Tag: Jon Jones

Anthony Smith: Dominick Reyes is an easier fight for Jon Jones than Corey Anderson

Anthony Smith believes UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones picked an easier fight in Dominick Reyes over Corey Anderson.

[autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] actually picked the easier opponent in [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag].

UFC light heavyweight champion Jones tweeted that he picked Reyes over [autotag]Corey Anderson[/autotag] because he believes he’s the more dangerous fighter, but Smith said he thinks Anderson presents more problems overall.

“I honestly think Jon probably chose the easier opponent between Corey Anderson and Dominick Reyes,” Smith said on UFC Unfiltered. “I think that Reyes is absolutely more dangerous, as far as explosiveness and size and his length. I think he may give Jon some problems on his feet a little bit and Jon will have to dodge some bullets. But look at everybody Jon’s beat – they’re one-dimensional, and that’s what Jon wants.”

The undefeated Reyes (11-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC), is coming off a first-round knockout over Chris Weidman at UFC on ESPN 6 in Boston. Anderson (13-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) is coming off a first-round finish of his own, taking out top prospect Johnny Walker at UFC 244.

Both were in the running for a title shot, but Jones ultimately chose Reyes. However, Smith said that Reyes’ split decision win over Volkan Oezdemir in March exposed some holes in his game that he can see Jones exploiting in the fight.

“Like we’ve seen in the Volkan Oezdemir fight, Dominick Reyes isn’t necessarily dominant on the ground and his takedown defense isn’t that great,” Smith said. “Even though he was able to stuff some of Weidman’s (takedowns) … he did have some improvements there, but Volkan Oezdemir took him down several times and Jon Jones is a much better wrestler than Volkan Oezdemir, that’s for sure.”

In Anderson, Smith sees a more skilled fighter overall who could present more issues to Jones, considering his wrestling ability.

“I think Corey is more well-rounded,” Smith said. “He’s got fundamental boxing. His kicking game isn’t super high level, but he keeps his hands in the right spot. He moves his head well. His wrestling is good. His takedown defense is really good. His top pressure is good. His cardio is phenomenal. Corey presents a lot more problems than Dominick Reyes does, so I do think that Jon picked the easier fight.”

[vertical-gallery id=459186]

This insane statistic puts perspective on Patriots’ lockdown secondary

Here’s a disclaimer for NFL teams: Don’t throw a deep ball against the New England Patriots. 

Here’s a disclaimer for NFL teams: Don’t throw a deep ball against the New England Patriots.

Through nine games this season, opposing quarterbacks have a 13.3 passer rating while throwing 21 yards or more in the air, H/T Boston Globe’s Ben Volin. New England has more interceptions (7) than opposing teams have completions (5) when throwing for more than 21 yards.

The second-best team in this category is the Buffalo Bills, who have kept opposing quarterbacks at a 40.6 passer rating. But, they’ve only had 20 pass attempts against them, compared to New England with 44 pass attempts. The Patriots have the No. 2 pass defense in the league currently with 150.2 passing yards allowed per game.

The secondary is primarily composed of Stephon Gilmore, Devin McCourty, Jason McCourty, J.C. Jackson, Pat Chung and Duron Harmon. Devin leads the group with five interceptions and Gilmore is second in the unit with three.  New England has a league-high 19 interceptions through nine games and the second-best team has 14.

The Patriots have accumulated a league-high 270 yards from interceptions along with two touchdowns. They’ve been able to create great field position for the offense, while helping hold opposing offenses to an average of 10.9 points per game.

New England struggled against the Baltimore Ravens in a Week 9 loss, but it was mostly due to the run defense. Baltimore had 210 rushing yards against the Patriots and only 162 passing yards.

This secondary has some talented quarterbacks ahead of them with Carson Wentz, Day Prescott, Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes. It would be an incredible feat if the Patriots could keep these numbers up for the entirety of the season.

[vertical-gallery id=72662]

Jon Jones hints that Dominick Reyes fight is a ‘few weeks away’

It appears a fight between Jon Jones and Dominick Reyes is all but done with “Bones” claiming a fight announcement is imminent.

It seems [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] is set to return to action in just a few weeks’ time.

UFC light heavyweight champion Jones (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC) took to Twitter to further confirm his hints that [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] is next and said the date will be revealed very soon. With “The Devastator” and Corey Anderson emerging victorious in their most bouts, it seemed a two-horse race to see who would get the next shot until Jones decided that he wanted to face Reyes (11-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) next because he’s the more “dangerous” fighter.

Jones responded to a question on Twitter, offering a hint that his next opponent has something in common with two of his previous foes, Ryan Bader and Daniel Cormier.

The answer, according to Jones, was that both were undefeated when they faced “Bones,” who was able to successfully snatch the zero from both their records – suggesting that the undefeated Reyes will be the next to meet that fate.

 

A few weeks away could allude to the UFC’s planned Jan. 18 card, which is projected to be UFC 246 on pay-per-view. It is widely believed that Conor McGregor will return on that card, as well, which may take place in Las Vegas, but nothing has been officially announced just yet.

[vertical-gallery id=391887]

Spinning Back Clique: What do we think of Greg Hardy now?

MMA Junkie’s John Morgan, Gorgeous George and Goze unpack the latest MMA news and notes in Episode 2 of “Spinning Back Clique.”

Welcome to “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. In this week’s episode, John Morgan, Gorgeous George and Goze touch on the biggest storylines from UFC on ESPN+ 21 and around the world of MMA.

Show rundown:

  • [autotag]Greg Hardy[/autotag] traveled all the way to Moscow on short notice for the biggest test of his early career and came away with a three-round unanimous decision loss to former Bellator heavyweight champion [autotag]Alexander Volkov[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN+ 21. What did this performance tell us about the controversial former NFL standout? Did it tell us anything significant about his MMA outlook moving forward?
  • [autotag]Zabit Magomedsharipov[/autotag] remained undefeated in the UFC at 6-0 with a three-round unanimous decision win over [autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag] in the UFC on ESPN+ 21 headliner. Afterward, Magomedsharipov called for a title shot. Was this the performance that sealed the deal? Or does Magomedsharipov need a more signature victory to stake his claim?
  • At first, [autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag] said he wanted an immediate rematch with Jorge Masvidal. Then he was like, “peace out fight game.” Now he’s clarified he isn’t actually leaving the fight game, after all. What does all of this mean for Diaz’s future?
  • UFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] has made it clear that [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] is his next title defense of choice over Corey Anderson. Is that the right next move? What about heavyweight?
  • [autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] is off to Bellator and has detailed the reasons why he left the UFC to jump ship. What do we make of this move and his outlook with Bellator?

For answers to all of those questions, watch Episode 2 of “Spinning Back Clique” in the video above.

[vertical-gallery id=461365]