Footage of Jon Jones’ accuser shows her hesitating to press charges because of his status as a famous athlete. Just when you think Jon Jones has finally gotten his s**t together, another scandal emerge…
Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
Footage of Jon Jones’ accuser shows her hesitating to press charges because of his status as a famous athlete.
Just when you think Jon Jones has finally gotten his s**t together, another scandal emerges. The most recent scandal? Accusations from a strip club waitress that Jon Jones slapped her vagina, put her in a chokehold, pulled her onto his lap, and kissed her on the neck.
This supposedly went down in April at a local Albuquerque ‘gentleman’s club’ but only surfaced in July shortly after Jones’ title defense against Thiago Santos. And because nothing ever goes the easy way for Jones outside the cage, an arrest warrant ended up being issued for him because he never received the court summons.
Jones and his lawyers managed to clear that up without too many problems and it doesn’t seem like the accusations are going to affect his status as UFC light heavyweight champion or stop him from fighting again once more in 2019. “Bones” has declared his innocence online and claims to have video footage that vindicates him. Dana White has seen it and describes it as ‘good for Jon Jones.’
We don’t have that footage but we do have something new from local Albuquerque station KRQE : police bodycam footage of them taking a statement from the victim.
”Do you feel like they’re trying to protect him due to him being a celebrity type?” an officer asks a woman whose face has been blurred.
”I mean everyone’s protecting Jon Jones because he’s a celebrity,” she responded.
A person at the strip club who snapped pics of Jones with his brother Chandler told TMZ he saw them ‘interacting with the women all night’ but never witnessed anything resembling violence.
It’s unclear what evidence the victim has to substantiate her accusations, but it’s worth noting a metro court judge did determine there was enough probable cause to support the charges against Jones and move forward with a court date. That is expected to take place sometime in September.
Jon Jones had some things to say after his rival Daniel Cormier lost in the UFC 241 main event Saturday night in Anaheim. It is no surprise that Jon Jones had some thoughts following Saturday’s UFC 241…
Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
Jon Jones had some things to say after his rival Daniel Cormier lost in the UFC 241 main event Saturday night in Anaheim.
It is no surprise that Jon Jones had some thoughts following Saturday’s UFC 241—and particularly the main event between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier.
After the pay-per-view card, which saw Miocic recapture the heavyweight title with a fourth-round TKO of Cormier in the main event, UFC light heavyweight champion Jones sent out a series of messages on Twitter.
Jones believes Miocic’s win over Cormier earned him status as undoubtedly the best heavyweight to ever walk the planet. UFC 241 marked the second time Miocic and Cormier fought each other. Last summer at UFC 226, Cormier knocked out Miocic in the first round to win the title. At the time, “DC” was the 205-pound titleholder.
“Stipe is hands down the greatest heavyweight of all time,” Jones wrote early Sunday morning. “I have nothing else to say.”
Stipe is hands down the greatest heavyweight of all time. I have nothing else to say
The UFC’s official pound-for-pound rankings are sure to be shaken up later this week, as heading into Saturday’s card Cormier was ranked No. 1 and Miocic No. 11. Jones, who sits at No. 2, is interested to see what the updated standings bring.
“Now can we stop playing games with these pound for pound rankings already,” Jones wrote.
Now can we stop playing games with these pound for pound rankings already
Finally, Jones threw Cormier – whom he has fought twice and has a well-documented rivalry with – a bit of shade for comments the ex-champ made prior to his title defense at UFC 241, at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Cormier told Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show last week that he didn’t need to fight Jones a third time because he makes enough money “on the front end.”
“I guess losses don’t matter when you’re getting paid so much on the front end,” Jones wrote.
I guess losses don’t matter when you’re getting paid so much on the front end.
The loss to Miocic snapped Cormier’s three-fight winning streak, which earned him the “Fighter of the Year” award in 2018. It was Miocic’s first bout since losing the strap to Cormier 13 months ago.
Jones is coming off a light heavyweight title defense against Thiago Santos last month at UFC 239. Jones beat Santos by split decision.
Jorge Masvidal needs to see some money or things will go very poorly. Jorge Masvidal is ready to cash in.
Masvidal (34-13) has been competing professionally in mixed martial arts for 16 years. He is poised …
Shakiel Mahjouri for MMA Mania
Jorge Masvidal needs to see some money or things will go very poorly.
Jorge Masvidal is ready to cash in.
Masvidal (34-13) has been competing professionally in mixed martial arts for 16 years. He is poised for a big payday following back-to-back knockouts of Darren Till and Ben Askren. It doesn’t look like he will get a fight for the welterweight title or a bout with Conor McGregor in 2019; however, Masvidal still expects to make big bucks in his next bout.
“My next paycheck is going to reflect the breakthrough that I’ve done. For a fact. And if it doesn’t, there is going to be a f—king problem,” Masvidal assured. “Me and my management are going to do whatever the f—k I say,” he continued. “I’m going to repeat that again: Me and my management will do whatever the f—k we think is the best option for us.”
Masvidal is not prepared to be bullied in negotiations. He will take any fight so long as it is lucrative. “If they open up the check book, I will fight King Kong in his prime,” he boasted. “All they gotta do is open up that check book. You guys all know the reason why you guys are here right now is to get an interview off of me, to put it online to make people go click-bait on it. Obviously I’m generating traction.”
“Gamebred” also touched on comments his friend Colby Covington made last month. Covington referred to himself as Batman and Masvidal as the sidekick Robin. “Colby likes to take his under shots. He knows never in my life have I been a superhero. I would love to be, but I’ve never been a superhero. I’m more of a gooned down motherf—ker. So Colby kind of has to slow down at some point,” he warned. “He knows I’m not a superhero, I’m more of a super-goon and s—t. At least in the real life s—t.”
It looks like Masvidal might just get the big payday he is looking for. Nate Diaz called for a fight with Masvidal following the former’s win over Anthony Pettis at UFC 241. Dana White seems interested in booking the match.
We had a great night of fights last night (Sat. August 17, 2019) in Anaheim, California at UFC 241. This was one of the most stacked cards of the year, and it certainly delivered. The first six fights went to decisions, then there were three knockouts and three decisions in the last six fights of […]
We had a great night of fights last night (Sat. August 17, 2019) in Anaheim, California at UFC 241.
This was one of the most stacked cards of the year, and it certainly delivered. The first six fights went to decisions, then there were three knockouts and three decisions in the last six fights of the night.
The event featured a heavyweight rematch between two of the best to ever do it in Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic, a battle that saw Miocic regain his UFC heavyweight championship. It was a surprise to most, perhaps setting the stage for a trilogy. Nate Diaz and Paulo Costa also had great performances last night, amongst others. We at LowKickMMA have compiled a list of five fights to make after their showings.
Where do the winners go from here? Where do the losers go from here? Continue reading to see our five matchups:
Michael Johnson (19-14) vs. Sodiq Yusuff (10-1)
Sodiq Yusuff improved his record to 10-1 with six knockouts last night, as he KO’d Gabriel Benitez toward the end of round one. A fight that would make sense for him, now that he’s 3-0 in the UFC, is a matchup with “The Menace”. Michael Johnson came to the UFC off of “The Ultimate Fighter 12,” becoming a finalist in his season after going 4-0 on the show. Much like Yusuff, who came to the UFC after going 1-0 on the Contender Series.
The striking ability of Johnson is something worthy of mentioning, he’s no slouch. Just because his record isn’t pretty doesn’t mean anything. Johnson holds wins over three top lightweights; he defeated Tony Ferguson via unanimous decision, Edson Barboza via unanimous decision, and Dustin Poirier via KO in round one.
Barboza isn’t a top-five guy anymore, but at this time, and for quite a while afterward, he was a top-six guy for a few years straight. Those two unanimous decisions, he won 30-27 in both. That’s three wins over some of lightweight’s best. He’s an incredibly skilled fighter. Johnson started out wrestling, and his hands are nothing to underestimate, as the current interim UFC lightweight champion in Poirier can attest to.
Both guys possess power, though the advantage would go to Yusuff. Both are pretty technical, but the edge would probably go to Johnson considering his experience and the tricks he has. Yusuff is a brutally powerful featherweight, as we saw last night. Johnson throws from all sorts of angles and is a bit more precise. It’d be a good test to see whether or not Johnson should stick around in the UFC, or if Yusuff is ready for bigger names.
Yoel Romero (13-4) vs. Jacare Souza (26-7) 1 NC II
When looking at the middleweight rankings, this is really the only matchup for Romero that makes sense. Their first fight was great and about as close as they get. Romero won a razor-thin split decision that could’ve literally been a draw the first time they met in late 2015.
Both of these guys are ground fighting specialists that have acquired some serious striking skills. Souza generally throws punches, but is so technical and powerful with it, his boxing is quite fun to watch. Romero throws everything from oblique kicks to overhands, to snap kicks, to flying knees, to spinning back fists, to regular back fists.
Though “Soldier of God” doesn’t always throw often, when he does, it counts. One thing that’s very respectable about Souza, he’s one of the best BJJ guys on the entire planet, and he learned how to wrestle. Much like Demian Maia, he learned how to take his opponents down effectively, which is something not many BJJ fighters, even BJJ elites, do.
With Romero’s 2000 Olympic silver medal in freestyle wrestling and Souza’s ten gold medals in BJJ world championships, not to mention all of his silver medals, this fight would be a great one to run back. They tried to make it happen again this April, however, Souza fought Jack Hermansson after Romero had to pull out.
Both men are the elite of the elite in their respective disciplines. This is a rematch that would certainly be worth making again.
Kelvin Gastelum (16-4) 1 NC vs. Paulo Costa (13-0)
Paulo Costa had a really great performance last night, as he defeated the No. 2 middleweight in the world. He simply has an unbreakable will and some immense power. So much so that it’s crazy that Romero didn’t go down, or Costa for that matter.
A matchup between Costa and Gastelum would be a great matchup for a couple of reasons. First, it would probably be a No. 1 contender fight, and both are such viciously powerful punchers. With Gastelum sitting at No. 3 in the rankings, and Costa just beating the No. 2 middleweight in the world, this fight makes all the sense in the world.
Both are products of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Kelvin went 4-0 on his season and won, while Costa went 1-1. That loss was via a very close split decision, however, and it’s the only time he’s ever lost. With the show each of these guys gave us in their last fights (Gastelum with Adesanya and Costa with Romero), wouldn’t this one be fireworks too?
Jorge Masvidal (34-13) vs. Nate Diaz (20-11)
There was some talk of Nick Diaz coming back to fight Jorge Masvidal earlier this year, but we found out it was all fabricated. While that was heartbreaking, we got the other Diaz back at least, as Nate just defeated Anthony Pettis via unanimous decision. He had a great showing last night, as he just wouldn’t let Pettis off the hook and kept on him.
Both Diaz and Masvidal are primarily strikers, though both can fight on the ground very well. Diaz holds a 2nd-degree black belt in BJJ, and while Masvidal only has two submission wins in 34 total, he can grapple very well. He’s also very good at mixing up his takedowns with strikes when he wants to. With the amount of attention Masvidal’s gotten lately, and the return of Nate Diaz coming off a win, this is the only fight to make in the UFC’s welterweight division. This one and Usman versus Covington.
It doesn’t make sense to make Masvidal versus Edwards now. It would have been cool to see Masvidal fight the winner of Diaz versus Pettis, regardless of who came out on top. It’s almost certain the UFC is going to do everything possible to put this together.
When asked a couple of weeks ago about what’s next, Masvidal said he’d fight no one other than, “Conor McGregor or fight for the welterweight title”. When asked just a couple of days ago, he said he’d, “sign a Nate Diaz bout agreement in a heartbeat”. That’s great to hear, especially considering Diaz called him out after beating Pettis. Two of the toughest and grittiest dogs in the sport, two real fighters. Let’s see it.
Stipe Miocic (19-3) vs. Daniel Cormier (22-2) 1 NC III
It’s hard to say who’s better all-time in all honesty. Cormier was the man at UFC 226, and Miocic was the man last night at UFC 241. This fight should certainly happen again. Just like Cain Velasquez had his three fights with Junior dos Santos when they were the No. 1 and No. 2 guys, we need to see this tiebreaker.
Though Miocic defended the UFC heavyweight championship more than anyone ever, and just won it again (5-1 in UFC title bouts), “DC” was 15-0 at heavyweight going into this fight. There’s a very strong case for either, which is why this needs to happen just one more time.
Miocic was doing great in the first couple minutes of their first fight, then, Cormier clinched up and landed a beautiful knockout blow. This second fight was much different. “DC” most likely won the first two rounds, the third was close, and the fourth is where it really went downhill for the former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion.
In that fourth round, Miocic landed so many shovel hooks to Cormier’s liver. He didn’t even set them up with anything, he just pivoted on his foot and sunk them into Cormier’s gut, and it worked out. After landing the last one, he then caught “DC” in the face with a punch, and his body language said it all. Then, as Miocic swarmed him, an exhausted “DC” fell, and Miocic recaptured his throne.
Congratulations to Miocic and Cormier both on one hell of a fight. They went after it for 19 straight minutes, two absolute warriors. “DC” said he needs to talk with his wife about what he should do next. He has two trilogies he can finish if he so chooses, and potentially go out defeating the only two men to ever defeat him, like Georges St-Pierre did.
If this rematch gets made, it will be interesting to see who comes out on top. What’s even more interesting, is at 40 and 37, respectively, Cormier and Miocic have continued to get better. Not just better, but they’ve continued to grow leaps and bounds. It will certainly be interesting to see what’s next for both men.
Diaz has laid out the kind of opponents he wants, and whoever Colby Covington is does not meet his standards. Nate Diaz returned to the cage for the first time in three years on Saturday night at UFC 241, but you …
Esther Lin, MMA Fighting
Diaz has laid out the kind of opponents he wants, and whoever Colby Covington is does not meet his standards.
Nate Diaz returned to the cage for the first time in three years on Saturday night at UFC 241, but you wouldn’t know it based on his performance. Any ring rust he felt was shucked off by the end of the first round and at the end of the third judges gave him a decisive decision victory over Anthony Pettis (watch the highlights here).
It was a massive win for Diaz that positioned him as a potential superstar for the UFC. As UFC president Dana White finally admitted, Nate was moving the needle. But for as good as he is at combat sports and how his demeanor may make you think otherwise, Nate doesn’t actually enjoy the fight itself.
”When you’re in it you’re like ‘What the f**k did I come sign up for this for? I don’t enjoy this at all!’” Diaz said during the UFC 241 post-fight show on ESPN+. “Cause that’s what you guys, you enjoy it right? No, I don’t enjoy it at all. But I do enjoy getting it done, what I’ve been doing for so long.”
”I don’t want to be all full of myself and cocky and s**t but I got way too much money to be having to fight somebody that’s not interesting,” he said. “I’m an entrepreneur, I’ve got all sorts of s**t going on and it’s been good, it’s fun. I like the healthy lifestyle, training for something, getting something done, the feeling of getting the job done in what started in the first place, that’s what I’m into.”
As for what interests him these days? Gangsters like Jorge Masvidal. But here’s a more detailed breakdown of what qualifications Diaz is looking for in an opponent.
”People who have been around and can still be on top just like I have? It’s like, you’ve got to recognize that and spit it,” he said. “And those are the fights I want to see if I’m watching. The realest and the best fighters, the best martial artists fighting each other. Not no phony ass s**t with some guy who’s been in the UFC for two years, had a couple good fights and is the champ. We’ll see if they’re still champs next year or the year after. Or even around at all. Because I’ve been here before they got here, I’ll be here after they got here [sic], and that’s what I like about Pettis and Masvidal.”
Diaz wants to fight exciting martial artists, not technicians looking to ‘win via loopholes.’ Sounds like a not so subtle shot at the Usmans and Covingtons of the organization, but Diaz claims he doesn’t even know who Colby Covington is. Must be nice.
”Who? Who is he?” he asked quite convincingly. “What weight? I don’t know who that is so if we got somebody good to fight, that’s who I want to fight, that’s what I’m saying. You got to do something. If you’ve been here for two weeks and get a little hype show, I don’t give a s**t.”
Dana White is now a believer in Nate Diaz’s drawing ability. Diaz had been out of action since Aug. 2016 going into his welterweight bout with Anthony Pettis last night (Aug. 17). Diaz and Pettis collided in the co-main event of UFC 241. Ring rus…
Dana White is now a believer in Nate Diaz’s drawing ability. Diaz had been out of action since Aug. 2016 going into his welterweight bout with Anthony Pettis last night (Aug. 17). Diaz and Pettis collided in the co-main event of UFC 241. Ring rust be damned, Diaz turned in a stellar performance utilizing his […]
