Jon (Bones) Jones takes next step in UFC career
Rising star Jon (Bones) Jones takes the next step in his UFC light-heavyweight education Sunday night when he faces veteran Vladimir (The Janitor) Matyushenko in San Diego.
Just 23, Jones is 4-1 in the UFC and headlining a televised card for the second fight in a row. Last time out in March, he administered a short but one-sided beating to Brandon (The Truth) Vera.
At six foot four, Jones (10-1) is big and athletic, with a huge wingspan and an unorthodox mixed martial arts arsenal.
UFC president Dana White was quick to spot Jones' potential, but said in March after the Vera fight that he didn't want to rush the young fighter.
"Brandon Vera was a big test," White said. "He obviously passed with flying colours. I want to give him some other fights like that over the next year ... then I say next year, after his next three fights, we start getting him Rashad (Evans), Rampage (Quinton Jackon), Lyota Machida and Shogun (Mauricio Rua), whoever the champion is, and maybe he gets a title fight next year."
Despite being a huge favourite, Jones says he is not getting carried away with his reviews.
"As far as that whole 'next best thing,' it really doesn't mean that much. I'm just working my butt off," he told a media conference call recently.
"I realize a lot of fans are bandwagon-jumpers. One minute you can be God's gift to the world and the next minute they go 'Oh, that kid's overrated. So I'm just going to train my butt off and let people say whatever they want to say."
A father of two, Jones is already old beyond his years. Renowned trainer Greg Jackson is also helping keep his feet firmly planted on the ground.
A former junior college wrestling champion, Jones turned some heads recently by saying he might fight at heavyweight down the line. Jones explained that was prompted by the fact that he has got up to as much as 231 pounds because of weight-lifting, and his admiration for Randy Couture, who has been a champion in both weight classes.
Jones said he would have to get up to 240 pounds to mount a heavyweight charge.
"I really think my style could really confuse and give a lot of these tougher heavyweights some issues," said Jones, stressing light-heavyweight was his immediate focus.
Jones comes from good genes. His older brother Arthur, a six-foot-three, 313-pound defensive tackle, was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens this summer. Younger brother Chandler is a six-foot-five, 246-pound defensive end at Syracuse University.
Jon Jones shows his own athleticism in a YouTube video when, from almost a standing start, hurdles a pile of padding that came up "just below my nipples."
"My trainer's really working on my agility," he said.
At 39, Matyushenko has been around the MMA block and is 2-0 on his second go-round with the UFC. A former accomplished amateur wrestler, he has developed into a savvy MMA pro.
"I can't make a longer reach but I have experience," said the six-foot Matyushenko. "That's what I'll try to use against him as much as I can."
Matyushenko fought Tito (The Huntington Beach Bad Boy) Ortiz for the light-heavyweight title at UFC 33 in September 2001, losing a five-round decision.
The Belarus native, who now makes his home in California, knows the tall order that awaits him in the cage Sunday.
"He's a unique person — he's tall, he's lanky and at the same time he's fast." he said of Jones. "There's some tall guys but they're kind of slow."
"I don't think even he knows what he's going to do next," he added. "So it's very unpredictable. It's kind of hard to get ready to fight somebody like that."
Jones, an 8-1 favourite according to one bookmaker, says Matyushenko is not getting his due.
"He's very underrated in this fight," he said. "I watched Vladimir's fights, pretty much all of them — over and over and over again — and I've watched him do so pretty extraordinary things and beat some pretty good fighters and just be a dominant grinder.
"With a (opponent's) record of 24-4, how do you not go to practice every day and how do you not do those extra pushups? How do you not do everything possible? I mean in all reality I think I should be the underdog in this fight."
Jones, however, has kept surgeons busy his last two outings. He broke Vera's orbital bone with a wicked elbow and sent Matt (The Hammer) Hamill for shoulder surgery after slamming him down. Hamill took a beating but won that fight via disqualification when Jones was ruled to have used an illegal downward elbow.
Jones is the first to admit he is still learning and that includes the pre-fight weigh-in, where he got into Vera's face. Jones says he let Vera's swagger and pre-fight comments get to him.
"I was a little nervous to fight the guy. Just kind of emotional, I wanted to win so bad. I had trained so hard. Just being in front of him sort of sparked my emotions, sparked my adrenalin. In future, I'm going to be more calm and more relaxed."
The San Diego card also features John (Doomsday) Howard, an undersized welterweight with real power in his hands. Howard (14-4) faces Jake Ellenberger (22-5).
Lightweight Tyson Griffin (14-3) looks to rebound from a loss to Evan Dunham when he takes on Takanori Gomi (31-6). The veteran Japanese fighter was a disappointment in his UFC debut, comprehensively beaten by Kenny Florian.
Middleweight Mark (The Filipino Wrecking Machine) Munoz (8-1), fresh off his UFC 112 win over Kendall Grove, tackles Japan's Yushin (Thunder) Okami (25-5).
James (The Sandman) Irvin (14-6 with one no-contest), after an ill-advised trip to the middleweight division, returns to the light-heavyweight ranks to face Croatian Igor Pokrajac (21-7).
In what could be an entertaining undercard fight, welterweight DaMarques Johnson (16-7) meets Matt Riddle (4-1).
The televised card (Rogers Sportsnet and Spike TV, check local listings) was originally slated for Salt Lake City but was moved to the West Coast because of poor ticket sales.
