 years, I've seen it all. I've always considered Royce Gracie to be the greatest of all-time although over the past few of years, Anderson Silva has made me re-consider my stance on that.

But after witnessing what I saw last night (combined with his meteoric rise over the past few years), I am convinced that Jon Jones has the potential to go down as the greatest fighter of all-time. The guy is just special...aside from being a flatout freak and arguably the most athletic and explosive fighter that the sport has ever seen.

I knew the kid was good (potentially great), but I never imagined that he would destroy Shogun as easily as he did.

Next up: Rashad Evans....

[BCeagles24]

Agreed. We talked about this awhile back. The guy is special i've been a fan for a while now.

[tdspartans]

the american version of anderson silva

[KML]

the american version of anderson silva

Yeah I've always thought he had that potential, I just wasn't sure he was ready for a challenge like Shogun just yet. Shogun is in his prime and Bones is literally just a baby...he's just 23 and has only been fighting for 3 years.

I've watched the fight multiple times now and its just amazing how effortlessly Jones destroyed one of the baddest dudes on the planet. I found myself asking "who the ____ can beat this dude?!" I don't think that this Jon Jones could beat Silva in his prime yet, but I think since Silva is in the twilight of his career, he might could beat him NOW.

But if Jones continues to progress and realize his potential and he doesn't fall into the trap that ruined Andre Arlovski or suffer the tragedy that de-railed Frank Mir, we could be witnessing the most incredible fighter in the history of the sport...and anyone that knows me knows how reluctant I am to throw around superlatives like that in this day and age when they are vastly over-used.

With his length (UFC record 84.5" reach), athleticism (greatest athlete in MMA history), explosiveness, skill, charisma, and ceiling...we truly could be witnessing a once in a lifetime talent. Like Joe Rogan said as Bones made his entrance: "the 'it' factor just broke."

[tdspartans]

rampage has no chance

[Braveheart]

rampage has no chance

?

[tdspartans]

his next fight will probably be againist rampage

[KML]

his next fight will probably be againist rampage

No...immediately after the fight, they announced that it would be Rashad Evans...who Jones used to spar and train with.

[tdspartans]

No...immediately after the fight, they announced that it would be Rashad Evans...who Jones used to spar and train with.

thats who i meant sorry..he cant hang with jones either

[Hollywood]

Jon Jones has the chance to revolutionize an entire sport. I had a few people at my pad to watch the fight, most of them don't really follow MMA as much as I do, so I explained the fight like this (prefight)- I told them imagine if you were able to watch the soccer match in which Pele became Pele. When everyone realized this guy was greatness. When MJ went from damn good player to super star, elite level. I said if Jones wins against Shogun, you're watching sports history happen. Then...the dude goes out and absolutely dominates a top 10 fighter.

I've been a huge Jones fan for awhile,even called him a top 5 P4P fighter back in August on draftcountdown's forum (was laughed at) but I still wasn't sure if he had the experience yet to beat a guy like Shogun. What he did on Saturday was jaw dropping and he will be the Tiger Woods/Mj/Gretzky of MMA.