By Jorge Hernandez.
Before the main event gets underway this Saturday night (April 27, 2013) in Newark, New Jersey with the championship on the line when Light Heavyweight sensation Jon Jones meets the strong wrestling game of Chael Sonnen.
With a victory for “Bones,” he will be tied with Tito Ortiz all-time title defense record if he can crash some strong elbows and stop Sonnen this Saturday. Lets check what the pros have predicted the UFC 159: Jones vs. Sonnen pay-per-view (PPV) headliner.
Dan Henderson (29-9), coming off a closely contested match with Lyoto Machida that resulted in a split decision win for “The Dragon,” Dan Henderson is on a mission to regain top contender status with a big win over Rashad Evans in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, reported to take place later this year at UFC 161. “Hendo” is a training partner of Chael and won’t count him out until the bitter end.
“Everyone thinks Jon Jones is gonna walk through him but I think Chael definitely has a good shot at beating him. He’s definitely going to put him on his back, it just all depends on what he can do with it. If he can do it every round, or most of the rounds he could win a decision. Hopefully Chael does well.”
Glover Teixeira (20-2) has found much success in the Octagon with three wins in a row. Coming off hs most high profile win when he roughed up Rampage Jackson, sending the Former champion away from the UFC with another loss. Teixeira is all set to square off with James Te-Huna, who is a power striker himself and also riding high on a nice four fight win-streak himself. Teixeira predicts the upcoming marquee title fight with “Bones” and Chael.
“Jon Jones, man. I think Jon Jones is going to win, you can’t count Chael Sonnen out, he’s a great wrestler, but I don’t think he’s gonna get the range. Jones is too tall and to good of a wrestler.”
Tito Ortiz (16-11-1) has retired after going 1-7 in his last eight fights in the Octagon. Ortiz sees “Bones” continue his reign of terror on the 205-pound division.
“Jones is gonna do whatever he wants, I think. Chael is a little too small, he’s going to realize there’s a big difference. Bones is a different type of animal.”
Dominick Cruz (19-1) is back to training after a reoccurring knee injury that has him on a long layoff. Still with the belt by his side, Cruz remains one of the best MMA fighters to enter the cage. The Bantamweight champ thinks Chael can implement a wrestling game plan to find success, but sees the champ coming out on top in the end.
“I would like to see Chael go in there and be able to use his Greco Roman Wrestling and cause some problems for Jones. We haven’t seen Jones on his back. I think if Chael uses his Greco to tie up Jones…then he’s able to use that upper body clinch to drop to the legs and take Jones down. I think that would be a better game plan for Chael than anybody has been able to do against Jon Jones. I think Chael can execute that. I’d like to see him try, but either way I see Jon being very tough to beat. I see Jon raising his hand at the end of the night.”
Wanderlei Silva (35-12-1) is fresh off a knockout win and “Fight of the night” when he returned to Saitama, Japan to fight Brian Stann. Silva suspects “The American Gangster” falls within three.
“Jon Jones is going to win. He’s gonna win before the third round.”
Jake Ellenberger (29-6) has put together a nice list of wins in the UFC. He is currently slated to face Rory MacDonald at UFC on FOX 8 in Seattle this summer in a fight that has fireworks written all over it. “The Juggernaut” thinks Sonnen is one of the only men who can put Jones down, but can he hold him there is the question.
“I think there’s only a few guys in that division that can beat Jon Jones right now, Chael is one of them. I believe he’s one of the guys that can do that. A lot of people aren’t giving him a very good shot because Jon has obviously been reigning champ. But, you never know, he could have a good night, he could be on like the first Anderson Silva fight. I don’t think there are many guys in the division that can take Jon Jones down, Chael is one of them. He is quick and he can definable take him down. I wouldn’t be surprised if Chael wins the fight, to be honest, I really wouldn’t.”
There it is. A good majority of the fighters feel like the talented 205-pounder will remain undisputed this weekend.
If Sonnen can deter the unbeaten Jones it will definitely strike as the biggest upset in MMA history, surpassing GSP-Serra by a long shot. If the Champion can beat up Sonnen worse than Anderson Silva did, will he convince the fight fans that he is the “pound-for-pound” king?
Can the underdog come out on top? Will Bones’ superstar come crashing down if Chael can keep him on the ground for 25 minutes? We will find out on Saturday night when the reigning champion defends his title for the fifth time at UFC 159 in New Jersey.
Prelim Card on FX starts at 8pm EST and the Main Card on PPV begins at 10pm EST.
As always, you can stop by Fighthubtv.com to get full-fight results and coverage for the entire UFC 159 fight card that goes down this Saturday evening.
See you then!
