Jones by TKO stoppage in round 3
If Jones uses straight jabs and his knee kicks to keep Machida at a distance, it might happen because of his reach advantage. But if he does his flashy show-off stuff like the spinning elbows or flying knees, there is very little question that Machida will clip him.
All of you are seriously underestimating Machida. He is
very, very dangerous. I think if Anderson Silva moved up to 205 lbs and tried to strike with Machida, he might get KOd. Machida is even more elusive and hard to hit than Silva, and he has twice the power and is just as precise. Many people bring up his defeat to Shogun, but Shogun's style is custom-made to beat Machida and he trained especifically for 6 months just to counter Machida.
Jones is primarilly a wrestler. Machida has probably the best take-down defense in the 205 lbs division. How many times has he been taken down? Jones will have a hard time taking him down, and on the stand-up Machida is by far the guy at 205 lbs with the best chance of beating him.
I am really divided in this fight. I can see Machida winning via either KO/TKO by strikes in the second or third rounds or Jones winning by TKO via ground-and-pound on any round from 1 to 5. Very interesting match-up. I am going with Machida.
SUCKMYMUSCLE