Author: CrushCo

‘UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage’ Aftermath: Jon Jones, the Present of MMA

“No, your breath does not smell like doodoo. Don’t say that, Quinton”. (Photo: UFC.com)

There are some folks who believe that you’re not really a champion until you successfully defend your belt. For those of you who agree, meet Jon Jones, UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.

“Bones” did whatever he wanted from the opening bell, starting the fight crouched in a Bloodsport-inspired fighting stance (and yes, Steven Seagal is a little butthurt over that). From that moment his unorthodoxy never waned. Spinning elbows and kicks are common weapons in his arsenal, and he seemed as comfortable throwing them as ever. Jones shows no fear of what his damage his opponent might do should he miss or leave himself open, and at this point it looks like we may never find out. According to FightMetric, Rampage failed to land a single power shot to the head. We’re all eager to laud Jones as the future of his division and the man to bring stability to 205lbs, and with good reason, but dammit I still want to see him get popped in the jaw a few times before we weld that belt around his waist.

“No, your breath does not smell like doodoo. Don’t say that, Quinton”. (Photo: UFC.com)

There are some folks who believe that you’re not really a champion until you successfully defend your belt. For those of you who agree, meet Jon Jones, UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.

“Bones” did whatever he wanted from the opening bell, starting the fight crouched in a Bloodsport-inspired fighting stance (and yes, Steven Seagal is a little butthurt over that). From that moment his unorthodoxy never waned. Spinning elbows and kicks are common weapons in his arsenal, and he seemed as comfortable throwing them as ever. Jones shows no fear of what damage his opponent might do should he miss or leave himself open, and at this point it looks like we may never find out. According to FightMetric, Rampage failed to land a single power shot to the head. We’re all eager to laud Jones as the future of his division and the man to bring stability to 205lbs, and with good reason, but dammit I still want to see him get popped in the jaw a few times before we weld that belt around his waist.

As for Rampage, I thought his defense looked exceptional. For a guy “mesmerized” by Jones’ offense, he showed us that spinning elbows and kicks look a lot less impressive when they miss, and he ducked quite a few of them in this bout. He also managed to avoid several of those fancy trips and throws as well. I bet a lot of Memphis-based facial reconstructive surgeons were grinning ear-to-ear when Jones secured the mount, but Rampage showed some skill off his back in shucking the champion off and working to his feet. As for his offense…well, it was his usual two-pronged attack of lefts and rights. Sure, he threw out a token leg kick or two, but the versatility he showed in the Hamill fight was gone. Then again, a fight against Jon Jones may not be the best time to throw away your tried and true weapons in favor of a little experimentation. I expected a slow, flat-footed Rampage to get thoroughly worked over by a well-rounded fighter last night, and though he didn’t put the champ in any danger, I think he looked as good as anyone can against Jones at this point in time.

Damn, how much does Matt Hughes love to compete? The man has nothing left to fight for other than fighting itself, and at age 37, following his second consecutive first round knock out, he still can’t bring himself to retire. In a day when many fighters fight to protect their record or simply to collect a check, it’s nice to see someone step into the cage purely for a love of the game. But at the same time, the game he loves has changed. As much as Goldy and Rogan were celebrating the performance of “K1 Hughes” last night, I just didn’t see it. His jabs and left hooks may have succeeded in making Koscheck weary of his right eye, but they won’t succeed in putting away top competition, and for an aging wrestler in a division full of great wrestlers that spells trouble. When Kos started throwing his hands, that became clear once again. Hughes isn’t retiring, but he is placing himself “on a shelf”. That shelf holds numerous UFC records, countless belts, and an incredible legacy, and I think it’s a perfect place for him at this stage in his career.

It was hard for me to watch Mark Hunt and Ben Rothwell without thinking back to Dan Severn vs. Tank Abbott, which also went down in Denver back in 1995. If you didn’t catch that fight, there’s no rush to see it. The same goes for this one. I’ll cut them a little slack because they’re big boys fighting at altitude, but that doesn’t make it any prettier to watch. Joe Silva, when scheduling their next bouts, please consider a more suitable venue.

Gomi’s offense consisted solely of swinging that wild right for a one-punch knockout, and that proved to be a poor gameplan against a guy known for unrelenting combos. Diaz mixed in some heavy hands with the trademark Diaz “Stockton Slaps”, dropping Gomi early in the first. “The Fireball Kid” popped back up, but the punches kept coming. Diaz’s hands found their home again and again until Gomi took him down, but the former Pride champion found no refuge on the mat. Diaz instantly sunk in a triangle choke before switching to an armbar to elicit the tap. It was an impressive return to lightweight for the Cesar Gracie protege. This is Gomi’s second straight loss and his third in four fights, but with the UFC heading back to Japan he’s unlikely to be cut.

 

Full results (via AdCombat.com)

Main Card:

Jon Jones def. Quinton Jackson via Submission (rear naked choke) at 1:14, R4
Josh Koscheck def. Matt Hughes via KO (punches) at 4:59, R1
Mark Hunt def. Ben Rothwell via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-27, 30-27) at 5:00, R3
Travis Browne def. Rob Broughton via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) at 5:00, R3
Nate Diaz def. Takanori Gomi via Submission (armbar) at 4:27, R1.

Preliminary Card:

Tony Ferguson def. Aaron Riley via TKO (Corner Stoppage) at 5:00, R1
Tim Boetsch defeated Nick Ring via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) at 5:00, R3
Junior Assunção def. Eddie Yagin via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27) at 5:00, R3
Takeya Mizugaki def. Cole Escovedo via TKO (punches) at 4:30, R2
James Te Huna def. Ricardo Romero via KO (punches) at 0:47, R1

 

– Chris Colemon (@chriscolemon)

“Strikeforce Grand Prix: Barnett vs. Kharitonov” Drug Test Results: Everyone, Yes Everyone, Pisses Clean

“Not only have I never done steroids, I wouldn’t know who to approach if I wanted to buy them.” (Photo: MMAMania.com)

Thus far the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix has laughed in the face of safe bets. Tournament favorites Fedor Emelianenko and Alistair Overeem aren’t just out of the competition, they’re out of the promotion. With Daniel Cormier in the finals, I’m kicking myself for not throwing down that $1 bet on “Any fighter not listed”. Now continuing with that trend, it is being reported that following his victory over Sergei Kharitonov, Josh Barnett pissed a sample so warm, so pure that it may as well have been bottled in the foothills of Machida Springs™.

MMAJunkie.com confirmed the results with Bernie Profato of the Ohio Athletic Commission. Given the “War Master’s” storied past with P.E.D.’s, there were legitimate concerns that this tournament could end in a Trilogy-style disaster, but he passed both pre-and-post-fight tests. In your face, us!

Other fighters tested and found clean were: Sergei Kharitonov, Daniel Cormier, Antonio Silva, Luke Rockhold, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Mike Kyle, and Yoel Romero. Congrats, men: you’re either in that “very small percentage” of fighters who don’t juice, or in that big group smart enough to pass the tests.

“Not only have I never done steroids, I wouldn’t know who to approach if I wanted to buy them.”  (Photo: MMAMania.com)

Thus far the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix has laughed in the face of safe bets. Tournament favorites Fedor Emelianenko and Alistair Overeem aren’t just out of the competition, they’re out of the promotion. With Daniel Cormier in the finals, I’m kicking myself for not throwing down that $1 bet on “Any fighter not listed”. Now continuing with that trend, it is being reported that following his victory over Sergei Kharitonov, Josh Barnett pissed a sample so warm, so pure that it may as well have been bottled in the foothills of Machida Springs™.

MMAJunkie.com confirmed the results with Bernie Profato of the Ohio Athletic Commission. Given the “War Master’s” storied past with P.E.D.’s, there were legitimate concerns that this tournament could end in a Trilogy-style disaster, but he passed both pre-and-post-fight tests. In your face, us!

Other fighters tested and found clean were: Sergei Kharitonov, Daniel Cormier, Antonio Silva, Luke Rockhold, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Mike Kyle, and Yoel Romero. Congrats, men: you’re either in that “very small percentage” of fighters who don’t juice, or in that big group smart enough to pass the tests.

UFC 135 Fan Q&A: Rashad Evans Discusses Tonight’s Main Event, Espionage, and Peeing in the Cage

(Video courtesy of zpzp420 on Vimeo)

If there’s one thing the UFC does well, it’s making its stars available to the fans. Well, actually, it’s probably putting on mixed martial arts fights, but the UFC is pretty good at making its stars available to fans as well. These fan Q&A sessions give us a chance to see a fighter’s true personality, sometimes even many of his personalities. Yesterday’s session with Rashad Evans is true to form: you’ve got the usual goofball fans asking for a staredown, the requisite racially insensitive remark (no, not from Rashad, this time), and even a frank, thought-provoking discussion on the very-real problem of in-cage urination.

If you don’t have time to watch, we took notes. Check out some quotes after the jump.

(Video courtesy of zpzp420 on Vimeo)

If there’s one thing the UFC does well, it’s making its stars available to the fans. Well, actually, it’s probably putting on mixed martial arts fights, but the UFC is pretty good at making its stars available to fans as well. These fan Q&A sessions give us a chance to see a fighter’s true personality, sometimes even many of his personalities. Yesterday’s session with Rashad Evans is true to form: you’ve got the usual goofball fans asking for a staredown, the requisite racially insensitive remark (no, not from Rashad, this time), and even a frank, thought-provoking discussion on the very-real problem of in-cage urination.

 

On whether he’d rather face Rampage or Bones (1:20):

“I would rather fight Jon Jones. I mean, you know because, we have our issues and stuff. The situation with the whole Greg Jackson thing, and the [camp] splitting up. I’d rather fight him.”

 

When asked to snap a photo,Goldberg maintains the company’s firm stance on political correctness (4:10)

“My wife’s the Asian one, but I can take a picture”. (“Ooohs” from the crowd) “She knows she’s Asian. Don’t ‘ohhh’ me. She knows.”

 

On what makes Jon Jones dangerous (6:30)

“One thing that makes Jon good is the fact that he’s so young he just throws anything and he does that because he has no fear. But, the longer he fights, he’s going to establish more fear. He’s going to fight a little more conservative, and when you start fighting a little more conservative, start thinking about your moves, then that’s when you see a slight hesitation, and then he’s going to be like everybody else. But right now he’s so young he’ll do something that makes no sense, like you wouldn’t even do it because it makes no sense. But he does it, he has the balls enough to do it and he pulls it off because no one expects him to do it.”

 

On Rampage’s assertion that Jones hasn’t fought anyone (13:05)

“He hasn’t had those epic battles like Rampage and stuff, but you can’t deny that the kid definitely put in work. It’s hard to say, you can’t take away what he’s done. He hasn’t fought all the top guys in the weight class, but he did destroy Shogun, though. He did destroy Shogun. He’s been running through people, so you can’t deny that the kit put in work, but I do agree with Rampage that he hasn’t really put in the kind of work that he has.”

 

What he would bring to cage against Jones that “Bones” didn’t already see in training camp (15:50):

“I don’t really got to bring anything more than what he’s already seen at training camp, because that was enough then and I think it will be enough later on. And that’s a promise.”

 

On what he learned from the loss to Machida (31:00):

“Well, I wouldn’t sit around and watch, for one. For two, I won’t be talking when I’m getting rained on with punches. I can get hurt; I’m not invincible. I learned I’m not invincible. Going into that fight I think I would just be more aggressive. And that’s what I was saying earlier. When you go into a fight sometimes you’re so worried about what other people are doing that you’re not really doing your gameplan. And by you sitting there, watching them, you take your own self out of your game. So sometimes when you’re in a fight with someone who’s a little bit confusing or a little bit quirky you just got to go for yours and see what happens after that.”

 

His take on the “Spygate” saga (32:30):

“I think they did it, but I don’t think Jon was really a part of it. I think it was just that Malki, his manager, knew someone that was there and he was trying to get information from him. But I don’t think that Jon was in on the plan or really knew where Malki was getting his information from. I don’t think, but I could be wrong. They definitely found somebody doing it, though.”

 

Undoubtedly inspired by our recent feature on fighting through adversity, Rashad leaks a secret about his TUF fight with Brad Imes (50:00):

“During that fight, I was so tired. I peed myself. No I swear, I did, it’s embarrassing to say, but I did. Because I was so tired, I was just like, I just let it go.”

Knockout of the Day: A Disabling Spinning Back Kick

Knockout videos are a dime a dozen, particularly in the unforgiving sport of Muay Thai. What makes this one stand out is the anomaly of a one armed man delivering the final blow. As it turns out, this is no anomaly; this is Baxter Humby.

Humby’s right arm was amputated following a complication at birth, and rather than accepting that he’d never play recreational sports he pushed himself to excel at the professional level. “The One Armed Bandit” competed internationally as a member of Canada’s National Track Team. Having trained in the martial arts as a youth, Humby made the questionable decision to embark on a career as a professional fighter and soundly answered those who doubted his resolve.

Baxter has won over 15 kickboxing and muay thai titles, including: Canadian Super Welterweight Kickboxing Champion, IMTC World Middleweight Champion, IKBA International Kickboxing Champion, and IKKC USA Kickboxing Champion. The above first round knockout over Zidov Domenik took place Friday night at the Muaythai Premier League “Stars and Stripes” event. Humby successfully defended his WMC Intercontinental Championship.


Knockout videos are a dime a dozen, particularly in the unforgiving sport of Muay Thai. What makes this one stand out is the anomaly of a one armed man delivering the final blow. As it turns out, this is no anomaly; this is Baxter Humby.

Humby’s right arm was amputated following a complication at birth, and rather than accepting that he’d never play recreational sports he pushed himself to excel at the professional level. “The One Armed Bandit” competed internationally as a member of Canada’s National Track Team. Having trained in the martial arts as a youth, Humby made the questionable decision to embark on a career as a professional fighter and soundly answered those who doubted his resolve.

Baxter has won over 15 kickboxing and muay thai titles, including: Canadian Super Welterweight Kickboxing Champion, IMTC World Middleweight Champion, IKBA International Kickboxing Champion, and IKKC USA Kickboxing Champion. The above first round knockout over Zidov Domenik took place Friday night at the Muaythai Premier League “Stars and Stripes” event. Humby successfully defended his WMC Intercontinental Championship.

Akiyama Plans to Drop 15 Pounds, Pick Up His Career

I’m looking, but I don’t see one ounce I’d be willing to part with.

It looks like Dana White is getting his wish. Following his first round KO loss to Vitor Belfort at UFC 133, Yoshihiro Akiyama will be making the cut to 170lbs. Like any professional model, “Sexiyama” knows that thin is in, and after dropping three straight in the Middleweight division the judoka hopes to reignite his career as a welterweight.

Akiyama strutted into the Octogon sporting a 12-1 (2 no contests) record in Japan, but he hasn’t fared too well in the UFC. After snatching a split decision win over Alan Belcher, he fell victim to a last minute Chris Leben triangle, was outpointed by Michael Bisping, and dropped cold by “The Phenom”. Although he has lined his pockets with an additional $135k thanks to three “Fight of the Night” bonuses, at some point you’ve got to pick up a ‘W’ if you want to keep fighting under the bright lights…generally speaking.

I’m looking, but I don’t see one ounce I’d be willing to part with.

It looks like Dana White is getting his wish. Following his first round KO loss to Vitor Belfort at UFC 133, Yoshihiro Akiyama will be making the cut to 170lbs. Like any professional model, “Sexiyama” knows that thin is in, and after dropping three straight in the Middleweight division the judoka hopes to reignite his career as a welterweight.

Akiyama strutted into the Octogon sporting a 12-1 (2 no contests) record in Japan, but he hasn’t fared too well in the UFC. After snatching a split decision win over Alan Belcher, he fell victim to a last minute Chris Leben triangle, was outpointed by Michael Bisping, and dropped cold by “The Phenom”. Although he has lined his pockets with an additional $135k thanks to three “Fight of the Night” bonuses, at some point you’ve got to pick up a ‘W’ if you want to keep fighting under the bright lights…generally speaking.

If the weight drop wasn’t indication enough that Akiyama is looking to reinvent himself, then certainly his desire to mix up training camps is. Akiyama has expressed an interest in joining forces with welterweight kingpin Georges St. Pierre and serving as his “apprentice”. While one could not find better inspiration, seeking a mentor in your own weight class can have its downsides. Not to mention that apprenticeships don’t always turn out as you’d hoped.

Your comments about the two trading greasing secrets go below.

 

 

 

Video Evidence: Professional Reporters STILL Don’t Fare Well In Fights Against Professional Fighters

(Video bought to you by Zombie Prophet, of course)

On the list of “9 Questions You Should Never Ask in an MMA Interview”, it comes in at number one. At first it seems like a win-win situation to spar with a professional fighter. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to test your skill against an idol; you get some entertaining footage; and, most importantly, no one expects you to actually win so there should be no pressure. Unfortunately, no one expects you to perform a Lesnaresque pirouette after every half-hearted love tap, either.

All joking aside, hats off to this dude for gloving up, taking some abuse, and filming it all in higher quality than 90% of the professional organizations out there. You’ve got to admire someone foolhardy enough to spend five minutes locked in a cage with Martin Kampmann, even if he isn’t really trying…at all. This reporter may be getting knocked down and tossed around, but he’s got a smile on his face right up until the final seconds of the match when he gets choked unconscious. What a story he’ll have a story to tell his mustachioed grand children one day.

(Video bought to you by Zombie Prophet, of course)

On the list of “9 Questions You Should Never Ask in an MMA Interview”, it comes in at number one. At first it seems like a win-win situation to spar with a professional fighter. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to test your skill against an idol; you get some entertaining footage; and, most importantly, no one expects you to actually win so there should be no pressure. Unfortunately, no one expects you to perform a Lesnaresque pirouette after every half-hearted love tap, either.

All joking aside, hats off to this dude for gloving up, taking some abuse, and filming it all in higher quality than 90% of the professional organizations out there. You’ve got to admire someone foolhardy enough to spend five minutes locked in a cage with Martin Kampmann, even if he isn’t really trying…at all. This reporter may be getting knocked down and tossed around, but he’s got a smile on his face right up until the final seconds of the match when he gets choked unconscious. What a story he’ll have a story to tell his mustachioed grand children one day.