Great pic from 126

dave1982

I got chills as soon as I saw this. I have seen this picture a thousand times and it says a thousand things. You’ve seen it too. A young upstart is in front, excited, loud. The old lion stands in the back eyeing him. Quiet. Knowing. The word is sorely misused and overused, but this is classic.

Jon Jones: "God is so good. I feel so great. I’m going for a world title, baby. Let’s do it!"

Mauricio Rua comes in, nonchalant: "I respect Jon Jones, but I’m a professional fighter. No problem."

Jones fights a young man’s fight. He fights like someone who doesn’t think he can lose. Every challenge for him is a wild ride and he throws himself into it with abandon. Does that remind you of anyone?

Take yourself out of a fan’s shoes for a moment. Imagine you’re Rua. You can see past the flash. You see another fighter like all fighters you’ve faced: a conquerable challenge. You look at him like you know of worlds he’s only seen in his dreams. This kid. He doesn’t know what he’s gotten himself into.

He’s never left his soul in the ring with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. How many countries has he fought in? He's only seen the inside of Chute Boxe in his fantasies. He hasn’t had his arm broken in a fight. He was never PRIDE’s uncrowned champion, fallen. He hasn’t been low and lower and risen again.

He’s business as usual. That’s all.

Jones is high off his win, high off the chance to prove himself. He’s screaming, amping himself up. Rua knows what it’s like. He was the original 23-year-old wonder. Once upon a time he did everything Jones did, and more. That was five years ago. Five years is forever in this sport. He looks at Jones like Son, you don’t know where I’ve been.

This is one of the best MMA photos I’ve ever seen. It taps into a story, a showdown we’re all familiar with, and which will never become trite as long as combat sports exist. Two sides of the same coin. His present, his future. This is the best story you're going to get in MMA, better than any revenge tale. And it's all real.

d_jordan

that a great picture. hope Rua wins

Niall0

Awesome a really iconic picture.

MrStuffins

What a pic!

Excellent picture and story to it. Great thread.

Tones69

Brilliant pic, big rua fan here so i hope he does the busniess

YouSavedMyLife

Wow very good pic. Huge Shogun fan here also, but i really think Jones will challenge him more than Rashad could. That being said i dont like Jones, something about him just irks me...

MrStuffins

Jones was given the title fight after Rampage turned it down. But Rampage will be up next if he beats Silva!

Charlie3dan

Great pic.
Definitely a much better fight than Shogun and Evans.
I'm a fan of Shogun but I really like Jon Jones style and I think this is a tough match for Shogun. Plus with Shogun being regularly injured, gassing in fights & losing to forrect griffin it's fair to say he's never a sure bet.
Alot of people seem to think the older more experienced guy won't have any trouble with this young upstart but I think Jones has a real chance of winning.

DrPhilG

Charlie3dan wrote: »

I think Jones has a real chance of winning.

I agree. The bookies in the States have actually opened with Jones being favourite.

It's hard to know, because Shogun is a different beast to Bader, Matsushenko or Vera, but Jones has wrecked everyone else he's met. Forrest Griffin summed it up well in the post fight conference. He said that every time Jones meets someone that Forrest thought would be a tough challenge, he's destroyed them in a few minutes.

I like the fella. Seems very decent and down to earth. As much as I like Shogun, I'd be hoping for a Jones win.

The Shane

Cool pic but that write up was a bit on the crap side.

Maybe it was just the start of some erotic fiction where the handsome Rua taught the writer about love in the Octagon....

Shane, The

YouSavedMyLife

Just watched the post fight presser and Jones keeps thanking god for helping him get to where he is and that its gods will that he is winning fights yadayada. I wonder will he still think its gods will that he gets his face punched in by Shogun

Shazbot

Great picture but the write up is incredibly cheesey.

YouSavedMyLife wrote: »

Just watched the post fight presser and Jones keeps thanking god for helping him get to where he is and that its gods will that he is winning fights yadayada.

This has to be one of the more annoying aspects of any sport. "I want to thank god for my win". No, thank yourself and your coaches for the hard work, dedication and intense training you do which culminates in a fight. No one ever thanks god for a loss. He sounds like Matt Hughes and god knows we don't need another one of those (in a personality way, not fighting).