Pelkey's Take
PELKEY: UFC putting all their eggs in the Jon "Bones" Jones basket at UFC 135
Sep 22, 2011 - 1:00:53 PM PELKEY: UFC putting all their eggs in the Jon "Bones" Jones basket at UFC 135

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By: Matt Pelkey, MMATorch Columnist

If Jon Jones didn't have enough pressure on him going into his first title defense this Saturday from the Pepsi Center in Denver, there's this: Jones and opponent Quinton "Rampage" Jackson are in the only intruiging or relevant fight on the entire card. It wasn't always that way. Once upon a time UFC Hall of Famer and former welterweight champion Matt Hughes was set to take on Diego Sanchez. Welterweight is a division constantly starved for challengers to Georges St-Pierre's throne, and Sanchez is arguably the biggest name yet to challenge for the belt (Nick Diaz is the other in contention, but let's not start that conversation). A win over Hughes, while expected, would've pushed Sanchez one step closer to a title shot. An injury a couple weeks ago forced Sanchez out of the bout, and he was replaced by Josh Koscheck, a higher ranked fighter, but one who's coming off a one-sided loss to St-Pierre and is unlikely to challenge for a title again as long as GSP remains on top.

After Hughes-Koscheck, the card falls off a cliff. Let's see... there's a lightweight clash between Nate Diaz and Takanori Gomi, which could be exciting, but it won't be anything close to the NICK Diaz-Takanori Gomi fight from a few years ago; and the winner, no matter how impressive, won't be within ten miles of a title shot. The rest of the main card is two heavyweight bouts that do little to inspire. Prospect Travis Browne takes on rugged slugger Rob Broughton, but after his his impressive KO of Stefan Struve this feels like a step down for the Hawaiian. And then to round things out, Mark Hunt and his sub-.500 record somehow made it onto a pay-per-view main card. That might make sense if he was matched up with a young prospect like a Matt Mitrione or a Brendan Schaub (or hell even Travis Browne) in order to make the prospect look good...but he's fighting Ben freakin' Rothwell!

The undercard isn't any better. At least on the Spike prelims we get the post-Ultimate Fighter debut of TUF 13 winner Tony Ferguson, but he's not the type of up-and-comer that has people gathering around the television. Past his fight with Aaron Riley, there just isn't anything to get excited about.

Such one-fight cards aren't unheard of in the modern era (UFC's 116 and 124 are good examples), but they're generally headlined by guys like Brock Lesnar or Georges St. Pierre, i.e. proven pay-per-view draws. Jon Jones isn't that just yet. The assumption is that he'll get there, but this is the first time he's under that pressure. There's no co-main event people are clamoring for. Just "Bones" and "Rampage". Youth vs. experience. Multi-faceted, in-cage wizardry vs. know-what-you're-gonna-get defensive wrestling and flat-footed boxing.

Just watch the pre-UFC 135 press conference. Its the shortest dais you'll ever see. The only reason Matt Hughes and Josh Koscheck were even on it was to break up the monotony of Jon Jones and Rampage's bickering. Jones is the youngest champion in UFC history. He's dominated every opponent in a manner we've never seen before. He's become appointment viewing after only a handful of fights in the UFC. Whether it's a spinning back-fist, spectacular throws from the Greco-Roman clinch, or spinning for a kneebar from top control at the end of a round (seriously, who saw that coming?!), Jones adds something new to the highlight reel every time out. All eyes are on him now. It's his show. The UFC is banking on people to tune in to see what he'll do next. My guess? Jon "Bones" Jones will be worth the price of admission all by himself.