205 lbs: Brandon Vera vs. Jon Jones
Odds: (+190 Vera / -240 Jones )
The main event of the evening pits two of the UFC’s most dynamic light heavyweights against each other other in Brandon “The Truth” Vera and Jon “Bones” Jones. This is an interesting fight, in that Jones in almost the exact position Vera was in two years ago, a tremendous athlete with a ton of hype behind him. Vera’s hype cooled off, but he is still a dangerous fighter, so Jones is going to have to have the best performance of his career if he wants to keep his tremendous momentum
Vera, a Muay Thai expert who also has a very underrated jiu-jitsu game, was considered one of the top young fighters in UFC a few years ago. After a contract dispute, a layoff, and a string of uninspired performances, a lot of that hype has died down, but Vera proved in his last fight against Randy Couture, a decision loss of the most questionable sort, that he is a dangerous, rugged fighter with a versatile skill set. Vera will enter this fight with a definite technical edge in the standup game, and almost definitely better submissions.
Jon Jones is almost ridiculously athletic, but what makes him so special is how he puts all the aspects of his game together. Arguably his best attribute is his punching power, but equally impressive is the way that he combines wrestling and judo to take guys down, and to stop takedowns, from every conceivable position. Although he has looked pretty much unstoppable up to this point, it’s important to note that Vera is a huge step up in competition, especially in terms of striking prowess. Not only has Jones never faced a striker as good as Vera, Vera can do vicious damage in the clinch, a position Jones has relied on to control his opponents.
Jon Jones is an extremely dangerous fighter who definitely belongs at the top of the Light Heavyweight division, but I think that Vera is a really bad matchup for him. Vera proved against Couture, one of the best clinch fighters of all time, that he had what it took to play the clinch game with anyone, and Jon Jones is no exception. In the striking exchanges, Vera will beat Jones to the punch and close distance, and probably rough him up on the inside. Expect Jones to have a lot of offense as well, but I don’t think he can control and overwhelm Vera, who has a lot of experience fighting much larger and stronger opponents, long enough or effectively enough to put him away. Vera by UD
Prediction: Brandon “The Truth” Vera via unanimous decision.
- Bet on the UnderDog Brandon Vera at +190 for the Win.
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