Jon Jones met his greatest mixed martial arts (MMA) challenge to date last year when he faced off against Alexander Gustafsson in a five-round battle at UFC 165 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
After narrowly escaping with his belt, "Bones" now has his eyes set on his next challenge when he faces Glover Teixeira this weekend (Sat., April 26, 2014) at UFC 172 in Baltimore, Maryland.
It's a fight Chuck Liddell says will see the crowning of a new Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight champion because "Iceman" sees Glover "catching" Jones with fight-ending strikes or a submission.
Indeed, the former 205-pound declared on a recent edition of "The MMA Hour," Teixeira is simply a bad match up for "Bones."
His words:
"I think he's a bad match up for him. I think he is going to make him take his shot, make him come after him and then he (Glover) is going to start hitting him (Jones) real hard and he (Jones) is not going to want to sit there and do that. I think he catches him in a submission or punching him."
Why is Liddell so confident in Teixeira?
Well, it could be because he knows first-hand just what kind of tools his protege (Teixiera) possesses, seeing as how he's spent plenty of time sparring against -- and training with -- him at "The Pit," John Hackelman's training center.
If that weren't enough, Liddell says he doesn't see the five-round championship fight going the distance, predicting that the bout will end by the third round ... if not earlier.
The real question is whether or not Teixeira will be able to back up his mentor's tough talk on Saturday night.