UFC 128: The Winds Of Change

Whilst we enjoyed our Bones Lamb Pie, Mr Stu Furay was paying close attention to UFC 128. Not that we didn't, it's just difficult to concentrate with food that good...


The winds of change are blowing through MMA and the UFC. The sports changing, the companies changing and the fighters are evolving. Pride; gone. WEC; Gone. Strikeforce; All but gone. One by one the old guard are being picked off by a new breed of younger, hungrier, athletic, explosive, multi-talented super-fighters. Cain Velazquez, Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, GSP and Jose Aldo all sit at the top of their respective trees. In recent times we have seen Mark Coleman and Chuck Liddell retired and the myth of Fedor Emilianenko destroyed.

After Saturday night, you can add two more names to that list. First off, Brendan ‘The Hybrid’ Schaub struck another nail into the long and illustrious career of Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filopovic. Quicker, bigger, stronger and more athletic than Cro Cop, Schaub was never really troubled barring a nice short elbow that landed flush on his nose. Schaub used his size and reach advantage to keep Cro Cop at distance or pinned up against the cage to nullify those infamous kicks, and nicely timing his takedowns to slip Cro Cop’s big left and put Cro Cop on his back. Cro Cop looked one dimensional and out of his depth. Schaub brought the fight to an abrupt end with a crushing right hand in the third round, practically dropping Cro Cop on his head. After Two defeats on the spin, the sun is surely setting on Cro Cop’s career.

Then in the main event, came the culmination of the meteoric rise of Jon ‘Bones’ Jones. Jones has blown away everything and everyone in his path. Never troubled, never rocked and barely even getting out of breath. His fight against the champion, Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua, was no different. Only hours before the biggest fight of his life whilst meditating in a nearby park, Jones chased down a mugger, kicked his ass and turned him over to the police. You have to wonder if the mugger put up more of a fight than Shogun did. Shogun looked slow, flabby and ponderous, whereas Jones looked like he always does; in peak physical condition, ripped to the bone and focused like a laser. Within thirty seconds Jones had his first takedown. He was his usual bag of tricks of flying knees and spinning back elbows and it wasn’t long before he started to dominate. Shogun had no answer to his speed, reach, athletic ability, explosiveness and multitude of strikes. The fight was brought to an end in the third round after Jones beat Shogun to the ground and the referee mercifully called it off in the most one-sided championship bout you are likely to see. After the fight Bones was barely out of breath, while Shogun looked like he had been mugged himself. The time it was Jones doing the mugging, and he casually walked off with Shogun’s gold.

So, what next? I wouldn’t be surprised of Cro Cop hung up his gloves for good, and Schaub is looking like a dangerous prospect in the Heavyweight division.

After Shogun’s performance, I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see him follow former Pride fighter Wanderlei Silva down to middleweight.

We know Jones is facing former team-mate Rashad Evans in his first title defence, after Evais announced he would no longer be training with Greg Jackson. Don’t expect Evans to fair much better. The UFC and Jonny ‘Bones’ Jones are looking unstoppable.