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Jones looked like he never even bothered to take his motor out of first gear on Saturday, and when it was all said and done, he became the first man to submit Rampage Jackson since 2001. Jones turned the first defense of his light heavyweight crown ...
In the end, the UFC 135 main event between Quinton Jackson and Jon Jones couldn't have gone down any better. Had Jones waltzed through Rampage as most unimaginative people had assumed, it would have played too close to our expectations to be anything special -- Jones' star would have continued to rise, while Jackson's would have begun to tank.
But that's not what happened. Jackson gave the champ a good fight, and both guys look better afterward because nothing came easy. And for once it's fairly clear what's to happen next. Jones will take on his erstwhile teammate Rashad Evans, and Rampage will likely resurface in Japan. He did a full-court press lobby job on Dana White before the postfight newser to get a spot on the Japan card, slated for February for a rematch with Mauricio Rua. Should Rua lose to Dan Henderson, that's a very likely happening. The winner of Henderson/Rua will get the winner of Evans/Jones. It's that simple.
Yet the subtle thing that Jackson did in Denver was to make Jones look slightly more vincible (ever so slightly). He never let Jones get into a true rhythm like he was allowed to do in recent fights with Ryan Bader and Shogun Rua. If Jones is truly the smooth embodiment of R&B while in the cage (as he professes), then Rampage made the record skip a couple of times. This doubles as a feat. And if there's ever been a more gracious loser than Rampage, the world has yet to meet him. Just as when he lost to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86, Rampage ladled out the praise for Jones, calling him the real deal, before laying down his intentions to imbibe as the night takes him.
ESPN.com Evans/Jones is finally on. There's nothing linear about Rashad Evans and title shots, but we can presume -- hopefully without jinxing anything -- that he is finally going to get in there with Jones and settle this thing. You have to wonder if the belt at this point is second to the idea of beating Jones, who is the defending Bane of His Existence. If there's one thing working for Evans, it's familiarity, and not necessarily with Jones. Remember, Evans was an underdog for much of his career and flourished in the role. He'll find himself with a plus sign before his odds in this one, too.
A: That's what his wife wants, but "retirement" is such an unbecoming word for a competitor. Hughes might just sort of drift into the backdrop and never resurface in the Octagon again, and that would better suit his style. But Royce Gracie desperately wants to avenge that UFC 60 loss, and one of Hughes' hobbies is collecting Gracies and leaving them in less than mint condition.
A: In a word, no. Gomi will get to fight on the UFC in Japan card in February, just as Yoshihiro Akiyama will. Given the circumstances, he's safe. But while a game plan of winging big rights might work against short-armed Tyson Griffin, it's particularly futile against a guy with a reach advantage such as Nate Diaz. That was a tailor-made disaster.
A: If he'd went out there and superman-punched Rob Broughton into the smelling salts like he did Stefan Struve, we'd be talking about Travis Browne right now. After winning a decision, we're talking about not talking about Travis Browne right now.
A: The only thing louder than the boos raining down on Jones were the boos raining down on Rashad Evans when they brought him in the cage postfight. Why the hate? It probably goes deeper than a small space can manage, but suffice to say it's something like the thin line between confidence and cockiness. Swagger has always been a red flag to suburbia.
A: His gas tank was running on empty at the end of the first round. By the third, he was outside of his vehicle signaling for help. It was brutal to watch the in-between, and there's a good chance that the UFC parts ways with Big Ben, who is 1-2 in his last three and looking a little older (read: a lot older) than 29 years old.
As always, the MMA stock ticker keeps on ticking. Here's a look at whose worth is swelling and whose is taking a nosedive after UFC 135.
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