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I don't like Jon Jones. His personality grates on my nerves, and I cheer against him every time he steps inside the Octagon. That being said, Jon Jones is the most amazing talent we have even seen in MMA (all due respect to Anderson Silva). Jones has physical abilities that are unparalleled in the sport, and has learned how to use them with lethal efficiency. No one in MMA has mastered the ability of fighting "long" quite like Jones, using his freakishly long reach as a deadly weapon. His wrestling has proven to be elite, using sweeps and trips followed by violent elbows to inflict massive amounts of damage. He is also about to make his second straight title defense against a middleweight not in line for a title shot at 185.
To put it gently, this is wholly absurd. Jones has run through the best of the best at light heavyweight, and yet he is relegated to fighting a man whose last fight in the division was a loss via choke to Renato "Babalu" Sobral in 2005. Chael Sonnen is a top middleweight, but he never had the same success at the light heavyweight. He lost his last fight at 185 and 205, yet is fighting arguably the greatest champion the UFC has. This is an insult to the title, the champion, and every fan that will pay to see a one sided beatdown, just because they don't want to miss an incredible talent on display.
There aren't a whole lot of other options available to fight Jones, but Dan Henderson and Lyoto Machida earned title shots. Hendo's knee injury prompted the 151 fiasco, Machida didn't want to fight Jones with a shortened camp, now they have to fight each other. To summarize: Hendo beats Shogun in an epic fight, Machida MurderDeathKills Bader, but Sonnen gets the title shot coming off a KO loss at a lower weight class. Really?
If I look into my crystal ball, I feel pretty confident in saying that Machida is going to pick apart Hendo (which makes me very sad), because he feasts on the blood (and possibly urine) of wrestlers. He made Rashad and Bader look foolish, and I don't see what else Hendo can bring to the table there to challenge Lyoto. That leaves Machida and the winner of Alexander Gustafsson/Shogun Rua as the contenders to Jones' throne after he inevitably dispatches Chael Sonnen. Those are two men he has beaten soundly and a talented young prospect, but one that got taken to school by Phil Davis. Unless Hendo can upset Machida, we will be looking at slim pickings in the near future at 205. It's time for this to end.
Jon Jones has talked about it many times, and I think he needs to make the move to heavyweight ASAP. Even without adding additional muscle, he would be a favorite over all but the elite in the division right now. It would be his opportunity to stake his claim as the greatest mixed martial artist ever, while giving fans a treasure trove of fights to look forward to. I would love to see Jon Jones fight guys like Daniel Cormier, Cain Velasquez, Alistair Overeem, and Junior Dos Santos. Hell, Jones versus any mid level HW is more interesting to me than seeing him fighting a blown up MW with testosterone levels of Thor pumping through his veins.
MMA has felt a bit stagnant as of late, and a Jones move up to HW could be exactly what the UFC, the fans, and he himself needs. This would not only open up himself to new and interesting challenges, but it will give the 205 division some new life as well. In a Jon Jones free 205 division, the title picture becomes wide open. Rashad Evans, Machida, Phil Davis, Shogun, Gustafsson, and many more immediately become legit title contenders, rather than mere extras in the Jon Jones show.
Come on Jon, just make the move up. You know you want to. Get rid of Chael, and go show all of us how great you really are. You can't do that at 205 anymore. It's time to move on to bigger and better things. Do it for the fans, the company, and your own legacy. Just do it.



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