Jackson still packs a punch, but what else?
Jon Jones not only stuck the knife into Quinton “Rampage” Jackson's back, he twisted it. On national television, the UFC light heavyweight champion lobbed the ultimate insult at his opponent.
Appearing with Jackson on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" on Monday, Jones sized up their bout in the main event of UFC 135 on Saturday at the Pepsi Center in Denver as Spiderman vs. Frankenstein.
There was no doubting who Jones envisioned as Spiderman and who he imagined as Frankenstein, even as Kimmel and Dr. Phil chortled at the unexpected jab.
Jackson's greatest strength as a mixed martial artist has been his punching power. He's got 14 knockouts among his 32 wins and he's among the hardest hitters in the game.
In many ways, though, that power has also become his biggest weakness. Jackson hasn't become the multi-dimensional fighter that guys like welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and, yes, Jones have become.
Fight standing and they'll hit you with fists, elbows, knees and feet. Take away their striking and they'll resort to wrestling. Take the fight to the ground and they'll use their jiu jitsu.
Such has not been the case with Jackson, who over the last few years has become a Mike Tyson in four-ounce gloves, stalking his prey relentlessly and winging right hands from his heels. When Jackson winds up to throw a punch, he's like Tiger Woods corkscrewing and trying to hit a golf ball 400 yards. These days, Jackson relies upon his power almost exclusively. He's not big on game planning and he's never been fond of training.
He knows that when he connects solidly, most fights end fairly quickly after. The problem for the former light heavyweight champ has been that as the sport has evolved over the last several years, fighters have learned how to neutralize his power. He's only had one knockout in the last 52 months, and that came in 2008 against Wanderlei Silva. And while Silva is one of the most exciting fighters in the history of the sport, knocking him out is hardly a rarity these days.
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In many ways, the game seems to have caught up to Jackson. And Jones, who won the title in March when he blew out Mauricio "Shogun" Rua with a devastating performance, felt comfortable to zing Jackson in front of a national television audience.
If he meets Frankenstein on Saturday – and let's face it, when you can hit as hard as Jackson, you're always going to stalk and move forward – it's going to be a Frankenstein with a bit of a lighter foot, however.
Jackson has immersed himself into his training camp like never before. He spent nine weeks living in Denver preparing for the bout. He's done things the old Rampage would never have considered doing.
"He's fitter, faster, stronger and leaner," Jackson manager Anthony McGann said.
Jackson clearly understands what's at stake. He won the title by knocking out Chuck Liddell at UFC 71 in 2007 and defended it once, decisioning Dan Henderson in London, before losing it to Forrest Griffin.
The light heavyweight division is deep with talent. Rashad Evans, who is a bitter rival to both men, will get the winner. After that, the next challenger is undetermined, though it's likely the winner of the UFC 139 match between Rua and Henderson will be next in line.
If Jackson doesn't defeat Jones, he may not get another shot at the title. He's 33 and already spoken about retiring and moving on with his life.
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In a lot of ways, this could be it for Jackson. The UFC has exploded in popularity since last he was champion. Should he win, it would be a life-changing event for him and allow him to do things for his wife and four children he's only dreamed of doing.
A loss wouldn't do him in, but he'd just become another face in a very big crowd and that's never how Jackson has envisioned himself. He's the star, the big man on campus, the guy who gets asked to headline in “The A-Team” movie. One of the reasons he's been so successful has been his firm belief that he's special and not just another mid-card guy.
Jones has largely stuck to himself and hasn't said much during his training camp, even when Jackson leveled allegations of spying against him, allegations Jones has vehemently denied.
"Quinton is a guy who has basically been fighting the same way his whole career, and that's basically boxing, and nothing else," Jones said on the Countdown to UFC 135. "What is there to spy on? Rampage is known for having these little mental lapses throughout his career. I think he may be having one now."
One has to think that in his private moments, Jones closes his eyes and sees that slow, lumbering Jackson moving around the cage, loading up on the right hand looking for the knockout, and licks his chops.
The guy that he dubbed Frankenstein is kind of a guy Jones should be able to hop out of bed and beat, which may be why in the promotion's final days he's been so comfortable tossing one-liners in Jackson's direction.
"We all know that I'm fighting a movie star, and I'm not losing to a movie star," said Jones, who is so gifted that he prompted UFC television analyst Joe Rogan to call him one of the most talented fighters in the history of the promotion.
Jackson acknowledges Jones, who is No. 4 in the Yahoo! Sports Top 10, has talent and, though he won't say much to build Jones up, it's clear by the way he's dove into preparations that he has respect for the champion. He understands he's facing a phenomenon the likes of which the UFC hasn't seen before.
Jones is 13-1, but his only loss was by a questionable disqualification in a fight he was handily on his way to winning. Jackson knew that hitting the treadmill for a few minutes every day, sparring a couple of times and grabbing a Double Double at In-N-Out after practice wasn't the way to get ready for a guy like Jones.
He's as motivated as he's been since he joined the UFC more than four years ago.
"I want to be the first person to beat Jon, you know what I'm saying?" Jackson said on a conference call. "I basically looked at his fights and stuff like that, and I looked at it and saw that, you know, the kid ain't really fought [anybody] like me and, you know, everybody's counting me out. And it seems like they underestimated me a little bit and stuff like that, so it makes me more and more confident."
Jones' popularity has skyrocketed since winning the title, while Jackson's reputation has taken a little hit each time he ends a fight without a knockout.
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He's coming off an uninspiring decision victory over Matt Hamill at UFC 130. He was so ordinary in that fight that some are saying that if he defeats Jones, it will be the biggest upset in UFC history.
"That's completely ridiculous," UFC president Dana White said.
Jones would be a handful for anyone, but particularly so for a slow and one-dimensional fighter.
But if Jackson has gotten himself into the kind of shape he swears he's in – and he sure looks the part – Frankenstein might be able to given Spiderman a lot more than he's expecting on Saturday.
If the Frankenstein with the lighter feet shows on Saturday, no outcome should be particularly surprising.
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