The current UFC heavyweight champ Jon Jones is perhaps the greatest MMA fighter of all time. Although fighters like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Georges St-Pierre, and Anderson Silva are in the discussion, Jones is by far the favorite. Especially after his stunning win over Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 and becoming the heavyweight strap, Jones entered an elite club of fighters who have become a champ in two separate UFC divisions.
However, Jon is not only great, but he is also very unorthodox. He was the first fighter to popularize oblique kicks amongst MMA fighters. So what is an oblique kick? When a fighter lands a sidekick on their opponent’s knee, it is an oblique kick. What it basically does is hyperextends the knee, which in return puts an insane amount of pressure on the ligaments.
Jon Jones is a master of that as he always threatens his opponents with the oblique kick, which gives him the opportunity to use his range. However, a lot of fighters are not a fan of this particular technique. While it does immobilize a fighter temporarily, it also has the potential to do some long-term damage. Jones’ former opponent, Rampage Jackson, is particularly vocal against the concept.
But, not only kicks, there are some other ways for Jon Jones to hyperextend his opponent’s limbs and one such technique was on full display in his fight against Glover Teixeira.
Jon Jones nearly snapped Glover Teixeira’s arm in half at UFC 172
Jon Jones fought Glover Teixeira in the UFC 172 main event at the CFG Bank Arena in Maryland. Ahead of the fight, Jon had defended the light heavyweight title for the sixth time. In the bout prior to that, he had the “Hall of Fame” first fight against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165. Although Glover went on to achieve a great amount of hype later in his career, he was dominated by Jon on the night.
At one point in the bout, Jon tried to land a tip kick which Teixeira caught with his hands. But Jon maintained his balance and pushed the Brazilian fighter to the fence. Jonny Bones snuck in an under-hook while trying to clinch with Teixeira. During the exchange, Jon used the under-hook to his advantage and locked in his other hand as well. Hence, he had complete control of Glover’s right arm and hyperextended it with one hard push.
It bent Glover’s arm horribly and injured his shoulder. As the incident took place in the first round itself, Glover fought with a compromised shoulder and severely struggled to survive the rest of the fight. Although it was incredibly effective, not many fighters have been able to use the shoulder crank since then. It looks like Jon is perhaps the only fighter skilled enough to pull off the move.