Ghan - Most of your assumptions are baseless. And just to name one, Rashad has said he's far better on the ground. Jones has even gone as far as to say Rashad's best chance of winning is to hold him down for 5 rounds. So like I've said, I have a hard time believing Jones is better everywhere.
Using what I see in their actual fights to draw conclusions - most of which are fairly obvious and totally uncontroversial - is baseless now? OK then.
People have problems being aggressive against Jones because of his reach. That's the distance control aspect. He's very much like Anderson in this regard (Anderson is the distance control GOAT). That's why his TDD is so good - in pure wrestling maybe he'd have more trouble, but in MMA wrestlers are forced to shoot pathetic looking shots from a mile out. Same reason Anderson has a 75% TDD rate, one of the highest around, despite his sprawl being shit. You just can't get close without risking getting hit by a stiff jab that backs you up or some crazy strike like Jones' flying knee/spinning elbow or Anderson's Ong Bak reverse elbow.
It's not that his opponents aren't aggressive, they're tentative because they're not reckless, they are aware of the dangers. Jones also has that clinch game where if you get close he'll just toss you on your head.
As for ground, no, he didn't say he's better on the ground (he can say anything anyway, doesn't make it credible). What Rashad basically said is that he can LNP Jones in practice. That hardly means he's better on the ground. Like I said, Evans is unlikely to be able to hold down the larger Jones without LNP - Evans top control is not good. If Evans tried to GnP or advance he'd probably lose position. And LNP is highly unlikely to get him anywhere in a 5 round fight, he has to actually do something.
Most importantly though, Evans probably just doesn't have the ability to get top position repeatedly in an MMA match against Jones. It's not wrestling or rolling, and Jones' TDD in MMA is outstanding. While Evans almost always struggles to get takedowns (it's why he gasses, he has to work real hard to get takedowns - Evans has good cardio but has to expend tons of energy in fights).
Anyone in MMA is a threat, but Evans is about as unthreatening to Jones as it gets among contenders. Stylistically it's one of the "easiest" fights he can get (obviously I use the term "easy" in a relative sense, fighting an elite fighter is never truly easy). Evans has very little to offer Jones. I mean even his trash talk was basically "I can hug you to a decision and you won't be able to get up". Evans isn't exactly going to strike fear into the hearts of his enemies with that.
The odds of Evans surviving 5 rounds with Jones are slim, so he needs to land that big punch, and maybe hope Jones does have a glassy chin or lacks heart.
MacNYC - great posts DaemonDragon
Thank you.
Damn. Seeing those pics back to back like that really shows how out of shape he was. His face looks like he lost already and his whole body is soft. 
People said I was trolling when I said Shogun looked sickly and out of shape and I believe the thread got deleted.
Wait, that fat pic wasn't from the Jones fight...
BrianStannFan - I never thought Shogun looked like a world beater in this pic above.
This looks like a ready to go Shogun:
Um...what's the difference? I think I'm missing something. Only difference I see is that he's not smiling in the top pic. His muscle tone and stomach definition look the same.
Also the top pic says it's from Machida-Shogun, not Shogun-Jones. Were you trying to say it was from the Jones fight?
I just became a maynard fan
DaemonDragon - BrianStannFan - I never thought Shogun looked like a world beater in this pic above.
This looks like a ready to go Shogun:
Um...what's the difference? I think I'm missing something. Only difference I see is that he's not smiling in the top pic. His muscle tone and stomach definition look the same.
Also the top pic says it's from Machida-Shogun, not Shogun-Jones. Were you trying to say it was from the Jones fight?
I do not think he looks good in the first pic. Something looks of and not saying was from the JBJ fight though the above pics are and once again I do not think he looks his "normal self"... it is subjective though no-homo
Again, I'd love for BJ to drop down to 155 for one more fight just to humiliate Gray.
I love BJ probably more than you but he does humiliate Maynard.
lol @ "normal self"
you're not the first person to say a fighter didn't look like himself before a fight.
but why is it always AFTER the fight and AFTER he loses?
^^ Shogun has looked off since Machida.
UltraMagnus - - Jones hasn't taken a flush legkick
- Chin has not been tested
- His best performance against a real striker in the stand up was against a guy coming off knee reconstruction...
- His ability to defend submissions
- His heart and Condtioning hasn't been tested either....
he has not been tested. although,,he has fought and beaten at least 5 UFC fighters including the LHW Champion.
Shame on him.
he needs to defend some submissions and get punched in the chin already.
until then, he's not a real figher.
LMAO @ you people
Calhoon - Chimonos Revenge - Shogun isnt a real fight?
I knew there would be a lot of people who would not understand what Gray was saying.
no shit.
they seem to think it's a free "Jon Jones Sux" bandwagon to jump on.
Even Gray mentioned that he has done great, which is why he hasn't been tested yet.
subwrassler - lol @ "normal self"
you're not the first person to say a fighter didn't look like himself before a fight.
but why is it always AFTER the fight and AFTER he loses?
Well while I disagree with his specific example (Shogun looks fine in that Machida pic), and agree that weigh-ins and such are over-analyzed to preposterous degrees, it isn't always just after that people can see this.
For instance Gilbert Yvel looked awful for Madsen. As if he didn't train at all and just showed up for the paycheck. And that's probably somewhat accurate.
There was also Shogun in the second Machida fight - he looked in pretty bad shape for that one, he had a clear gut and no definition. As we learned, he had appendix surgery 7 weeks earlier and couldn't train, and also one of his knees was messed up (and he messed up the other one during the fight). So that did indicate Shogun wasn't in the best shape - of course, he KO'd Machida anyway which makes it more impressive. So him having a gut didn't indicate anything. Although, if the fight lasted longer, his cardio probably wouldn't have been as good as in the first fight.
And obviously, there's James Skeletor Irvin. And 300 pound cop Tim Sylvia.
Penn is also pretty unique. I can't think of another fighter whose fans' confidence wavers so much just based on his expression before Buffer's introductions. From Penn-Edgar II you could read archived comments posted just before the fight by Penn fans about their confidence sinking due to his expression, while prior to the Hughes fight they became more confident. Penn though is pretty unique, I can't think of another fighter you could predict like that. Most of the time staredowns, pre-fight expressions etc. and such mean absolutely nothing. I do have a strong (although unverifiable) suspicion that with Penn, there's something to it.
ChokeEmOut - UltraMagnus - ChokeEmOut - Chimonos Revenge - Shogun isnt a real fight?
Not a Shogun coming in off a long layoff from his 2nd or 3rd ACL injury no.
Maynard is right, he hasn't faced any adversity yet and as soon as he gets clipped good I bet he folds like a lawnchair.
I love how MMA exposes the overhyped fighter more so than Boxing...
For sure, how many have we seen come in and get a string of quick wins, face absolutely no adversity and people swear up and down they are the greatest fighter ever seen, unstoppable etc.. A real fighter is one who can not only win but face adveristy, push through it and win.
A few come to mind right off are
Belfort
Houston Alexander (hell yes, even Houston)
Robbie Lawler (there was a time people claimed he could beat Wanderlei. lol)
There are tons more and there always will be, if people would detach themselves emotionally from the sport then its plain as day to see.
I don't really understand the comparison here. No one, including the fighters you listed above, has ever run through top fighters, and specifically the unquestioned number 1 fighter in the world, with such ease. Especially at such a young age.
There's never been an athlete with this much natural ability and well rounded skill at age 23 holding a world title. It is even more impressive today, because the competition is so much higher.
Who knows, he might not have world class submissions, sub defense or a granite chin, but he doesn't have to because he uses his reach, unorthodox timing and distance, power, wrestling and ground and pound better than anyone in mma right now.
I've never really liked Gray. He's got a huge fucking chip on his shoulder for no fucking reason.
UltraMagnus - subwrassler - UltraMagnus - - Jones hasn't taken a flush legkick
- Chin has not been tested
- His best performance against a real striker in the stand up was against a guy coming off knee reconstruction...
- His ability to defend submissions
- His heart and Condtioning hasn't been tested either....
he has not been tested. although,,he has fought and beaten at least 5 UFC fighters including the LHW Champion.
Shame on him.
he needs to defend some submissions and get punched in the chin already.
until then, he's not a real figher.
LMAO @ you people
But see there you go.... I didn't say he wasn't a grat fighter.... You said that not me....
I'm stating that yes hes a great fighter, yes hes the champ but lets not act like he dominated a 100% healthy Shogun.....
I mean basically people are saying hes the GOAT yet we haven't seen him in an actual fight nad haven't seen even make his title defense....
Think of this ...... Shogun will go out and fight this guy even though hes coming off a years long injury but Jones wont get in there and fight Rashad with a mingled hand and he ADMITTED that he could have fought through the injury....
Now what does that tell you? That he has a heart of a champion? LOL!
Maybe i'm over analyzing things... But in no way am I hating on him i'm giving constructive critism where constructive critism is due...
okiedokie
you're still discrediting JJ in your explanation of how you're not discrediting him.
wow.
hasn't been in an actual fight?
you're even questioning his heart for not fighing when you're obviously misinformed.
while openly admitting he could fight with the injury, he may not have mentioned what most of us already know-which is that he was NOT ALLOWED to fight.
get off the dude's back for being good enough to beat your hero.
