If you ask Daniel Cormier, Jon Jones is ripe for a defeat. The current light-heavyweight champion was forced to pull out of their highly-anticipated rematch at UFC 197 on Saturday with a knee injury.
And it’s clear, he’s devastated about it. It’s been over a year since they last battled for five rounds, and in that time, Jones has been stripped of the belt, allowing Cormier to step into the void and sit comfortably on the throne with wins over Anthony Johnson and Alexander Gustafsson.
Of course, it’s meant that the legitimacy of his sovereignty has been questioned ever since but Cormier was desperate to avenge his defeat and prove that the title Jones never lost in the Octagon, rightfully resides around his waist.
“I’ve never pulled out of a fight before and there was a lot that went into this decision,” Cormier explained on SiriusXM. “Because I truly do believe, and I think this is why it was so hard to actually make the call, because I truly do believe that right now is when he’s primed to get beat.”
Jones will instead fight No. 6 ranked Ovince St. Preux, and arguably for the first time in the pound-for-pound king’s career, it is he who has questions to answer.
Firstly, there’s the lack of activity. After a hit-and-run accident cost him his UFC belt, and almost his career, the ensuing legal troubles prevented him from competing since that defeat of Cormier in January 2015.
It’s meant that “Bones” has fought just twice in two years and “ring rust” is a legitimate concern.
Of course, Jones is a supremely gifted athlete who’s only real weakness so far has been a propensity to shoot himself in the foot. He’s faced a murderer’s row of talented 205lbs fighters and dis- patched them all with relative ease.
But the only time Jones came even close to defeat was when he faced Gustafsson and that’s the next question he has to answer.
The Swede was the first man who had a similar reach to his own and it made a big difference. In areas where he would normally be safe, Jones was vulnerable and like Gustafsson, “OSP” is long but unlike the Swede, possesses knockout power, which should not be taken lightly.
Moreover, in Jones’s absence the rules have changed, most notably the use of IVs to rehydrate fighters after weigh ins will no longer be an available option. During his suspension, Jones went through an intensive weight lifting regime.
He put on some serious mass and many question what affect this will have on him. It’s reasonable to speculate that the added bulk and the inability to use IVs will make his cut troublesome.
Regardless, his wrestling, conditioning, and big-fight experience make him the favourite but potentially brittle bones are there to be broken and “OSP” will have the first crack at doing just that.
