Tag Archives: Octagon

UFC 159: Jon “Bones” Jones vs. Chael Sonnen

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Tale of the Tape:

This Saturday (April 27th) at 10pm UFC 159 will feature Jon “Bones” Jones vs. Chael Sonnen at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.

“Bones” Jones is simply the best in the business right now when it to the light heavyweight division. Jones will be looking to stay on top of the UFC world with a decisive win over Sonnen.

Sonnen meanwhile, will be looking to save his UFC career against Jones, after he suffered two defeats at the hands, more or less knees, of Anderson “Spider” Silva in past Pay-Per-View events. Here’s a rundown of the fighters and what to expect from the Octagon:

“Bones” Jones: Country: USA Age: 25 Height: 6’4″ Weight: 205lbs Reach: 84.5 inches MMA Record: 17-1 TKO: 8 Submissions: 6  Strength: Wrestling Stance: Unorthodox Striking Accuracy: 52% Takedown Defense: 100% Title Defenses: 5 Last 5 Fights: 5-0

Jones has become one of the dominate fighters in the UFC in just a few years time. “Bones” began his ascension to the top after defeating Mauricio “Shogun” Rua for the Light Heavyweight title in UFC 128 back in March of 2011.

That same year (2011) Jones would successfully defend his title against the likes of Quentin “Rampage” Jackson and Lyoto Machida, both by way of submission. Then in 2012, Jones again defended his belt twice with wins against Rashad Evans by unanimous decision, and Vitor Belfort by way of submission.

Jones’ resume is no doubt impressive. When you combine his unmatched ground game and his hard hitting Muay Thai fighting style, Jones would appear to be an unstoppable force in the UFC.

Chael Sonnen: Country: USA Age: 36 Height: 6’1″ Weight: 205lbs Reach: 73.5 inches MMA Record: 27-12-1 TKO: 7 Submissions: 4 Strength: Vale tudo/Wrestling Stance: Southpaw Title Shots: 3 Title Results: 0-3 ( 0-2 UFC, 0-1 in the WEC) Last 5 Fights: 3-2

While Sonnen has had success in his MMA career, his shortcomings in two title bouts with Silva has left the fighters career a bit stale. Sonnen who is known for his brash comments towards opponents, has actually applauded Jones and believes he is the best fighter in the light heavyweight division.

Given Sonnen’ track record of trash talking and then taking a beating, he’s wise for respecting Jones. Also, Sonnen will have two major disadvantages playing against him in this championship bout. His age (36) and overall weight class experience, will pose problems for Sonnen. According to bleacherreport.com. This will be his first light heavyweight fight since 2005.

Octagon Outcome:

While Jon “Bones” Jones will be tested early by Chael Sonnen with a few hard jabs and combinations, ultimately Jones will overpower Sonnen and silence him with deadly spinning elbows and his overall ground game. I have “Bones” Jones winning this bout by way of TKO in the 3rd round, as he successfully defends his title for a sixth time.

Final Thoughts: This is going to be a heavy hitting fight and will be a lot of fun to watch. Also, this main event features a solid undercard. The middleweight bout between Michael Bisping and Alan Belcher, and the heavyweight fight featuring Roy Nelson vs. Cheick Kongo will be sure to entertain fans before the main event. The event will take place this Saturday (April 27th) with fights beginning at 10pm.

UFC 154: Condit vs. St-Pierre

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ImageUFC 154 will be held this Saturday November 17th in Montreal, Canada and will feature one of MMA’s most recognized fighters. Welterweight champion George “Rush” St-Pierre will be making his highly anticipated return to the octagon to face welterweight interim champion Carlos “Natural Born Killer” Condit in an Ultimate Fighting Championship event.

Tale of the Tape:

St-Pierre: Country: Canada, Age: 31, MMA Record: 22-2, Height: 5-11, Weight: 170lbs, Reach: 76 inches, Stance: Orthodox, Strength: Brazilian Jui-Jitsu and Muay Thai, Last 5 Fights: 5-0.

Condit: Country: USA, Age: 28, MMA Record: 28-5, Height: 6-2, Weight: 170lbs, Reach: 76 inches, Stance: Orthodox, Strength: Brazilian Jui-Jitsu, Last 5 Fights: 5-0.

Just at a glance it appears on paper that these two men are surprisingly similar, almost carbon copies of one another stat-wise (Condit does have St-Pierre on Height by 3 inches and MMA Record 28-5 to GSP’s 22-2). However, these next numbers will separate these two prime fighters a bit more.

Title Tabs: 

St-Pierre: UFC Title Bouts: 11, Championship Event Fight Record: 9-2 and currently the 6 time defending welterweight champ.

Condit: UFC Title Bouts: 1, WEC Title Bouts: 4, Championship Event Fight Record: 5-0 and interim welterweight champ after defeating Nick Diaz in a 5 round unanimous decision in UFC 143.

While Condit is technically undefeated in title fights, he’s only had one UFC title bout, and has only fought in six UFC contests going 5-1. Compare those numbers to GSP’ 9 and 2 UFC title bout record and his 16-2 UFC contest record, and it is clear that St-Pierre is the more decorated fighter in this one.

ImageBreakdown of the Brawl: George St-Pierre is highly regarded as one of the best pound for pound fighters in the MMA across the boards. He is a technician in the octagon and always gives opposing fighters fits with his balanced approach. He can beat you at every angle, whether it’s leg kicks to the head, or a counter jab to the face and his takedown defense is nearly flawless. However, there’s one weakness, his ground game. GSP can be vulnerable to ground-and-pound guys like UFC Legend Matt Hughes, who defeated GSP in his first UFC title match (Hughes won by submission with an arm bar).

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Condit on the other hand focuses more on utilizing his deadly leg kicks and flying knee attacks to wreak havoc on his opponents. Condit also has a solid ground game, using a mixture of submissions and ground-and-pound techniques to finish his opponents. Condit will have to try and throw GSP off of his normally well balanced fighting rhythm to have a chance at the title.


Unanimous Decision: I predict this fight to be “as good as advertised” for UFC fans and MMA fans alike. This fight brings a lot to the table for both fighters, as GSP is coming back from an ACL injury that prevented this fight from happening earlier last year. St-Pierre will look to prove he’s back and better than ever. While Condit will try and use this fight as proof that he’s a force to be reckoned with in the welterweight division and propel himself into a piece of UFC history.

I see this bout going about 4 rounds with George St-Pierre defeating Condit by way of knockout as GSP successfully defends his title for a 7th time and becomes the undisputed welterweight champion of the world.