• UFC 135

Five rounds, two champion fighters, one huge fight

September 23, 2011

To guarantee your front-row seat for UFC 135 on September 24, subscription details can be found here.

The reigning UFC champion of the most stacked division in the sport, the man tipped to become the greatest of all time, takes on the first man to unify PRIDE and UFC titles, a man who boasts a casualty list longer than your local Accident and Emergency ward. Can Rampage Jackson shock champion Jon Jones? We're about to find out...

---

Jon Jones v Rampage Jackson

Where the fight could be won or lost: Jon Jones is pretty good. That secret is out. On his best night, it's going to be a task for anyone at 205lbs to beat him. How does Rampage do it? He's pretty much said it in interviews. He understands he's going to get beat up, but if he doesn't quit and manages to land one of those "bungalows" he throws around, well, we don't know what happens because we still have not seen Jones get hit. Maybe he has a granite chin, and if that's the case, conceivably he's unbeatable. But maybe he folds under adversity. We. Don't. Know.

Most likely, Rampage gets taken down and forced to fight off his back. If he can't work back to his feet and stay there, this fight is over before it begins. From what I've heard, Jackson is training for this fight as hard as any in his career. He wants the belt. He feels he was never given the credit he deserved for unifying the Pride and UFC titles back against Dan Henderson. He's a man on a mission and he's dangerous. But Jones will put him on his back and that's where the danger ends.

The pick: Jon Jones - TKO

---

Matt Hughes v Josh Koscheck

Where the fight could be won or lost: The biggest loser in the Diego Sanchez injury case is really Matt Hughes. Hughes had a manageable fight on his hands with Sanchez. Koscheck will be more to deal with in terms of wrestling, striking and athleticism. Hughes won't be able to keep this fight on the ground, which is still the former champ's best shot at winning a fight. At 37, we haven't seen a significant decline in his skills, but it's coming at some point.

The question mark is Koscheck's mindset. The broken orbital bone he suffered in the Georges St-Pierre fight is a major injury to come back from. That said, nothing in this guy's career suggests he'll let it affect him. He's a mentally tough fighter with no shortage on confidence. I don't see that changing here. Not to sound harsh, but besides the Ricardo Almeida submission win, Hughes hasn't had a truly impressive performance in years. He's experienced, but so is his opponent. What does Hughes do right now that Koscheck can't do better? I'm not sure there is an answer to that.

The pick: Josh Koscheck - KO

---

Takanori Gomi v Nate Diaz

Where the fight could be won or lost: So many perceivable outcomes in this fight. First inclination is to go with Nate Diaz. He's better on the ground, will have the reach advantage and takes a punch tremendously well. He's moving back to lightweight after realizing he just doesn't have the physical strength to be elite at 170. Gomi's stand-up can be, at times, one-dimensional - a detail Diaz is capable of exploiting.

But taking a closer look at the styles reveals Takanori Gomi is certainly not out of his league here. Diaz is a volume puncher, which gives Gomi some trouble, but he doesn't move around much. He tends to stand in the pocket. Gomi has success against this style of striking more so than the stick-and-move approach Kenny Florian employed against him. As long as he doesn't gas, expect Gomi to defend Diaz's takedown. This is a potential shootout, which makes it tough to bet on. Diaz might try to get it to the ground at times, but expect the action to play out mostly on the feet. Diaz is the favorite, but not by much. This just seems like a fight that will go the distance, and Diaz is 0-5 in such fights since 2009.

The pick: Takanori Gomi - KO

Check out ESPN.com for more build-up to UFC 135

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.