As any regular reader of MMA Fix has probably noted by now, Jon “Bones” Jones continues to rise up our ‘Who’s the Man’ index, and certainly Sunday’s win over Brandon Vera, only furthered this (and yes, we’re aware this admiration is now bordering dangerously close to ‘nauseating’). At any rate, by taking out another notable vet like Vera, we speculated yesterday that Jones might be one win away from a title shot…

Well, it would seem like once again, we’ve jumped the gun (see what happens when you start adding Red Bull to your coffee). In a report from MMA Junkie this AM, UFC honcho Dana White was quoted saying that although he’s impressed with Jones (and really, who wouldn’t be, unless being difficult is your favorite past time), the light-heavyweight is still a ways away from getting a shot at the title.

“He’s not ready for that,” White said. “I’d like to see him get another year under his belt, and in that year, before he got a shot at the title, he’d have to take out Rashad (Evans), ‘Rampage’ (Jackson), possibly ‘Shogun’ (Rua) or (Lyoto) Machida, then get the title shot.”

Fair enough. There are certainly several top ranked fighters out there within striking distance of Machida, but at the same time, if Jones were to fight one of those aforementioned dudes and beat them, wouldn’t a title shot be in order?

Scheduling also plays a factor here, as after the smoke clears from Rua vs. Machida II and Jackson vs. Evans, none of those guys will be fighting again until probably the fall.

If anyone ever tells you that ground fighting is for ‘pussies,’ or that ‘sh-t never happens’ on the mat (you know, the kind of dude that starts booing two seconds after a fight hits the floor), feel free to introduce them to footage of Jon “Bones” Jones’ savage elbow to Brandon Vera last night. We’re thinking that the sound of Jones’ elbow smashing Vera’s face alone, should be enough to shut them up for a while. And when we say ‘smash’ are we exaggerating? Maybe not, as unfortunately there are early reports stating that Vera’s face is broken…yeah, there wasn’t even any blood and it still was a cringe for 2 minutes afterwards strike (the replay added an additional 3 minutes for us).

Speaking to UFC.com, Jones was quick to credit MMA guru Greg Jackson, for teaching him how to best batter an opponent’s face with an elbow from the top position.

“That elbow, that’s all Greg Jackson, he has a very distint ground-and-pound system; I realized Georges St. Pierre does the same style of elbow. It’s a Greg Jackson thing. I found my home. Everything is working.”

So, as many in the MMA world are falling over themselves to say today, yes, Jones is clearly the real dealio. We’ve been singing the praises of Jones for sometime now, and certainly last night’s ground-and-break peformance, did nothing to diminish our predictions that the light-heavyweight is going to do big things in the sport.

Here’s hoping that Vera has a speedy recovery. As for Jones, really, he’s probably what, one win away from a title shot?

As any regular reader here nows, we’re pretty damn excited about tonight’s UFC on Versus main event tilt between Jon “Bones” Jones and Brandon “The Truth” Vera; both guys are reedonkously skilled and judging by yesterday’s weigh-ins, things have got a wee bit personal between the two lads (check out the vid here- props to Cage Potato for the heads up). Plus, it’s on Versus, so no one’s shelling out the grocery money to see this fight (although if you count beer as a food staple then…).

Anyone in their right mind, that has seen Jones fight, has to be excited about getting to see the wonder kid fight again. To date, Jone’s bouts have featured highlight reel slams, throws, spinning strikes, and yes, against Matt Hamill, about two dozen ‘ummm that’s not legal is it?’ elbows. In other words, it makes sense that people are talking, and talking a lot about Bones.

Of course tonight he’ll face another huge test in Vera (likely his toughest), and speaking to MMA Weekly, Jones sounded pretty, pretty, pretty confident about how his tilt with Vera will unfold.

“I have no doubt in my mind that I can beat Brandon Vera,” states Jones.

“At the end of the day, I just don’t get this crazy fear or anything. I respect his game. I know he has tons more experience than me and he’s been in the Octagon so many times, (there’s) no doubt in my mind.”

Should be interesting to see if Vera can derail the Jones machine. To bet on tonight’s bout, or any other on the card, head here.

Any regular reader of MMA Fix knows that Jon “Bones” Jones continues to steadily rise up our ‘Now That’s What’s Up’ index, after all, this is a guy that has tossed studs like Matt Hamill and Stephan Bonnar through the air like beach balls (not to mention flooring the latter with a spinning elbow). That’s some entertaining sh-t, and part of the reason why the 22 year-old light-heavyweight is quickly becoming one of the sport’s fastest rising commodities. If he can take out Brandon Vera on the 21^st, the “Bones” Jones bandwagon will be maxed out before your buddy can say ‘he’s always been my favorite fighter.’

The official UFC site has an interesting report posted about the All-American Greco-Roman wrestler’s training regiment; yeah, it looks difficult. Check out this sample while we duck out for KFC. 

AVERAGE DAY

1.Hang Clean (5 sets of 5 reps)

2.Barbell Push Press (8 sets of 5 reps: 30 sec. rest between sets)

3. Lying Leg Curl (6 sets of 6 reps)

4. Depth Dumbbell Snatch (4 sets of 4 reps)

5. Ring Twists (3 sets of 4 reps to each side)

6. Clean from Knees w/Jump (3 sets of 10 reps)

7. Medicine ball superset (run the cycle three times for a total of three supersets)

•    Medicine Ball Power Up (5 reps)

•    Medicine Ball Sprawl and Jump (8 reps)

•    Medicine Ball Plyo Push Up (8 reps)

8. One-Leg Straight Leg Walking Dumbbell Deadlifts (3 sets for 25 yards each)

We’re extremely excited about the upcoming March 21^st tilt between Brandon “The Truth” Vera and Jon “Bones” Jones; not only is it a good match-up and on cable TV through Versus (meaning more dough for beer), Jones is so effing exciting to watch, even his hands getting taped is highlight reel material (that takes moves folks).

Now Vera has also put together a couple of memorable stoppages in his UFC tenure, just ask Frank Mir, but he’s also been in some real snoozers, recall (or actually don’t) his fight with Tim Sylvia. All this aside, Vera will likely be the best all rounded fighter Jones has faced to date; “The Truth” can strike, submit and wrestle (as well as be honest at all times).

In a recent interview with MMA Weekly, Vera informed the outlet that he’s been spending extra time working on his jiu-jitsu recently, summing it up confidently by stating that “You take me to the ground this year, you’re going to get submitted.” In addition, the former heavyweight gave this prediction, in regards to his upcoming bout with Jones.

“Jones, he’s got the skills; he’ll stand with me. Somebody’s going to go to sleep.”

Yes, Jones definitely has the skills as well as the longest arms in the UFC (no joke), which has made fighting “Bones” for a lot of guys a less than pleasant experience. The potential for a mind numbing stoppage from either fighter is definitely there.

To bet on the Jones vs. Vera head here.

Ok fine. If you’ve been following MMA Fix throughout this week, yes, we’ve been gravitating towards fighter quotes that are less than complimentary towards their fellow Octagon competitors. Whatever, we’re cynical pricks; aren’t we all? Be honest…

The latest comment to catch our eye comes from Brandon “The Truth” Vera, who due to his nick name, one must pay careful attention to whatever the light-heavyweight says. Speaking at a press conference this past weekend, Vera reportedly offered this rather ‘honest’ statement, when asked about whether or not fighting former champ Chuck Liddell would be a step down in competition. (Thanks to Sherdog for the quote)

“Yes,” said Vera. “I’m not lying. I would much rather fight somebody I’m supposed to lose to.”

Well, there you have it; you wanted the truth so you got the truth from “The Truth.” Now would we like to see Vera and Liddell throw down? Of course, but Vera’s right; he would be the favorite if the two were to meet. Some people had him winning his last bout against Randy Couture, and prior to that, Vera cruised to a win over Krzysztof Soszynski. Really, at this stage, what would he gain by being the latest name tied to the sentence ‘yeah, Liddell lost again.’

We love “The Iceman,’ he’s a legend, but Chuck’s lost 4 of 5 bouts which even had his buddy Dana White calling for his retirement. That doesn’t usually happen if you’re ‘the man to beat.’ Who knows, maybe Chuck will bomb out Tito and make another run…

Last night’s main event bout between Randy Couture and Brandon Vera may not have been the most exciting bout ever, but due to the fact it included one of the more intriguing figures in all of professional sports, namely the 46 year-old “Natural,” you better have been heavily sedated if you weren’t pumped up at least a little bit.

In the end, Couture managed to control more of the bout with his clinch work along the fence, which is probably why the former champ was awarded the UD win. On the other hand Vera inflicted the most damage in the fight, including a couple of hard body kicks to Couture, which had livers around the world ducking for cover. Speaking after the bout, Vera stated that he thought he had done enough to win the fight. (Thanks to UFC.com for the quotes)

“I thought I won,” said Vera. “I left it all out there.”

“They said ‘unanimous decision’ and I remember thinking in my head, ‘yeah, I did it,’” elaborated Vera at the post-fight press conference. “And then they said it was for Randy Couture and it was like a building toppling over. It was heavy on the heart. I walked out of the Octagon and just sat down, bewildered. There were a lot of mixed emotions, but this is why I do what I do.”

As usual Couture was the humble victor, citing his control of the action as to why he won the fight, while crediting Vera for his performance.

“It was a tough-ass fight, obviously,” said Couture. “Brandon definitely did his homework. He did a great job against the fence, making it real difficult to get hold of his hips and take him down.”

Tough-ass fight indeed. Who’s next for both dudes?

After disposing of his first 4 UFC opponents in short order, (one of which was Frank Mir- you may recall the bloody beat down) the fanfare surrounding Brandon Vera was on it’s way to GSP levels. But, after dropping 3 of his next 4 bouts the chit-chat surrounding “The Truth” quickly went from ‘that guy’s unstoppable,’ to ‘what’s that guy’s name again? You know the one that busted up Mir?’

The past aside, Vera maintains that he’s rededicated himself to the sport and has won back-to-back fights against Mike Patt and Krzysztof Soszynski. Despite the recent wins, Vera is still in need of another ‘holy sheet’ victory, before people really start throwing his name in the title shot mix. If he can take out the man, the legend, “The Natural”, Mr. Randy Couture on November 14^th, it won’t take long for Vera’s bandwagon to fill up. Speaking to the Las Vegas Sun, Vera had this to say about the upcoming fight.

“Randy’s a hero. When they first told me I was going to fight in 105, I was like, “Hell, no. That’s nine weeks from now. I just got done fighting (at UFC 101).” Then they said I’d be fighting Randy and I was like, “Oh yeah, I’ll fight Randy.”

Yeah, a bout with Captain America is definitely not something you turn down, even if you get humbled by a dude who’s nearly 20 years older. Right Tim? Gabriel?

After competing just once in 2008, it’s pretty damn sweet that Randy “The Natural” Couture is fighting for the second time in less than 3 months on November 14^th, when the legend takes on Brandon Vera at UFC 105 in Manchester, England. What’s even better is that for us fans in North America, we’ll get to check it out for free on Spike. (Savings go towards more beer, wings and running shoes that won’t get used)

In an interview with Britain’s Sun publication, the 46 year-old-fighter fielded the usual questions about his future in fighting (pretty much the standard for what five, six years?) and whether or not Couture feels his age is catching up with him. (Another ‘go to’ question with any story featuring Randy)

“No. I don’t think it’s become a factor. It might be a factor for some of my younger opponents because I’ve been doing this for a long time and I have a lot of experience.”

No surprises there really, otherwise Couture would not have signed a 6 fight extension with the UFC this past summer. Where the interview gets particularly interesting is when Couture breaks down the bout with Vera, who although he’s had some lacklustre performances, is one talented dude. 

“He’s not a submission expert, he’s not going to be that dangerous on the ground — he’ll be more dangerous on his feet — his punching and kicking is more effective than Nogueira.”

“I’m focusing on trying to force him to wrestle me the entire fight — get my hands on him and make him wrestle.”

Makes sense to us and millions will probably tune in to see how it works out.

Yesterday we said that the internet’s latest ‘it’ rumor, that Randy Couture would fight Brandon Vera at the upcoming November 14^th UFC 105, sounded pretty damn plausible. (Like when your buddy tells you he only watches the weigh-ins when Gina Carano’s fighting- that’s extremely plausible) Well today, the promotion has confirmed that indeed Couture will take on Vera at UFC 105 in Manchester, England.

Speaking to UFC.com, Couture had this say to about the confirmed bout:

“Brandon Vera is the first of these challenges at 205lbs. It would have been very nice to be the big guy in the Octagon(TM) for the first time in years but, having trained with Brandon and competed against him in wrestling many years ago, I know that he is as big and as powerful as I am.”

While Vera offered this:

“It will be an honour and a privilege to fight a living legend like Randy Couture. He has been someone that I have looked up to and I can’t wait to get in there in November.”

Now with this tilt, Denis Kang vs. Michael Bisping and Dong Hyun Kim vs. Dan Hardy all confirmed for UFC 105, this card is starting to shape up very nicely. Best of all, the card is scheduled to be broadcast on Spike TV, which will give the wallet a much needed rest. (Peering into some dude’s apartment to watch it with your binoculars just isn’t the same…)