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Jon Jones Kicking Bag Just 2 Weeks After Knee Surgery

The fight that could have been was just three weeks away from today. 
If not for an unfortunate knee injury to the champion, we’d all be three weeks away from the best pay-per-view card of the year. Alas, the injury did happen, and the best thing …

The fight that could have been was just three weeks away from today. 

If not for an unfortunate knee injury to the champion, we’d all be three weeks away from the best pay-per-view card of the year. Alas, the injury did happen, and the best thing we can all do is accept it and wait for the champion and challenger to heal up nicely.

Two weeks removed from surgery to repair his injured knee, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is back in the gym. 

Jones posted a video on his Instagram profile earlier captioned “Two weeks after knee surgery..Phil4:13.” The video shows Jones land two kicks and one low-flying knee. 

Jones’ light heavyweight title tilt with Daniel Cormier was rescheduled for Jan. 3 after the champion hurt his knee while wrestling with Jackson’s MMA teammate Alistair Overeem last month.

“It’s part of the game, it wasn’t like … somebody went for a flying kick and dislocated [something],” Jones’ coach Greg Jackson told Sherdog.com. “Somebody went for a takedown, [Jones] stepped the wrong way, twisted the wrong way and down he went. He was fighting it, and he just twisted it. And then it just popped.”

The injury came as terrible news to the MMA community, most of which was already accounting for UFC 178 in monthly budgets. This was a fight most wanted to see, save for the Alexander Gustafsson faithful.

After the infamous Jones-Cormier brawl in which UFC executive Dave Sholler ended up as collateral damage, this was a fight everyone had to see. 

Seeing Jones back in the gym while he kicks the bag in a relatively gingerly manner is reason enough to be excited for January bout—Jones will be ready, Cormier will be ready, and, rest assured, fans will be ready. 

 

Kristian Ibarra is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report. He also serves as the sports editor at San Diego State University’s student-run newspaper, The Daily Aztec. Follow him on Twitter at @Kristian_Ibarra for all things MMA. 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Alistair Overeem in a Must-Win Fight Against Ben Rothwell

Alistair Overeem stepped into the Octagon on Dec. 30, 2011 against Brock Lesnar as the best heavyweight fighter without any Octagon experience. He was seemingly big enough to contend with the likes of Lesnar and arguably swift enough to contend with th…

Alistair Overeem stepped into the Octagon on Dec. 30, 2011 against Brock Lesnar as the best heavyweight fighter without any Octagon experience. He was seemingly big enough to contend with the likes of Lesnar and arguably swift enough to contend with the likes of then-champion Junior dos Santos. 

It took just over two minutes and one liver kick to prove the former heavyweight champion an unworthy foe. Lesnar went on to retire, and Overeem was set to take on dos Santos to finally put an end to all of the hypothetical discussions—the true heavyweight king would be crowned. 

The hypothetical discussions wouldn’t go out without a fight, though—Overeem failed his pre-fight drug test in the months leading up to his championship duel due to elevated testosterone levels, and he was effectively removed from a chance to earn UFC gold. 

The Reem would serve his suspension and return to face Antonio “Big Foot” Silva 15 months removed from the day he dismantled Lesnar. He had his sights set on the crown; Silva was merely a stepping stone.

Just one kink in Overeem’s chain: Silva wasn’t aware of his role.

Overeem couldn’t capitalize on two dominant rounds against his Brazilian counterpart, leading to one of the more memorable comeback performances in recent history. 

The same goes for his next fight against Travis Browne: initially dominant, but eventually played hostage to his inability to capitalize against a weakened opponent. 

Almost three years removed from his UFC debut and the masses crediting Overeem as the greatest heavyweight on the planet have all but disappeared.

That’s not to say his chances at, at the very least, challenging for the heavyweight throne have all but passed him by.

Currently one fight removed from a victory over Frank Mir and a bout against Ben Rothwell on the horizon, Overeem might still have a chance to at least try to revitalize the ocean of support. But at 34 years old and with 15 years of wear and tear from competing in professional combat sports, Overeem might not have enough time to make another run for the gold should he lose to Rothwell this Friday at UFC Fight Night 50. 

He has to win. He has to win now. 

Cain Velasquez is set to defend his title against the only worthy opponent left in the division: Fabricio Werdum. The title picture gets pretty cloudy after that—and it’ll stay that way unless Overeem returns to his former glory. 

A win against an unranked opponent hardly ever warrants any victor a shot at the title, especially when said victor is on the outskirts of the division’s top five. Luckily for Overeem, he resides with the big guys, and the UFC is desperate to find a decent big guy with a respectable winning streak to challenge its champion.

A two-fight winning streak accompanied by several non-UFC championship accolades should be plenty reason to grant the former Strikeforce heavyweight champion a shot at the title. A loss to Rothwell—especially one akin to the ones he had against Silva and Browne—should send Overeem to the depths of heavyweight anonymity.

That’s not to say that Overeem—or any other heavyweight, for that matter—will ever be more than two to three impressive victories away from punching his ticket to compete for the crown. Competing in a division where the champion’s injuries only allow him to compete once or twice a year might pose some issue for the aging heavyweight, though. 

 

Kristian Ibarra is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report. He also serves as the sports editor at San Diego State University’s student-run newspaper, The Daily Aztec. Follow him on Twitter at @Kristian_Ibarra for all things MMA. 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Bobby Lashley: Everything You Need to Know About Bellator’s Latest Heavyweight

The worlds of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts will collide on a major scale yet again when Bobby Lashley steps into the Bellator MMA cage on Friday. He walks into the heavyweight division as the current TNA World Heavyweight champion, but…

The worlds of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts will collide on a major scale yet again when Bobby Lashley steps into the Bellator MMA cage on Friday. He walks into the heavyweight division as the current TNA World Heavyweight champion, but that will not mean a thing to combat fans. Much of the fight-sports community may know of Lashley for his accolades in the world of choreographed fighting, but this run is an attempt to gain MMA fame at the same time.

The fighter known as “The Dominator” will bring a 10-2 record when he debuts during Bellator 123. Most fans and experts alike would pick Lashley‘s record apart for the lack of wins against viable competition in the sport. Victories over Wes Sims and Bob Sapp are perhaps his best wins to date. Unfortunately for Lashley, his two defeats have come to James Thompson and Chad Griggs; two fighters who could be considered “journeymen” in most mainstream circles. Still, that has not deterred the athlete from attempting to make another run in mixed martial arts.

“I want to swing for the fences and go after some of the bigger names,” Lashley told Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie. “This is my last run, so I don’t want to make it gradual. Some of these next few fights, there’s some guys I really want to get in the cage with.”

Bellator MMA is the right place for Lashley to attempt this push. Since bringing Scott Coker into the company as the new president, it’s clear that the company is looking to move more towards entertainment than the strict format that handcuffed the company. Match making will now favor a more creative approach with the intention of attracting the mainstream combat-sports fan.

“I think what we want to see is where our championship fights put star vs. star, so we’re going back to basics,” Coker said in a report by Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports. “We’re going to build the company with a strong foundation and move forward from there.”

Lashley is coming around at the perfect time for Bellator MMA to use him as a part of that foundation. The heavyweight division is one of the more prominent groups in combat sports. Bellator does not have a strong roster of heavyweights and Lashley can quickly find himself in position to challenge for their world title. He immediately has more star power than current heavyweight champion Vitaly Minakov. When paired with the fact that he is the current TNA wrestling heavyweight champion, the cross promotional opportunities would be abundant. Even through outlets such as TMZ are reporting that Spike television is separating themselves from the TNA wrestling promotion, there is still value that can be pulled from his presence in Bellator‘s circle cage.

Lashley will also greatly benefit during this return if he can string together victories. His initial attempt to gain Brock Lesnar-like fame in the world of mixed martial arts did not go so well, but he still has enough name value to be worth Bellator‘s investment. However, he still needs to win and that fact makes his coming fight against Josh Burns just as important for Bellator MMA as it is for Lashley himself.

　

 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

MMA’s All-Tough-Guy Team

The sport of mixed martial arts has a plethora of tough guys. Very few participants in MMA are viewed as anything other than tough. Some fighters stick out as being especially tough and can give and take what seems like immeasurable amounts of punishme…

The sport of mixed martial arts has a plethora of tough guys. Very few participants in MMA are viewed as anything other than tough. Some fighters stick out as being especially tough and can give and take what seems like immeasurable amounts of punishment. Other fighters may not be the very best but are willing to fight anyone, anytime.

If we were to assemble a team of the toughest fighters in MMA today, what would it look like?

The definition of a tough guy is “a menacing man.” One of the criteria for our All-Tough-Guy Team will be that fighters need to be active. So Kazushi Sakuraba, Fedor Emelianenko, Randy Couture and Rickson Gracie won’t be on the team.

A certain amount of the toughness requisite to making the team needs to be exhibited outside of the cage. Mean-muggin’, ice-grillin’ and keeping it real 24/7 are all things that might earn a fighter a spot on the team.  

But not shoving.

Most of what makes someone tough enough for the All-Tough-Guy Team happens in the cage. Epic comebacks, ability to take punishment and finishing instinct will carry the most weight in deciding who makes the top of the list, but everyone on the All-Tough-Guy-Team could make at least a serviceable Avenger or Expendable.

Special consideration will be given to guys who are generally pretty nice when they aren’t fighting but are just that tough when they get in the cage.

Here is MMA’s All-Tough-Guy Team.

Begin Slideshow

MMA’s All-Tough-Guy Team

The sport of mixed martial arts has a plethora of tough guys. Very few participants in MMA are viewed as anything other than tough. Some fighters stick out as being especially tough and can give and take what seems like immeasurable amounts of punishme…

The sport of mixed martial arts has a plethora of tough guys. Very few participants in MMA are viewed as anything other than tough. Some fighters stick out as being especially tough and can give and take what seems like immeasurable amounts of punishment. Other fighters may not be the very best but are willing to fight anyone, anytime.

If we were to assemble a team of the toughest fighters in MMA today, what would it look like?

The definition of a tough guy is “a menacing man.” One of the criteria for our All-Tough-Guy Team will be that fighters need to be active. So Kazushi Sakuraba, Fedor Emelianenko, Randy Couture and Rickson Gracie won’t be on the team.

A certain amount of the toughness requisite to making the team needs to be exhibited outside of the cage. Mean-muggin’, ice-grillin’ and keeping it real 24/7 are all things that might earn a fighter a spot on the team.  

But not shoving.

Most of what makes someone tough enough for the All-Tough-Guy Team happens in the cage. Epic comebacks, ability to take punishment and finishing instinct will carry the most weight in deciding who makes the top of the list, but everyone on the All-Tough-Guy-Team could make at least a serviceable Avenger or Expendable.

Special consideration will be given to guys who are generally pretty nice when they aren’t fighting but are just that tough when they get in the cage.

Here is MMA’s All-Tough-Guy Team.

Begin Slideshow

MMA’s All-Tough-Guy Team

The sport of mixed martial arts has a plethora of tough guys. Very few participants in MMA are viewed as anything other than tough. Some fighters stick out as being especially tough and can give and take what seems like immeasurable amounts of punishme…

The sport of mixed martial arts has a plethora of tough guys. Very few participants in MMA are viewed as anything other than tough. Some fighters stick out as being especially tough and can give and take what seems like immeasurable amounts of punishment. Other fighters may not be the very best but are willing to fight anyone, anytime.

If we were to assemble a team of the toughest fighters in MMA today, what would it look like?

The definition of a tough guy is “a menacing man.” One of the criteria for our All-Tough-Guy Team will be that fighters need to be active. So Kazushi Sakuraba, Fedor Emelianenko, Randy Couture and Rickson Gracie won’t be on the team.

A certain amount of the toughness requisite to making the team needs to be exhibited outside of the cage. Mean-muggin’, ice-grillin’ and keeping it real 24/7 are all things that might earn a fighter a spot on the team.  

But not shoving.

Most of what makes someone tough enough for the All-Tough-Guy Team happens in the cage. Epic comebacks, ability to take punishment and finishing instinct will carry the most weight in deciding who makes the top of the list, but everyone on the All-Tough-Guy-Team could make at least a serviceable Avenger or Expendable.

Special consideration will be given to guys who are generally pretty nice when they aren’t fighting but are just that tough when they get in the cage.

Here is MMA’s All-Tough-Guy Team.

Begin Slideshow