UFC Futures UFC Light Heavyweight Title: Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira No Date/Venue Confirmed At This Time Rumored For Feb. 2, 2014 in New Jersey UFC Light Heavyweight Jon Jones -735 Profile: One of the top pound-for-pound MMA fighters on the planet, Jon ”Bones” Jones (19-1) has dominated the light heavyweight scene, becoming the youngest UFC title holder ever early in 2011 at the age of 23, and he will likely continue to own the division for as long as he chooses to stay there. With an insane reach advantage, awkward and unorthodox striking style, a solid wrestling base and submissions from anywhere in the cage, “Bones” is a horrifying matchup for any light heavyweight to face. The lone blemish on his record came from a DQ loss to Matt Hamill for 12-6 elbows even though he was clearly in line for another lopsided victory. After being blamed for the cancellation fiasco of UFC 151, Jones bounced back from an early armbar submission attempt to submit Vitor Belfort at UFC 152 and tie Chuck Liddell’s light heavyweight title defense record. His next gig was to serve as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter 17 against Chael Sonnen who supposedly was the only one to challenge Bones in the wake of the UFC 151 cancellation. This was another decisive win, as he destroyed Chael in the first round. Jones didn’t come out of that fight unscathed, however. His big toe was gruesomely broken during the bout. Had Jones not defeated Chael in short order, there is no doubt that the fight would’ve been stopped in Sonnen’s favor. After mending his toe, Jones took on Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165. The fight was highly touted as a physically equal matchup where Bones wouldn’t be hulking over his opponent, and Gustafsson proved that breakdown to be dead on, as Jones struggled to get takedowns and took more damage than he ever had before in an MMA match. In the end, Jones won a unanimous decision, and the calls of ‘robbery’ were greatly exaggerated by the fans of Gustafsson. Now, Bones moves on to his next opponent, Glover Teixeira next Super Bowl weekend. UFC Light Heavyweight Glover Teixeira +475 Profile: When people talk about the next big thing at light heavyweight in the UFC, the name Glover Teixeira (22-2) come up every time. The 33-year-old Brazilian Teixeira trains out of the famed Pit, where such notable fighters as Tim Kennedy, Bobby Southworth, Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell have learned their craft over the years. With a black belt in BJJ and fists that have delivered him 13 knockouts in his 22 wins, Teixeira is the real deal and can bring the fight anywhere. He is currently on a 20-fight winning streak and garnering increased attention as a true contender in the suddenly-murky UFC light heavyweight division following dominant wins over James Te Huna (submission), Quinton Jackson (unanimous decision) and Ryan Bader (KO). Now, Glover is finally being awarded his title shot against the the king of the light heavyweight division in Jon Jones. Jones was humbled even in victory against Alexander Gustafsson, and Glover may have been taken to school with a plan to defeat the seemingly unbeatable “Bones.” He definitely has the punching power to take down anyone, and maybe it’s his time to be the UFC light heavyweight champion Opening UFC Futures Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas made Jones a huge -735 favorite (bet $735 to win $100) while Teixeira is a +475 underdog (bet $100 to win $475) at Several Bookmakers. Jones is coming off by far the toughest fight of his career against Alexander Gustafsson. While Gustafsson had plenty of success against Jones, Teixeira is going to be at a sizable reach advantage and won’t be able to emulate “The Mauler’s” blueprint. However, he does possess one-punch KO power, and if we see him hit Jones in the chin, who knows what could happen. Teixeira has excellent wrestling as well and may look to take Jones to the floor. Odds are that Jones retains the title against Teixeira, but no one gave Gustafsson a chance and look what happened there. Don’t write off the next challenger entirely just yet.
