Prospects Collide

A prospect can become a contender, good can become great, and hype can turn out to be legitimate.


Being described as the future of MMA, and even the LeBron James of the cage fighting world, Jon Jones’ career seems to have been destined for greatness since his UFC debut in 2008 against Andre Gusmao. Standing at 6ft 4 with a lanky but elusive physique, ‘Bones’ Jones has become the hottest property in the UFC with decimating victories over Stephan Bonnar, Brandon Vera and more recently Vladimir Matyushenko.

Usually a defeat on the record can tarnish the reputation of a young fighter, but for Jones, his disqualification against Matt ‘The Hammer’ Hamill, turned out to be his most dominant and press friendly performance, as he out wrestled a supposed superior wrestler, and dominated the highly rated Hamill all over the octagon from start to finish. The pressure taken away from the label of ‘undefeated’ has steered the young fighter into a head to head meeting with another young up coming lion, the ultimate fighter winner Ryan Bader.

Nicknamed as ‘Darth’, Bader has ruled over all his previous opponents, accumulating an impressive and undefeated record of 12 wins, with no defeats. Bader elevated himself from prospect to real life contender when at UFC 119; the Arizona mammoth cruised to a comfortable unanimous decision victory over top ten contender Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.


Both Jones and Bader will meet at UFC 126, where MMA fans will get to see the rare sight of two fighters battling it out at the peaks of their powers. Which man will take the step from prospect to contender, from good to great and from hype to a legitimate title threat?

Prospects get ready to Collide