UFC
Luke Rockhold says there's "not a chance" Jon Jones ever beats "beast" Cain Velasquez
Nov 24, 2014 - 10:15:19 AM Luke Rockhold says there's "not a chance" Jon Jones ever beats "beast" Cain Velasquez

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones recently expressed renewed interest in a potential move to heavyweight, with fights against Cain Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum looming as major future options. However, while he's been nothing short of excellent as the 205 lb. Champ, he's got doubters on his potential success against the top heavyweight in the world.

Velasquez's AKA teammate Luke Rockhold - who is helping prepare fellow AKA member Daniel Cormier to fight Jones on Jan. 3 - summed up his thoughts on whether Jones could beat the Heavyweight Champ in no uncertain terms this weekend:

"Not a chance," Rockhold said in an interview MMAFighting.com. "Cain, just the storm that he can put on you, you can't stop it. I've trained with the guy, I've sparred with him so many times, and when he wants to get after you, he's going to get after you. You can only run away so long. Jon Jones doesn't have the style to keep him off him. Cain is just a beast, he'll bull his way right through him."

Penick's Analysis: Rockhold is, of course, heavily biased in favor of his teammate, but there are certain things about Velasquez's game - when he's healthy - that could prove to be kryptonite to what Jones does well. Jones is very good at keeping range and dictating how a fight takes place, but it's not easy to avoid the brutal clinch came Velasquez possesses if he wants to bring you to the cage. Jones has been good there, but the power advantage Velasquez would have may allow for an absolute mauling against the cage, much like he did to Junior dos Santos in each of their last two matchups. Still, Jones is a wholly unique talent, and there's a reason that potential matchup would breed a lot of interest. I'm not certain we ever see it, though, and Velasquez still has to get healthy enough to fight Fabricio Werdum, as well as prove he can fight consistently and effectively without continues injury issues.