•Yes, Bones Jones has looked very impressive.
•Yes, Bones Jones has made most of his wins look easy.
•Yes, Bones Jones has a very diverse, solid skillset.
•Yes, Bones Jones is ONLY 23 years old!
•Yes, Bones Jones has a very bright future in MMA.
All of the above statements are fairly obvious, but what isn't as obvious is what Jon Jones has done to be considered a threat to the the LHW strap, just yet.
I repeat, YET!
Here are some important realities that need to be injected into this debate:
•Aside from Brandon Vera, Bones hasn't beat a Top 15 LHW, arguably a Top 20-25 either.
•Bones had over a 6 inch height advantage, a 10 and a half inch reach advantage and is 16 years younger than the weathered 39 year old Vladimir Matyushenko. How can anybody not have expected him to destroy Vladdy?
•While he did dominate Stephan Bonnar and Andre Gusmao, he didn't finish either of them.
As usual, the MMA community, fans and media alike, love to rush and anoint fighters as "the next big thing" before they ever fight anyone close to the top fighters in their respective divisions. Bones is lucky, or unlucky (depending on how you look at it), to be that guy right now. While he has most definitely looked very impressive thus far, who has he beaten to warrant that kind of saintly status? Beating Vera was easily Bones' most impressive win. He literally broke "bones" in Brandon's face, no pun intended. But as any MMA enthusiast knows, Vera is hot and cold. He has the consistency of a woman's mood swings. That said, up until getting caught with that nasty elbow, Vera was very much in that fight. Jones landed the point of his elbow to the perfect location on Vera's face (his orbital socket), resulting in the damage it did. That doesn't happen very often. When closely re-watching that fight, from a technical standpoint, Bones made some mistakes. Mistakes that could have resulted in a loss. He left his arms in some very vulnerable positions. The potential for an armbar or triangle was definitely there. As we saw, Vera ended up in the fetal position before any of that happened so props to Jones for finishing the fight before those mistakes were exploited. The point is, he hasn't been flawless. There are holes in his game.
His "win" over Hamill doesn't say much. In my eyes, that was a "win", regardless of what Bones' record says. He destroyed Matt but Matt is far from a world class fighter. Hamill might actually have the worst stand-up defense in the sport. His chin has been his only saving grace, but that can't last much longer with some of the beatings he takes. He barely wrestles anymore and has zero jits skill to speak of. In other words, that "win" means nothing as far as how well Bones will fair against the top dudes in the division.
Beyond Vladdy, Vera and Hamill, what's left of Bones' wins? Jake O'Brien? The aforementioned Bonnar? Gusmao? These guys are far from MMA
world-beaters and will never be mentioned in any potential champion conversations. Rightfully so, Bones' name will be in those conversations, but at this point its premature. He still NEED$ to beat a Top 10 fighter which hasn't happened yet.
I repeat, YET!
So what's next for this rising star? Bones has said he wants a Top 3 fighter next. Of course, Rashad Evans isn't on that list since they are friends and training partners. While I respect his desire to compete against the best in the game and the confidence he has in his skills, that's not the smartest request. There's a HUGE difference between fighting a borderline Top 15-20 fighter and fighting a Top 3 fighter. I think he needs to fight a borderline Top 10 fighter like Thiago Silva, Ryan Bader or even Phil Davis before jumping that deep in the water. If he wants to fight some bigger names, match-ups with Forrest Griffin, Rich Franklin or Randy Couture would do good business and expose him to larger audiences. Hell, if Chuck doesn't decide to retire, that's an interesting fight as well, but one that Bones should win. And of course, there's a potential high profile fight with MMA newcomer James Toney that could take place at HW or a catchweight of 215-220. Bones has expressed interest in that fight after a war of words in the media with blabbermouth Toney. We still need to see how James adapts his world class boxing skills in his MMA debut against Randy Couture. I realize that a lot of those fighters are already signed for other fights, but as Dana White said, "once the smoke clears from those match-ups, a decision about who Bones fights next will be made". Lets hope Joe Silva gets Jones' next, very important opponent selection right.
Please don't misconstrue what I'm saying here. I, like most everyone else, see immense potential in Bones Jones. The operative word in that last sentence is potential. The hype he's gotten is based on what he might do down the road, not what he's already done. He's got the MMA world at his feet right now. How he handles and fairs in his next 2-3 fights will be very telling. His own trainer and mentor, Greg Jackson, seems to see this situation similarly to how I do. He's stated that there's no need to crown this kid a champ yet and no need to push him along too quickly. Given the level of his last few opponents, why jump into a fight with a Top 5 fighter? There's no reason to skip over guys in that 6-15 range. The more experience Bones gets, the better he'll progress overall and the more prepared he'll be when he starts swimming with the sharks in the Top 5. At 23 years young, he's got plenty of time to develop. The wrong decisions regarding his next 3 opponents could be detrimental to his career in the long run. He's not the first fighter to look almost invincible. Remember what happened to Vera? There was talk of him wearing the strap in 2 different weight classes. That kind of talk is long since dead.
Johnny "Bones" Jones most definitely looks like the real deal. Whether he actually becomes the real deal, only time will tell. How his career in the near future plays out remains to be seen, but there's no doubt, it will be fun to watch. As a Bones Jones fan, I look forward to his development. I just hope he doesn't get pushed in the deep end of the pool too early. I'm not completely sold on his swimming skills just yet.
I repeat, YET!
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