Roundtables
ROUNDTABLE: If Jon Jones has three UFC bouts in 2012, who would be the third challenger after (presumably) Dan Henderson and Rashad Evans?
Jan 10, 2012 - 7:00:37 PM ROUNDTABLE: If Jon Jones has three UFC bouts in 2012, who would be the third challenger after (presumably) Dan Henderson and Rashad Evans?

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If Jon Jones fights three times in 2012, as he'd like to do, he's likely to face Dan Henderson and Rashad Evans in two of them.  If he defeats both of them, who will work their way to be his third challenger by the end of the year?

RICH HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST


Let's say Jones fights and defeats Henderson in Montreal, and then fights and defeats Rashad in July or August.  The question then becomes, "Who will Jon Jones face 11 months from now?"  My crystal ball has a big damn crack in it, so I doubt what I see is actually going to happen, but there are five names I see as possible.  Thiago Silva, Alexander Gustafsson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Phil Davis, and Ryan Bader.  But considering that we don't know who any of those guys are facing next, much less facing two fights from now, it's an impossible question to answer.


FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR



I think Mauricio "Shogun" Rua would be the third man Jones fights. I think Rua's road back to a title shot isn't a very far one, I don't think there's a lot of competition for Rua to go through before earning another shot at Jones.


ANWAR PEREZ, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

I would like to think that if Jon Jones fought and defeated both Dan Henderson AND Rashad Evans, he would like to take a break.  But if not, and he wants to fight once more, then why not a rematch with Shogun Rua if he can get another win under his belt?  Even though Shogun lost against Dan Henderson, he more than made a case for being a top contender in a losing effort.  I would suggest putting Shogun against Rampage Jackson as an opportunity for a title shot against Jones.  If Jackson gets past Ryan Bader, then the next logical fight to put together would be Jackson against Rua, and then the winner faces Jones at the end of the year.  


ERIC HOBAUGH, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR




If Shogun can win against a top five fighter, he could get another shot. I'm not sure that is a fight that sells though. Forrest Griffin would be an interesting fight, but he will need a win against another top five fighter for it to happen. It will not happen. After that, the list of exciting and sellable opponents is very short, because Jones will have beaten so many of the top ten fighters in the weight class.  I think someone new will garner the most attention in the light heavyweight division. If Jones can beat Henderson and Evans a new challenger makes the most sense. Alaxander Gustafsson could be the fighter to fit that bill. His quick KO of Vladimir Matyushinko at UFC 141 and his TKO win over Matt Hamill at UFC 133 has earned him a top ten ranking. One or two more wins over top ten opponents could result in a title shot later this year.


JASON AMADI, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
 
The UFC won't have a third contender for Jon Jones in 2012. "Bones" is simply knocking them down faster than the UFC can line them up. If Jones decides to be as active in 2012 as he was in 2011, then the UFC will have to begin sacrificing prospects in order to satiate Jones' desire to smash. I just don't see that happening.

If Jones gets to a third fight this year, I imagine it will be Phil Davis, Rashad Evans (if he were to lose to Davis on Fox) or Alexander Gustaffson answering the call.


MATT PELKEY, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

As we talked about on last Tuesday's MMATorch Livecast on blogtalkradio.com/mmatorch (cheap plug), Alexander Gustafsson seems like the most likely opponent of the current crop of 205'ers if he's able to win his first two fights in 2012. If the UFC decides to hold off on the eventual showdown between Jones and Gustafsson to let the Swede get more seasoning, look for whomever emerges from the Strikeforce Holy Triumvirate of Light-Heavyweights (King Mo, Feijao, Mousasi) to be brought over as Jones' final challenge of the year.
 

[Jon Jones art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]