Jon Jones is the world’s best light heavyweight mixed martial artist; Demetrious Johnson, the most impressive flyweight.
Two men, essentially 100lbs apart from one another, with strong cases to make as the pound-for-pound apex predator in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
These were facts before UFC 197 in Las Vegas on Saturday night. No surprise, they remain true on Sunday.
Johnson and Jones both celebrated victories at the MGM Grand Garden Arena following a week in which their virtues as fighters were debated and bound. In numerous ways, particularly personal affairs and suit sizes, Jones and Johnson are nothing alike. However in matters of cage craft, the pair share much in common.
Winning is the most obvious. Claiming the mantle of MMA’s paragon would be next.
There was a time when parity reigned in the UFC. As new crops of evolving mixed martial artists entered the octagon from an expanding talent pool, the widening gap between a select few champions and their peers has been stunning.
Since 2011, Jones leads the way in distancing himself from the pack.
Capturing his UFC title at the age of 23, Jones (22-1) found and defended that peak in the face of what the world later learned was the self-sabotage of addiction. At his best, his great, his good and even his mediocre, Jones is a proven physical menace, long and uncomfortably angular, with a treacherous flow opponents must reconcile.
Against late replacement Ovince Saint Preux in Saturday’s main event, fighting for the first time in 15 months following several outside-the-cage transgressions, Jones didn’t rely much on skill or grit. All the 29 year-old was required to do was show up – a frustrating statement about the state of his career over the last year – and piece together one of his least noteworthy efforts.
A unanimous decision victory over the 33 year-old Saint Preux, led Jones to describe the postponed rematch with Daniel Cormier, his original UFC 197 opponent, a blessing in disguise. Someone following Jones’ path might suggest he’s made too regular a habit of finding blessings in rough patches. Either way, the result secured Jones a spot against Cormier for the belt he sheepishly returned last year. That return may well come at July’s highly anticipated UFC 200 card. The UFC is expected to make that determination on Monday.
Jones said he was watching and anticipating techniques land, but he wasn’t reacting, a clear sign that rust had crept into his game. “Physically, I felt amazing,” said Jones after the fight. “Mentally, I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m sucking. This isn’t good.’”
Graceful while awkward is a difficult trick to pull off, yet Jones has repeatedly found ways to make it so during painful-looking spectacles against his competitors. He was less graceful on Saturday, standing in stark contrast to the 125lb champion. Johnson is the furthest thing from awkward. Seamless is the word to describe his mixed martial arts.
Johnson (24-2-1) won his belt in 2012, the night Jones stopped Vitor Belfort in the fourth round. With each title defense, the jovial “Mighty Mouse” appears to discover new levels in his already deeply-tailored style.
Johnson’s opening round dissection of 2008 Olympic gold medal wrestler and undefeated MMA fighter Henry Cejudo was gorgeous for its skill and efficiency, a true statement about the level at which he’s currently competing.
Johnson offered a tremendous argument in support of what he said he was: the best fighter in MMA. Mighty Mouse put up a typical flowing performance, needing half a round to make Cejudo retreat in a way that he never did while wrestling.
Ninety seconds into the fight Cejudo scored a brief takedown, a sign that perhaps he could make good on his touted potential and engineer an upset. But Johnson is happy to fight anywhere, and he stood and scored several knees to Cejudo’s body from the clinch. Cejudo wilted and Johnson finished a perfect effort at 2:49 of round one.
“There’s no game plan,” Johnson said in the cage following his eighth straight title defense, two behind record holder Anderson Silva. “I come in here and fight.
“That’s organic fighting. I am the best pound for pound fighter in the world and I’ll keep pulling it.”
