Rising light heavyweight contender Jon Jones and veteran Vladimir Matyushenko are expected to square off at UFC on Versus 2 on August 1 in Salt Lake City, Utah, as The Garv reports that the 205-pounders have verbally agreed to the matchup.
Jones (10-1), who recently called for a matchup with a “big name” fighter, earned “Knockout of the Night” honors for his first-round KO of Brandon Vera at the UFC’s Versus debut last month, rebounding from a December DQ loss to Matt Hamill to improve his UFC record to 4-1.
Matyushenko (24-4) has bounced back from a knockout loss to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in Affliction with three-straight wins, including decisions over Igor Pokrajac and and Eliot Marshall in the UFC, after returning to the Octagon for the first time since 2003.
UFC on Versus 2 is also expected to include Joe Stevenson vs. Takanori Gomi and John Howard vs. Jake Ellenberger.
For the latest UFC on Versus 2 news and UFC on Versus 2 rumors stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com.
Pictured: Jon Howard
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Nothing against Matyushenko, he’s fought and beat some big names but I don’t think this was the “big name” Jones was hoping for.
i really wanted to see Jonny bones vs Thiago Silva!! that fight would bring fireworks to the octagon!!!
Bones hasn’t earned that fight yet.
I disagree. A devestating beating of Brenden Vera should get you a fight with Thiago. It is not like Silva is next in line for a title shot. I mean he’s dropped two of his last three and the one win came against Keith the Glassjaw Jardine.
VMAT is no easy fight for Jones. VMAT is also a very good striker and quite unorthodox – with casting punches and step in hooks, straights, and has good defence. Usually in fights between two unique strikers it is the more experienced fighter that has the advantage because he can defend better. I predict an upset win (decision) by VMAT over Bones Jones.
I feel a lot of pain for Vladimir.
Just don’t like this fight , because I don’t want Matyushenko to lose :-(
Kris please fix the title “Vladimir Madyushenk” should be Vladimir Matyushenko
Not a fan of this either, are they really implying that Matyushenko is the appropriate progression for Jones after destroying Vera? If so, what does that say about Vera.
I dont think that Vera has been a force since he left the Heavyweight division. As far as Matyushenko being the next fight….. I think it is without a doubt, stepping in the wrong direction. I see Jones blasting the janitor in round one with ease.
Maybe then we could see him against REAL top talent
Nice…Jones should win this in a devasting way.
Vlad is no joke, he also has only been (t)ko’d well KO’D twice in his career (AA and LIL NOG) also he has only lost 4 times in his career (Tito, AA, LIL NOG, Vernon White) and has victories over Vernon White, Yuki Kondo,Pedro Rizzo,LIL NOG, Jason lambert he was on a 8 fight win streak til he lost to LIL NOG @ Affliciton Day of Wreckoning, I find this fight to be an excellent test for both fighters, The Janitor is no push over and if he wishes to make any sort of run in the LHW division he will have to beat the young and very talented Jon Jones, if Jones can “walk through” Vlad then he his poised to make a run in the division himself, good match up..
I liked Jones v Bader.
not me…why have one of ur top prospects negate ur other top prospect?…id rather them build themselves up and it when the time is right let them fight for a #1 contender shot…too soon for them to meet up IMO…both need to fight another mid tier dude before stepping into the top 10 realm…
Now this is the prime example of a “Highlight reel fight”.
Jones wins via Destruction!!!
could they bring him up any slower? matyushenko is definitely not a step up from vera at this point in his career. As Kable said, Thiago Silva should be his opponent…..
Luis cane would have been a better fight than this. Well jones got his wish. He def has alit to lose in this fight.
theyre taking it slow w/ bones jones…theres already plenty of action going on between machida/shogun…page/evans…and lil nog is creeping right behind in the LHW division…forrest really isnt a contender for the belt at this point…so once they go thru ufc 113 and ufc 114 and shake out the contenders from the #3,4,5 guys maybe a little down the line theyll toss bones in the mix….in the meantime hes gonna fight some mid range dudes….i suspect after he wins this one hell fight a low ranked top 10 LHW like thiago silva or forrest after he loses to lil nog…
whaat? im a fan of the janitor but man i was thinkin somebody a little more current for bones jones. its rumored that ryan bader and thiago silva may go at it but bones imo is gettin more and more popular and i think they should give bones silva and bader vladimir.
Jones via murder.
I could see “The Janitor” taking this one. There are always upsets. This could be it. Plus, he’s one of my favs.
I have to agree with GarRule.
Vlad has nothing to lose in this fight.
Jones is the young star of the division, if not the whole UFC.
He has TONS to lose in this fight, while The Janitor has absolutely nothing to lose in comparison.
Obviously we wont be shocked if Jones comes out with the W.
But dont be very surprised if Matyushenko puts up a good fight and wins this bout. The guys got heart and he gives a good fight in almost every appearance. He can also take some serious hits.
Agreed everyone should not count Vlad out, he has the wrestling ability to take jones down and drag out a decision, it wouldn’t be pretty but it is vlads only option for victory
ya id be upset if it happened but the janitor is one tuff dude, hes like a tank. he didnt look so good against lil nog though and won by a decision against elliot marshall. bones jones is no elliot marshall.
Bones vs bader would definitely be a bigger test for him, i think it should either be bader or thiago silva, silva needs the win and bader hasn’t been beaten so both fights would be alot more interesting. i think bones will completely out strike Matyushenko. Gives bones bader or silva then maby the loser of rashad vs rampage or the loser of griffn and rogerio..
I don’t see what people are getting all fussy about haha. There is no harm in stalling a can’t-miss prospect like Bones Jones for a little with some quality, yet most likely overmatched opponents. Jones gets a nice resume boost if he wins and gains some more experience even with a loss. Also, if a prospect is so great, he should be able to handle a matchup like this in which he is a prohibitive favorite. If he can’t he isn’t as wonderful as everyone may think; nothing wrong with getting exposed.
Very sensible and I completely agree.
Jon Jones on Versus 2! surely this cat should be co-main eventing pay per views atleast, this seems to be a sideways step for ‘Bones’ after fighting Vera. Still I wonder how long it will be before they decide not to keep Jones, Bader and Phil Davis apart
man this is kid is got so much talent i dont care who they put him up against.
Im glad ufc is slowly bringing him up. He only 22 if im not mistaken.
its good that hes not getting bader who is in a same place jones is in after knocking out jardine who is a similar place vera is In.
I realize that the majority of MMA fans, not to mention Jones supporters, are probably going to be upset if his next opponent does turn out to be Matyushenko, primarily for promotional reasons.
But in terms of progression in the sport, and Jones’ career, he needs to face and beat someone with Matyushenko’s skillset and experience before he steps into the 205 spotlight and signs a fight with a guy like Thiago Silva, or possibly the Evans-Jackson loser…
With all due respect, the guy is 39 and he’s no Randy Couture (even that analogy is starting to wear thin, lol). His last 3 fights in the UFC were against people in the lowest ranks that Mr. Fertitta can offer and he couldn’t finish any of them and just barely won his fight against Elliot Marshall.
I have to agree with others here and say that this is definetly not a step up for Jones. Rich Franklin, Tiago Silva, or even Lil Nog would have been a great fight. But, no point in sitting here complaining. I’ll just look forward to seeing Jon Jones take the W in this fight and hopefully get a proper opponent next time.
Vladimir will loose this one. No offense but he should know where is his place these days.
Hopefully Dana White hears the lack of enthusiasm for this fight and changes this up for something more exciting. There’s plenty of good fighters Jones could take on which would cause for a much closer challenge and more fan interest. I think the likes of Griffin, Bater, Thiago Silva are all at the level to give Jones a true test. No offence to the Janitor, I just don’t believe he poses much of a challenge to Jones
I mean, Jones impressively beats Vera and dominated Hamill like nobody else has…and he’s getting Matyushenko? The guy who beat…uh…Eliot Marshall..? I absolutely cannot fathom the thought process behind this. It’s nothing but a drop-off in competition for a guy whose done nothing but handle whoever was tossed at him with relative ease.
Unless there’s a business aspect of this I’m missing, I fail to the slightest modicum of rationality behind giving Jones this fight. Thiago Silva seems to make a lot of sense, though.
I know everyone wants to see Jones step up but Matyushenko is no golfer. Matyushenko is very skilled and very experienced. Jones will have to be good and tough to beat him. I think this fight is intriguing and is about where Jones should be right now. I would say if Jones dominates Matyushenko then he is ready for just about anyone (Anderson Silva not included).