The UFC Light Heavyweight Championship is on the line in the main event of UFC 172 as pound-for-pound king and champion Jon Jones defends the title for seventh time against a new contender, the number-two ranked Glover Teixeira. Both men will be putting long win streaks on the line. Jones has won ten straight fights and steps inside the Octagon for the first time since the toughest fight of his life, a close decision win over Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165 in September. Teixeira has doubled the win streak of Jones as he has won twenty straight fights dating back to 2005. He also last fought in September, scoring a first-round knockout win over Ryan Bader at UFC Fight Night 28.
Fight Breakdown- It will be the first time we see both Jones and Teixeira step inside the Octagon since their toughest fights to date in the UFC. Jones is coming off of the greatest title fight in UFC light heavyweight history against Alexander Gustafsson. It was a back-and-forth fight, both men were beaten to hell, and it produced the “Fight Of The Year” and one of the best fights in UFC history. Jones was lucky enough to escape with the unanimous decision, but it was a very close fight and many had thought that Gustafsson had done just enough to take the championship from Jones. However, Jones got the nod, kept the title and extended his record of most championship defenses in UFC light heavyweight history. There was enough talk coming out of the fight against Gustafsson that a rematch was to be expected, but it was Jones who wanted to fight someone new, and the rematch is on hold as Jones faces the next man in line in Teixeira. The fight date between Jones and Teixeira was announced for several different dates, as at first it was announced for UFC 169, then UFC 170, then UFC 171 before finally being fully set for UFC 172.
Teixeira is coming off of his toughest fight to date inside the Octagon when he fought Ryan Bader. While it ended up being a first-round knockout win for Teixeira, Bader hurt him early with some hard punches and Teixeira found himself playing defense early. He was able to defend the wrestling of Bader, and in doing so, found an opening and knocked Bader out with his back against the cage. While it was impressive, it didn’t give many fight fans reason to believe he would be able to be the man to dethrone Jones. Outside of that fight, Teixeira has rarely been tested in the UFC. He went the distance against Quinton Jackson, but it was a fight that he dominated. He destroyed Fabio Maldonado, and it was a testament to the toughness of Maldonado that he was able to last until the end of the second round. He made quick work of Kyle Kingsbury and James Te Huna, submitting both in the first round. Teixeira has won twenty straight, a number unheard of at 205 pounds, and 19 of his 22 career wins have come by stoppage. He is a long-time training partner of Chuck Liddell, and at 34-years-old, this may be his last chance to become the champion at the highest level.
The biggest question coming into the fight is how Jones will looking coming off of the war against Gustafsson. Injuries have started to creep up on Jones. He has admitted in the past that his elbow still isn’t the same after he was nearly submitted by Vitor Belfort at UFC 152. His toe was completely broken when he beat Chael Sonnen at UFC 159. That one is a big one as he relies on movement and kicks and planting his feet in looking for takedowns. He is coming off of that Gustafsson battle, and the toll it took on Jones pushed this fight from an original February 1 target date to April 26. Jones will still have that huge reach advantage over Teixeira as it will be eight-and-a-half inches. Teixeira likes to get inside the pocket and unload with his heavy hands, so Jones will look to use a steady mix of leg kicks and straight kicks to the thigh that he likes to use to keep Teixeira at a distance. Teixeira may be the best boxer and hardest hitter that Jones has fought, and he has hardly been in serious trouble, at least prior to the fight against Gustafsson. Teixeira has plenty of more power than Gustafsson does, but he doesn’t use the movement that he did. Jones had trouble with Gustafsson’s movement, so Teixeira should look to use angles and circles more often.
Both men stay very composed in a fight. If Jones is unable to keep Teixeira at a distance, Teixeira will attack with crisp combinations, and he attacks both the head and the body. Teixeira may look to take Jones down. Jones was taken down by Gustafsson, the first time that has ever happened, and Teixeira is stronger than Gustafsson. Teixeira has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and an excellent submission game and has good top control. Jones is very diverse on his feet, and he doesn’t telegraph his takedown opportunities. He is excellent from the top and has fight-ending elbows and an underrated submission game. He is unlikely to submit Teixeira, so he will be looking to end the fight with some rough ground-and-pound. Jones also likes to work in the clinch with knees and elbows but Teixiera has good dirty boxing. Despite all of the good that Teixeira does, it is hard to see him beating Jones outside of landing a big power punch. Jones is just too diverse on his feet and works from the outside very well. Teixeira has to wear Jones down and hope to land the power combinations, but we haven’t seen him go 25 minutes. We have Jones, and he has excellent conditioning. Jones will gradually get Teixeira out of his comfort zone before finishing it on the ground and some elbows in the championship rounds.
Why It Matters- This is a championship fight, the battle for the belt that has long been one of the most-prized championships in the UFC. Four UFC Hall Of Famers have held the 205-pound belt: Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Forrest Griffin and Randy Couture. Many other future Hall Of Famers have held it as well: Lyoto Machida, Mauricio Rua, Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans. Jon Jones is well on his way to joining the Hall Of Fame when things are all said-and-done. Glover Teixeira wants to get there, and beating Jones and defending the title will start that path. There are plenty of challenges awaiting the winner as well. Alexander Gustafsson is the next man in line, and he openly admits he wants to fight Jones. Jones could easily get a rematch if Teixeira wins. Daniel Cormier is there. Dan Henderson is attempting to work his way back up there. Phil Davis and Anthony Johnson have a big fight that will have ranking and title ramifications. There is plenty of work in the division for the winner to have, but the work starts late Saturday night in the main event.
Prediction- Jones
