UFC 165 Date: September 21, 2013 Arena: Air Canada Centre City: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Light Heavyweight Championship bout: Jon “Bones” Jones (-800) vs Alexander “The Mauler” Gustaffson +550 Fight Breakdown: The main event at UFC 165 will see two of the tallest and longest fighters in the UFC face off for the light heavyweight title when Champ Jon “Bones’ Jones takes on Sweden’s Alexander “The Mauler” Gustaffson. Jones is currently the very large favorite in this match-up at -800 ($800 to win $100), while the underdog Gustaffson is a very large underdog at +550 ($100 to win $550) at Several Bookmakerss. JON “BONES” JONES (18-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) will be looking to defend his UFC light heavyweight title for a record-breaking sixth time against Gustafsson. The Swede is the first opponent Jones has faced in his professional mixed martial arts career who matches him in height and length, as the UFC has heavily been promoting. Jones is arguably the best fighter in all of MMA. He has very solid greco-roman wrestling; his takedowns are impressive and he gets them at will. He possesses a very ruthless ground and pound attack where he loves to implement his vicious elbows, busting heads open and getting stoppages. Jones started as a wrestler but is now exceptionally talented in every aspect of the sport. He has become a great striker under the tutelage of coach Michael Winkeljohn at Jackson-Winklejohn MMA in Albequrque, NM., where Jones spends his training camps. Training at high altitude helps with his already terrific cardio, as he prepares for five round fights. His ground game will be on point going into this match-up and I expect his kickboxing to be in top form. Jones will without a doubt have the grappling advantage in this fight, both in wrestling and jiu-jitsu. ALEXANDER “THE MAULER” GUSTAFSSON (15-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) is taking a hot seven fight win streak with him to the Octagon this Saturday night as he looks to dethrone the champ. Gustafsson is a talented striker who splits his training camps between Alliance MMA in San Diego, CA., and his gym in his Swedish hometown. He has excellent boxing skills, having been boxing for sixteen years, well before he ever got started in MMA. “The Mauler” likes to use his reach and jab to keep opponents out of their striking range, while simultaneously scoring points. Wrestling was a weakness for Gustafsson early in his career but he has since improved his game. He has good takedown defense and his offensive wrestling has certainly become noteworthy. Gustafsson is a very good submission grappler; the fact that he owns a submission grappling championship reflects that sentiment. He has tremendous conditioning and will be able to match Jones breath-for-breath, should the fight go the distance. Gustafsson could have possibly gotten this opportunity earlier but he did not feel he was ready, so he chose to wait. Now, he feels his time is here and he is ready to take on the difficult task of fighting and beating Jon “Bones” Jones. Fight Prediction: I think things will start out slow, as both fighters take time to feel each other out and try to find their striking range. I expect Jones to outstrike Gustafsson and score takedowns on him. He will do some damage to the Swede both on the feet and on the ground, but contrary to popular opinion, I don’t see Jones getting the stoppage. I think Gustafsson will survive Jones’ vicious limbs and defend his submission attempts en route to a Unanimous Decision loss. Gabe’s Pick: Jon Jones by Unanimous Decision (50-45, 49-46, 50-45) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Jon Jones wins by 5 round Unanimous Decision +440, Over 2.5 rounds -120, Gustafsson/Jones starts round 2 -290, and Gustafsson/Jones Stars round 3 -125
