As we gear up for the Light Heavyweight championship fight between champ Jon Jones and challenger Rashad Evans at UFC 145 I wanted to look back at the work we've done in the past analyzing the techniques of both athletes. Both men are consummate mixed martial artists and both come from a collegiate wrestling background but that's where the similarity ends.

Jones is a super-athletic freak of nature and a deeply unorthodox fighter who's assembled a unique fighting style that builds on his Greco-Roman base and incorporates lots of freestyle wrestling and Judo takedowns and unconventional strikes that make great use of his immense 84" reach. His use of spinning strikes, front kicks and big knees to the face make him a very feared striker as well as a dangerous grappler. Here are our looks at Jones' techniques:

Rashad Evans, whole unquestionably a gifted athlete, by contrast is someone who has built a less shockingly unorthodox game (although his striking is very unique and built on some deeply unconventional footwork) that relies less obviously on flashy techniques. Where Evans excels is at the transition from striking to take downs.

Take a look and let us know how you expect these techniques to come to bear this Saturday in the main event.



SBN coverage of UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans