Watch this great profile of 23 year old MMA phenom Jon Jones, who will fight Shogun Rua for the LHW (205) title later today.
Anyone who has watched Jones fight knows he is incredibly talented. His background is wrestling -- he gave up a scholarship to Iowa State when he started his pro career. I notice he hits a lot of Judo throws in his fights. Most fans think those are greco throws but they aren't -- he's using his legs, which is illegal in greco. When I investigated this, expecting to find that he had trained in Judo as many wrestlers have, I was amazed to discover that he taught himself using internet videos!
Las Vegas Sun: ... Widely regarded as an unorthodox and unpredictable fighter, Jones has built his style based on what he's learned in the gym from instructors and what he's taught himself using methods like YouTube.
While it's known that Jones comes from a Greco-Roman wrestling background, he's evolved that style into his own by combining it with moves he's picked up from studying judo on the Internet.
"A lot of the moves I'm performing aren't actually Greco-Roman, they're judo," Jones said. "You can't use a trip in Greco-Roman. I don't have an official judo coach but I've been, it sounds weird, getting on the Internet and watching a lot of Judo moves. I take it seriously."
This highlight video shows some nice throws, including by Jones.
Is Jones ready for Rua? The biggest question in my mind is whether Rua is fully recovered from knee surgery. If he is, he could give Jones a tough fight, maybe even a beatdown. Rua is a legend, but are his best days behind him? This is one of the most exciting match ups in some time.
