UFC 182 kicks off a brand new year of events for the largest mixed martial arts promotion in the world, and fans get to witness two of the baddest heavyweights on the planet go to battle on Saturday.
Former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Daniel Cormi…
UFC 182 kicks off a brand new year of events for the largest mixed martial arts promotion in the world, and fans get to witness two of the baddest heavyweights on the planet go to battle on Saturday.
Former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier will attempt to wrestle away UFC gold from the pound-for-pound best Jon Jones. The two eerily similar fighters have been engaged in a bitter feud that stems from a meeting between them that took place prior to Jones’ title win.
This card has a little bit for everyone, as lightweights Donald Cerrone and Myles Jury take the Octagon to find out who might be next in line for a title shot behind Rafael dos Anjos. Meanwhile, heavy hitters Nate Marquardt and Hector Lombard are also fighting.
In many of these bouts, picking the winner may seem easy, but there’s no disproving the facts. Here are the five key details one needs to know heading into Saturday night’s main card matchups.
For someone who has been featured on two seasons of The Ultimate Fighter, and is undefeated with six wins inside the Octagon, Myles Jury has flown a bit under the radar. Against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in the co-main event of UFC 182 on Sat…
For someone who has been featured on two seasons of The Ultimate Fighter, and is undefeated with six wins inside the Octagon, Myles Jury has flown a bit under the radar. Against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in the co-main event of UFC 182 on Saturday night, he’s got a chance to change that.
Jury’s UFC career started off on The Ultimate Fighter Season 13, where an ACLinjury forced him off the show. He made it back into the TUF house for the show’s 15th season, where he lost in the fan-voted “Fight of the Season” to Al Iaquinta.
Since the two-round bouts on The Ultimate Fighter are exhibition fights that don’t count towards your professional record, Jury is still technically undefeated as a pro. He hit the ground running at the TUF 15 finale, finishing Chris Saunders with a guillotine choke in the first round.
Perhaps his most impressive victory was his most recent, a 92-second destruction of former Pride lightweight champion TakanoriGomi. He made it look easy against Diego Sanchez in the fight prior to that, and has proven that he is a force at lightweight.
On the Countdown To UFC 182, Cerrone tells Jury to “bring a lunch” if he plans on walking through him. Cerrone went toe-to-toe with EdsonBarboza in what was essentially a one-round kickboxing match, and when he landed a good shot that dropped Barboza, he leapt onto his back and put him away with a rear-naked choke. Donald Cerrone is a bad man.
Jury’s unassuming demeanor and general indifference to the spotlight has caused him to get lost in the shuffle of the crowded UFC lightweight division. The fight with Cerrone gives the Alliance MMA fighter a chance to put a stamp on his spot in the top of the division.
Cerrone has been the most active fighter in the UFC since he came over from the WEC in 2011. His current run, a whizzing streak of five victories over top competition, is perhaps his best yet, and Cerrone is as close to a UFC title shot as he has ever been.
Cowboy’s busy schedule and unique approach to life and fighting have kept him ever-present in the minds of MMA fans. Fighting so often might eventually cause some of Cerrone’s “old-man strength” to turn into old-man fatigue. If any of the that shows up against the more youthful and technical Jury, Cerrone’s title chances might go out the window.
The fight itself should be a battle. Cerrone is adept on his feet and on the mat, and he likes nothing more than to be caught in a firefight inside the Octagon. Jury is a young and dangerous challenge, with very high-level jiu-jitsu and proven knockout power.
It will be extremely difficult for Jury to beat someone at the elite level such as Cowboy Cerrone in anything other than a dog fight. If he comes out victorious, he will have solidified himself as an elite fighter in the UFC’s most talent-rich division.
What started with a cheap shot four months ago will finally reach a deafening crescendo on Saturday night as Jon Jones defends his UFC light heavyweight title against Daniel Cormier.
The warring pair will settle their differences in the Las Vegas Octa…
What started with a cheap shot four months ago will finally reach a deafening crescendo on Saturday night as Jon Jones defends his UFC light heavyweight title against Daniel Cormier.
The warring pair will settle their differences in the Las Vegas Octagon after months of verbal insults.
And having come to blows last August in a disgraceful brawl, Jones and Cormier clashed again on New Year’s Day as hotel security stepped in to calm yet another heated exchange.
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The New Year will kick off with a bang, as UFC 182 is set to go down Saturday night. It’s no secret that Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier do not like each other, and now we get to see a fight that has been building for quite some time. Light hea…
The New Year will kick off with a bang, as UFC 182 is set to go down Saturday night.
It’s no secret that Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier do not like each other, and now we get to see a fight that has been building for quite some time. Light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones looks to put his title up against the undefeated Daniel Cormier in what has Fight of the Year written all over it.
A matchup of top lightweights is set, as undefeated Myles Jury is slated to take on the always entertaining fan favorite Donald Cerrone.
Watch as B/R gives you the full breakdown of what to expect from UFC 182 come Saturday night.
The main event of UFC 182 on Saturday night is important for a multitude of reasons. It is a title fight that sits atop the UFC’s big year-ending (and beginning) New Year’s weekend event, and it features the best pound-for-pound fighter in …
The main event of UFC 182 on Saturday night is important for a multitude of reasons. It is a title fight that sits atop the UFC’s big year-ending (and beginning) New Year’s weekend event, and it features the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Jon “Bones” Jones.
Throw in the fact that both men are effectively undefeated—and that the bad blood between them is somewhat real—and it makes the fight that much more intriguing.
The real reason why Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier matters so much is that they are two of the sport’s best and most gifted competitors, and the challenge they present to each other is legitimate. Neither has faced anyone on the level of the other.
Since winning the UFC light heavyweight title from Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in 2011, Jones has made a habit of defeating former UFC champions with ease. The one fighter who did give him a true fight, Alexander Gustafsson, wasn’t considered a legitimate threat to the champion’s title reign before the fight took place.
The same can’t be said for DC.
Going into a fight with the best fighter fighting with the level of confidence that Daniel Cormier exudes is a daunting task that requires unwavering focus. Taking a fight with Jon Jones is one thing, but calling him out time after time and moving down in weight to get to him is not something most fighters would put effort into doing.
Part of the intrigue of the fight thus far is that Cormier already has Jones on his heels in their media interactions. He interrupts Jones’ attempt to control the narrative in interviews and gets a side of Jones to come out that the champion would rather keep private.
Cormier has exhibited that same level of confidence in the cage. Whenever a fighter has an zero on his record, his potential is seemingly open-ended. We don’t know if Cormier has what it takes to defeat Jon Jones, but he hasn’t shown anything to the contrary, so the possibility is more tangible than with Jones’ past opponents.
On the UFC 182 pre-fight conference call earlier this week, the challenger gave his thoughts on the mindset needed to accomplish such an unenviable task, saying:
I think it boils down to belief. Belief that this can be done. A lot of times people don’t believe. People don’t believe when they’re staring at a hill that may be high, or a mountain that seems like it can’t be climbed. I think it is belief. Believing in yourself, believing in your skills and your team, and believing in everything that you have done to this point. Believing that it all was enough.
He has firmly grasped the mental aspect of the task, and he seems like he is ready for his mission at UFC 182. It’s still tough to imagine a world where Jon Jones loses in a fight. His dominance in MMA is unmatched, and if he retired today he would have a strong case as the greatest fighter of all time.
Cormier is the type of opponent who Jones needs to defeat in order to cement that status as the greatest fighter of all time. Short of Cain Velasquez at heavyweight, or a far-fetchedcatchweight matchup with Chris Weidman, there isn’t a tougher test for Jones at this point in the UFC.
The level of competition Jones has faced has more or less been a crescendo up to this point, and the fight with Cormier is his chance to defeat the next best fighter in the world.
The attention this bout is getting might allow Jones to come out of it as a much bigger star for the UFC. And if Cormier is able to hand Jones his first true defeat, then he’ll probably be doing it in front of a much larger audience than the UFC has been getting lately, so his chances at becoming a future pay-per-view draw are as good as anyone’s.
With the fight getting moved back from September to January, both men have had time to fully prepare. Jones said on Monday’s conference call that the extra time has given his challenger more opportunity for preparation, but he has also used the extra months to better prepare himself.
I’ve done everything I can to win the fight. I’ve trained. My cardio is great. My tactics are great. My playbook is rehearsed. Now I’m going to go out there and do what I’ve always done.
The champion revels in the fact that his opponent was afforded a successful training camp, he and thinks the victory will be much more meaningful knowing that his opponent had ample time to rehabilitate and train.
We’ve both had more time to focus on this fight and each other. I think it’s going to be a great fight. One thing that I love about this situation is that there is no excuse for his performance, or for my performance, when we get out there.
The champion summed it up best, noting that although the trash talk has stoked the fires of fan interest, the time for talking is over. Now it is the work the men have put in that will ultimately lead them to greatness.
Everybody who fights against me, they claim that it is the best camp of their career and they are in the best shape of their career. That’s exactly the way I want them. It means everything to my legacy that he has no excuses.
Whichever man comes out victorious on Saturday night and leaves Las Vegas with the UFC light heavyweight title will have accomplished the single greatest feat of his career by defeating the other. That is what makes this fight truly great, as both men are facing their toughest challenge.
It didn’t take long for the injury bug to surface in 2015.
Costas Philippou injured his rib and is unable to compete against Uriah Hall at UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs. Siver on Jan. 18 in Boston, MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani has confirmed with Philippou’s manager Lex McMahon. The story was originally reported by MMAjunkie.
The fight was of particular intrigue, because it was a rematch of a bout Philippou won in the Ring of Combat organization in 2011. The New York-based fighters are two of the most exciting sluggers in the middleweight division.
Philippou (13-4, 1 NC) is coming off a booming first-round knockout of Lorenz Larkin in May. Before that, the Cyprus native had lost two straight to Luke Rockhold and Francis Carmont. The 35-year-old remains ranked No. 12 in the UFC’s official 185-pound rankings.
The UFC will search for a replacement for Hall (9-4), one of the top prospects to ever come out of The Ultimate Fighter. Hall has won two straight and is coming off a unanimous decision win over Thiago Santos at UFC 175 in July. The 30-year-old Jamaica native fought the majority of that bout with a badly broken toe.
UFC Fight Night 59 will be headlined by a featherweight contender bout between Conor McGregor and Dennis Siver. Lightweight stars Benson Henderson and Eddie Alvarez will meet in the co-main event.
It didn’t take long for the injury bug to surface in 2015.
Costas Philippou injured his rib and is unable to compete against Uriah Hall at UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs. Siver on Jan. 18 in Boston, MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani has confirmed with Philippou’s manager Lex McMahon. The story was originally reported by MMAjunkie.
The fight was of particular intrigue, because it was a rematch of a bout Philippou won in the Ring of Combat organization in 2011. The New York-based fighters are two of the most exciting sluggers in the middleweight division.
Philippou (13-4, 1 NC) is coming off a booming first-round knockout of Lorenz Larkin in May. Before that, the Cyprus native had lost two straight to Luke Rockhold and Francis Carmont. The 35-year-old remains ranked No. 12 in the UFC’s official 185-pound rankings.
The UFC will search for a replacement for Hall (9-4), one of the top prospects to ever come out of The Ultimate Fighter. Hall has won two straight and is coming off a unanimous decision win over Thiago Santos at UFC 175 in July. The 30-year-old Jamaica native fought the majority of that bout with a badly broken toe.
UFC Fight Night 59 will be headlined by a featherweight contender bout between Conor McGregor and Dennis Siver. Lightweight stars Benson Henderson and Eddie Alvarez will meet in the co-main event.
For someone who has been featured on two seasons of The Ultimate Fighter, and is 