UFC Champ Jon Jones gives predictions for UFC on Fox 4's top two bouts

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones is quite familiar with all four fighters competing in the main and co-main events on Saturday night's UFC on Fox 4 card. He's defeated all four men decisively, with wins over Brandon Vera and Ryan Bader helping him get to a title shot, a win over Rua bringing him the belt, and a win over Machida giving him his second consecutive title defense, becoming the first fighter in the division to do so since Chuck Liddell.

Whoever wins most impressively on Saturday night will get the next shot at the Light Heavyweight Champion, and if Jones earns his fourth straight title defense by defeating Dan Henderson at UFC 151, it will mean a rematch against him. With that in mind, he's got a vested interest in the outcome of Saturday's fights.

Jones took to Twitter on Thursday night to give his thoughts on the two fights, beginning with the "Shogun" vs. Vera main event.

"My prediction: I got Shogun by decision after a predominant striking match," Jones wrote. "Vera could make it more interesting if he uses take downs. One thing Vera does very well is fight in [two] different stances. It's hard to prepare for what you don't know is coming."

He then shifted to the co-main event, which pits Machida against Bader.

"I could see Machida stopping the fight, out classing Bader with good foot work and fast strikes," Jones wrote. "Bader needs to turn it into a brawl. Bader has a fast and powerful overhand right. The same punch Shogun finished Lyoto with. [Man] you just never know with MMA. Gotta love it."

Jones then commented on what he felt about each fighter after facing them, before ending his commentary on a friendly note.

"Out of the four guys Lyoto was the toughest puzzle, Brandon had the biggest mouth, Bader felt the strongest, Shogun lasted the longest," Jones wrote, adding a joking "lol," before continuing. "Just having a little fun. I really do want to wish all four guys good luck this weekend. Do your best, I'll do mines on the 1st."

Penick's Analysis: Having defeated all of them once before, Jones is more than familiar with what they all bring to the table. Should he get past Henderson as expected, he may not welcome a second fight with any of them, but he'll certainly be ready for it. His breakdown of each of the fighters saw a playful little dig at Vera and Shogun, but he talked each of them up in his predictions while still giving his own take on how the fights will go down. He's got to focus on Henderson in September first, of course, but Saturday's fights will definitely have his interest piqued this weekend.

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

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