The TV cameras are no longer in her face, and that’s fine with Rose Namajunas. Her focus now is Saturday night and a successful return to the Octagon, not a reality show. Namajunas, a finalist on The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will be Crowned, …
The TV cameras are no longer in her face, and that’s fine with Rose Namajunas. Her focus now is Saturday night and a successful return to the Octagon, not a reality show. Namajunas, a finalist on The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will be Crowned, meets Nina Ansaroff at UFC 187, her first bout since losing to Carla Esparza in the TUF finale last December. There’s little question she’s ready to resume her career.
> More UFC 187 Content: John Dodson | Weidman Enjoying Moment | Cormier-Johnson Open Workout Story | Cowboy Cerrone | Anth … Read the Full Article Here
LAS VEGASListen up, Dana White. John Dodson has a master plan. He wants to conquer the UFC, starting Saturday night and ending with titles in three weight divisions. Dodson says he can knock out featherweight contender Conor McGregor. He says he’s the only flyweight capable of defeating champion Demetrious Johnson, and he plans to do it the next time they fight. And he intends to ensure a second bout with Johnson by scoring a spectacular win over Zach Makovsky in the prelims of UFC 187.
> More UFC 187 Content: Weidman Enjoying Moment | Cormier-Johnson Open Workout Story& … Read the Full Article Here
LAS VEGASListen up, Dana White. John Dodson has a master plan. He wants to conquer the UFC, starting Saturday night and ending with titles in three weight divisions. Dodson says he can knock out featherweight contender Conor McGregor. He says he’s the only flyweight capable of defeating champion Demetrious Johnson, and he plans to do it the next time they fight. And he intends to ensure a second bout with Johnson by scoring a spectacular win over Zach Makovsky in the prelims of UFC 187.
> More UFC 187 Content: Weidman Enjoying Moment | Cormier-Johnson Open Workout Story& … Read the Full Article Here
LAS VEGAS — For Daniel Cormier, the only person to blame for Jon Jones’ recent troubles is Jones himself.
Jones, the former UFC light heavyweight champion, was arrested April 27 on a felony charge of leaving the scene of an accident involvi…
LAS VEGAS — For Daniel Cormier, the only person to blame for Jon Jones‘ recent troubles is Jones himself.
Jones, the former UFC light heavyweight champion, was arrested April 27 on a felony charge of leaving the scene of an accident involving death or personal injury. The UFC stripped his title and suspended him indefinitely one day later.
This comes after Jones tested positive for cocaine in a December out-of-competition screening. “Bones” also has a 2012 DWI arrest on his record.
“I feel bad for his family and the people around him,” Cormier said Wednesday at UFC 187 open workouts. “But he’s making these decisions. I think it’s time for people to stop feeling sorry for this guy and make him realize that he has to get things done the right way. By feeling sorry for him, it’s almost like you enable the guy to continue to do bad things. I mean, I don’t feel sorry for him. I feel sorry for the people closest to him. These decisions don’t affect just Jon. It affects every body around him.”
It was supposed to be Jones fighting Anthony Johnson here Saturday in the main event of UFC 187. Instead, with Jones out, Cormier will step in and take on Johnson for the vacant title.
Cormier fell to Jones by unanimous decision at UFC 182 in January. The two had a heated rivalry for years culminating in that fight. Back in August, Cormier and Jones got into a brawl at a UFC press conference. There is still plenty of ill will. Cormier knows he won’t be able to put Jones in his rear-view mirror any time soon, especially with UFC president Dana White saying on Jim Rome’s show Wednesday that Jones will get an immediate title shot upon his return.
“Now I’m back tied to him,” Cormier said. “It’s like I cannot separate myself from Jon Jones. At the end of the day, Jon will get himself together. How good would it be for you guys if he has to come back in the challenger’s role against me? I’ll run his ass through the mud.”
Jones, 27, is being accused of running a red light in a rented SUV and striking a car driven by a pregnant woman April 26 in Albuquerque, N.M. The woman fractured her arm in the collision. Jones allegedly fled the scene after the crash. Albuquerque police could not locate him for more than 24 hours until he turned himself in.
Cormier, 36, believes Jones’ actions are tied together.
“If there’s anything I take away from this with Jones it’s he has an issue,” Cormier said. “He has some demons. Not only because of this incident, but because of the past incidents. And even the [positive] test before him and I fought. This is arguably the biggest fight of your career and a month before you’re doing those types of things.”
Cormier said Jones should rightfully get a title shot whenever he comes back, because he has earned it. Jones is still the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world and has never truly lost an MMA fight. Jones’ only defeat came via controversial disqualification.
“What we need to focus more on is him becoming a better person and him fixing himself,” Cormier said. “None of us should sit here and worry about Jon Jones the athlete. You worry about Jon Jones the person, because that’s what’s important right now. He has some demons, some issues he needs to take care of before he can get back to all this. This will always be here waiting for him. He’s 27 years old. Get himself together, be a better person and then worry about the athlete.”
That doesn’t mean Cormier is sitting around feeling bummed for Jones.
“I don’t feel sorry for Jon; I feel sorry for the lady he hit in the car that has a baby coming,” Cormier said. “I feel sorry for his parents who have to wake up every morning and see those types of things in the media. I don’t feel sorry for him. He did this.”
Before Daniel Cormier and Anthony Johnson do battle for the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 187, and before Vitor Belfort gets his long-awaited shot at Chris Weidman’s UFC middleweight title, two top-ranked heavyweights will square off in a fi…
Before Daniel Cormier and Anthony Johnson do battle for the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 187, and before VitorBelfort gets his long-awaited shot at Chris Weidman’s UFC middleweight title, two top-ranked heavyweights will square off in a fight that could determine the next challenger for the heavyweight belt.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski will look to continue his unexpected resurgence when he faces Travis “Hapa” Browne on the UFC 187 main card. Given the current landscape in the UFC heavyweight division, the winner could be poised for a title shot.
Cain Velasquez, the current Baddest Man on the Planet, has been sidelined with a series of injuries for the better part of two years and will finally return to action at UFC 188 next month in Mexico City. He’s been gone for so long that Fabricio Werdum is also the heavyweight champion, albeit an interim champion.
StipeMiocic made his case for the next title shot with his thorough beatdown of Mark Hunt in Australia a few weeks ago, decimating Hunt for nearly five rounds before finishing him via TKO in the fifth frame. The output and cardio of Miocic might only be rivaled at heavyweight by the champ himself.
Even though Miocicdropped a narrow decision to Junior dos Santos prior to that, the fight was very close, and many thought he should have taken the decision.
Miocic has looked impressive throughout his nine fights in the UFC thus far and might be the guy the UFC goes with against the winner of Velasquez vs. Werdum. Browne and Arlovski have the opportunity on Saturday to stake their claim to the title shot, and an emphatic win for either guy could send them to the front of the line.
For Arlovski, it would be a second chance at glory. He’s been to the mountain top, and 10 years ago, he was the best heavyweight alive. Competing for the title a decade after holding it would be a pretty remarkable accomplishment.
Browne has been in this position before. He has made very few missteps in his MMA career and rebounded as good as one could have after his unanimous-decision loss to Werdum. He dominated Brendan Schaub and put him away in under a round, and a win over his former teammate should certainly put him in line for another title eliminator.
While Velasquez has been out, pretty much all of the other heavyweights at the top of the division have been at least somewhat derailed by a loss. Browne has his loss to Werdum, Josh Barnett lost to Browne, Alistair Overeem lost to Ben Rothwell and dos Santos hasn’t appeared to ever really recover from the third fight against Velasquez.
There isn’t a long line for the title, and there aren’t a lot of people ahead of Browne and Arlovski at the moment. With Velasquez vs. Werdum finally (hopefully) happening, the UFC needs to establish who will fight for the title next. Saturday night is when Brown and Arlovski get the opportunity to make their case.
LAS VEGAS Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone says there’s no chance he’ll underestimate his opponent at UFC 187 on Saturday night, even if everyone else is. Cerrone, the UFC’s No. 3 lightweight contender, faces unranked John Makdessi…
LAS VEGAS Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone says there’s no chance he’ll underestimate his opponent at UFC 187 on Saturday night, even if everyone else is. Cerrone, the UFC’s No. 3 lightweight contender, faces unranked John Makdessi in the main card of at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, but he understands that the Canadian fighter (12-3) is a worthy opponent.
//
“You’re not in the UFC because you’re on the corner with a sign, ‘will fight for food,’ ” Cerrone (27-6) said Wednesday following open workouts. “You’re … Read the Full Article Here
LAS VEGASNo matter what Daniel Cormier says about him, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson insists he’s no bully.When he gets hit, Johnson hits back. That’s his mentality.
//
But Cormier, who fights Johnson for the vacant …
LAS VEGASNo matter what Daniel Cormier says about him, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson insists he’s no bully.When he gets hit, Johnson hits back. That’s his mentality.
//
But Cormier, who fights Johnson for the vacant UFC light heavyweight title Saturday night at UFC 187, said his opponent likes to push people around in the Octagon. But it won’t happen with him.“When I watch Rumble Johnson, he’s a bully,” Cormier said Tuesday after an open workout on the MGM Grand casino floor. “He bullies guys. He makes them go backward, and he t … Read the Full Article Here
Before Daniel