Who did better? Jon Jones/Lyoto Machida Vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

The last former opponent of Jon Jones and Lyoto Machida that we will look at is one that they both faced fairly recently, former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Jackson is a fighter similar to Stephan Bonnar in that his usual tactic is to charge forward swinging punches, and so it should be very telling of how Machida and Jones will match up by seeing how they approached the fight with Rampage.

Lyoto Machida - Lyoto Machida faced Rampage at UFC 123 in November 2010. This was Machida's next fight after his devastating loss to Shogun Rua in May of the same year, and he came into the fight still sporting a fantastic 16-1 professional record.

This started off as a fairly even fight, with both fighters gaining the upper hand at different times, though neither really managed to inflict much damage. Machida used his elusive style to avoid the heavy hands of Rampage, while Rampage could only manage to stomp the feet of Machida and hit some body shots while clinching or pushing him up against the cage. The first round did not seem to have a definitive winner, and it is hard to argue with any decision that the judges might have made, though the obvious conclusion seemed to be to call it a draw. The second round went down a similar route, though Rampage seemed to do better this time around, scoring a takedown and landing some more significant strikes as he got used to the ducking and backpedalling of Machida. Machida seemed to have difficulty with Rampage, possibly because he was afraid of getting knocked out again, and knowing that Rampage would be more than happy to do this for him. It seems fair to say that the Shogun KO had shaken him, because he took few risks in round one and two, and allowed Rampage to largely control the pace and direction of the fight.

The third round was a different story, and Machida seemed to get more motivated, possibly fearing that he would lose by decision, something he had rarely ever had to worry about before. In this round Machida knocked Rampage off balance with a forward push of strikes, knocking him back towards the cage and then taking him down. Machida took a similar route with Rashad Evans several fights before and scored a KO, but Rampage, who had at this point never been finished in the UFC, proved to be a more difficult opponent to finish, and the fight clock ran out and the decision went to the judges. Machida lost the fight by decision, in what many people considered to be an upset, and what even more considered to be an incorrect decision. Rampage himself looked completely shocked when the decision was announced, obviously deciding that it was either a draw with one round apiece, or that the beating in the third round would have resulted in a loss for him.

While Machida deserved better in this fight, it seems like a decision loss was just what he needed in his career, so that he would finally get some motivation to finish fights instead of assuming he would get the win by way of decision. A good performance, but the judges obviously didn't think it was good enough.

Jon Jones - Jones fought Rampage at UFC 135, in September 2011. It was Jones first title defense since beating Shogun, and the fight that many people said was finally going to test his chin, and show whether or not he could take a solid strike if he failed to avoid it.

The fight started off with Jones crouched down low, keeping his hands on the ground, so that he was basically crouched down and circling while Rampage tried to jab down at him. When they straightened up the round consisted largely of Jones pressing Rampage up against the cage, or keeping him at bay with his huge eleven inch reach advantage. There were several points when the two pressed up against each other, testing strength, and Jones came out on top, using leverage from his height and reach to push Rampage across the cage. Rampage is famed for his strength, and it is a big change to see someone pushing him around like Jones did.

The second round showed Jones looking more tentative than in any fight in recent memory, allowing Rampage to control much of the pace of the fight. Jones continued landing the more solid strikes however, using his range as effectively as always. At the very end of the round jones pulled guard, and looked about to pull Rampage into a Triangle Choke as the round ended.

Jones was more aggressive in the third round, taking down and mounting Jackson, then pummeling him with strikes. When they got back to their feet Rampage seemed increasingly frustrated with the long reach of Jones, obviously getting tired of being pummelled from a distance without being able to answer back in kind. This round was one sided, and showed that Rampage really had nothing to threaten Jones with but wild shots, none of which seemed to put Jones in any real danger.
The fourth round started off with the same swinging of the previous ones, but this ended quickly as Jones forced down Rampage and latched on with a Rear Naked Choke, securing the tapout at just over a minute in.

This was a textbook performance by Jones, where he kept his distance from Rampage, frustrating him until he could get him down and win by submission. While Jones at first seemed wary of the wild, powerful swings of Jackson, this did not last as Jones got his rhythm, and it was Jones' game from then on. It isn't often that we have seen Rampage bested in tests of strength, and this became just another fight for Jones where he appeared to be all round superior to his opponents. Considering the back and forth bout that was Machida/Rampage, and the beating that Jones put on Rampage, this one has to go the way both the others did. To Jon Jones.

Jon Jones