5 Reasons to Watch: UFC 182: Jones vs. Cormier
Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell. Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen. Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir. These are just a few of the most heated rivalries in UFC history, and another officially will be added to the list this week as light heavyweight champion Jon Jones finally meets Daniel Cormier in the main event of UFC 182 on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Beyond the fact that both fighters are, for all intents and purposes, undefeated in their mixed martial arts careers, and might be facing off in the absolute prime of their lives, it's also clear that Jones and Cormier do not like each other one bit.
There are plenty of rivalries in sports, many of them colored by the rivals' distaste for one another, but rarely are they ever settled in an actual fight. That's where mixed martial arts is able to thrive because when Saturday night is over, only Jones or Cormier will be left standing and one will leave the MGM Grand Garden Arena the victor and champion.
If that isn't enough to get you hyped for this weekend's card, we've got five good reasons for you to tune in for what is expected to be one of the biggest and best cards of 2015.
The Superfight We've All Been Waiting For
The hype machine will meet reality on Saturday when Jon Jones (left) and Daniel Cormier face off.
If you look past the disdain shared between Jones and Cormier and boil away all the pre-fight hype, interviews and commercials, what's left is possibly the best light heavyweight title fight since Liddell battled Randy Couture.
Jones has been a force of nature since joining the UFC. He's gone 14-1 with his loss coming by way of disqualification after dismantling Matt Hamill — the fight was stopped due to illegal elbow strikes, while Jones was winning by a landslide. In his three and a half years as champion, Jones has broken the record for most consecutive title defenses (seven) and holds the most wins and finishes in UFC light heavyweight history.
His opponent is a two-time Olympian in wrestling, which accounts for his perfect takedown defense since joining the UFC and Strikeforce. Before dropping to 205 pounds, Cormier (15-0 overall, 4-0 in UFC) was considered the No. 1 contender at heavyweight and if not for his teammate Cain Velasquez holding the title, there's a good chance he'd be champion. Cormier is a powerful striker with knockout power in both hands and some of the best wrestling in the sport.
When Jones and Cormier meet, this won't simply be a matchup of champion and challenger — this will be the best of the best squaring off. Everyone has been begging for a super fight for years — this is your chance to see one.
Solving the Jon Jones Equation
Maybe the most interesting aspect of this fight comes down to the champion and the rest of the division's inability to figure him out. While Alexander Gustafsson definitely had success against Jones during their title fight in 2013, ultimately the Swede still came up short and fell into many of the same traps as numerous past opponents.
Jones has obliterated just about every style that makes up mixed martial arts. He has out-struck some of the most prolific strikers in MMA history. He has submitted Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts while technically holding only the rank of blue himself. And maybe most important to this matchup against Cormier: Jones has out-wrestled a long list of top-notch wrestlers. Rashad Evans barely even bothered to try for a takedown when he faced Jones, and an argument could be made that he has the fastest double leg in the division, if not the sport.
Chael Sonnen is a phenomenal wrestler, and he got tossed and taken down like a rank amateur when he faced Jones. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson may not be a world-class grappler, but he's landed more than a few slams in his day and he was playing defense from the start of his fight with Jones until his night ended in the fourth round.
Cormier is the anomaly in this entire equation. He's landed 18 career takedowns in the UFC and Strikeforce and will be the first two-time Olympian that Jones has faced. He's also got a huge amount of confidence on his side, which can be a big factor against somebody as good as Jones. The question then becomes, can Cormier display the same kind of prowess against Jones that he's had in all his other fights? Or is Jones destined to be the one puzzle no one ever figures out?
Who Can Forget This?
Maybe it's a cheap ploy to just put a video in this slot for a third reason to watch, but really, shouldn't this be enough for anyone to want to see this fight for real on Saturday night?
The Grand Jury
The co-main event on Saturday night very well may end with the winner atop the list for a lightweight title shot in 2015. Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone went undefeated last year with four wins, three of them coming by way of knockout, TKO or submission. He has won five fights in a row and has looked better than ever as he streaks towards a potential shot at the gold.
The winner of Donald Cerrone (left) vs. Myles Jury just might find himself at the top of the list for the next lightweight title shot.
Standing in his way is former "Ultimate Fighter" competitor Myles Jury, who boasts a 15-0 record, including victories over Cerrone's teammate Diego Sanchez,and is the only man to knock out PRIDE legend Takanori Gomi.
This fight will be Jury's first against a legitimate top-10 fighter, but he's proven to be a tough matchup for just about anyone in the division, and Cerrone should be no different. Jury is a finisher, putting away a whopping 80 percent of his opponents, and possesses a high-level wrestling game, averaging more than three takedowns per fight.
He'll need all those weapons if he's going to beat Cerrone, who is double tough and one of the hardest matchups in the division. Cerrone is tall (6-foot) and long for this division, packing a serious punch and carrying some of the deadliest kicks in the world at 155 pounds. Cerrone has a chance to claim a title shot with a big win. Jury is fighting to prove he belongs among the best fighters in the world at lightweight.
It should be a barnburner.
The Bogeyman Returns
Since dropping to welterweight, Hector Lombard has been like the monster sleeping under the beds of every other fighter in the division. The former Olympian in judo is a holy terror inside the Octagon, reminiscent of the kind of damage the Chute Boxe camp from Brazil used to enact during the glory days of PRIDE.
Lombard steps forward and throws with reckless abandon and has so much power that many times when an opponent blocks his shots, they'll still get rocked because he just hits that hard. Toss in the fact that Lombard is a world-class grappler in judo and you start to see why so many fighters at 170 pounds avoided him over the past year.
Returning UFC fighter Josh Burkman happily accepted the challenge, but does that make him phony tough or crazy brave?
There's only one way to find out and that's to watch UFC 182.
