Jon Jones Tagged Betting Favorite Over Rampage Jackson At UFC 135

 September 24, 2011 – By Scott

 

 

 

One is considered by many to be the future of MMA.  The other is considered to be the past according to many as well.  In any case, past will meet present on Saturday night.

 

At UFC 135 in Denver, Colorado, veteran Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will take on Jon Jones in the main event.  Jones has the title and this will be his first defense against an opponent some feel may be overmatched in the fight.

 

This comes for various reasons.  Mauricio “Shogun” Rua demolished Jackson a few years ago and Jones defeated Rua to win the title.  Despite the fight being ruled a disqualification, Jones dominated Matt Hamill and Jackson had a hard time getting the win over the retired fighter.

 

The younger Jones (24 years old) has a record of 13-1 in his MMA career.  Despite not having the experience, Jones brings quite an arsenal to the fight.   He is three inches taller than Jackson and more improtantly will have the advantage in almost every other aspect of the fight.  He is such an explosive fighter that will probably be too much for the elder Jackson to withstand. 

 

Jackson is going to experience a lot of punishing kicks and jabs.  Whether or not he will be able to hold up is the real question in this fight.  One thing that could be in his favor is the fact that Jones has never really been hit with any kind of punishment.  Jackson is a fighter who can deliver this.  But he has something else in mind, a strategy that he feels Jones can’t handle.

 

“This kid never went five rounds, and I know that he gasses,” Jackson said. “I’ve seen him gas when he fought ‘Shogun,’ and that was a rusty ‘Shogun.’ He’s been talking a lot of smack, like he’s going to be the first one to finish me in the UFC. So I just want to beef up my cardio. I want him to try and end me so he’ll gas, and I’ll make him look like a fool.”

MMA Sportsbooks feel that this won’t happen and have Jones favored with a moneyline set at -500 in their UFC 135 Betting Lines.  Jackson has his line set at +350.  Bodog sportsbook also has some interesting Prop Bets for this fight.  UFC 135 begins at 9:00 pm ET and can be seen live on Pay-Per-View.