We’re finally near the end of having to talk about how Jon Jones portrays himself in the public eye and more about what he does inside the Octagon. At least, I hope we are.Jones will take on Vitor Belfort at UFC 152 on September 22 as part of a main ca…
We’re finally near the end of having to talk about how Jon Jones portrays himself in the public eye and more about what he does inside the Octagon. At least, I hope we are.
Jones will take on VitorBelfort at UFC 152 on September 22 as part of a main card that also features Benavidez/Johnson, Bisping/Stann, Hamill/Hollett and Swanson/Oliveira. Of course nothing is certain and at this point I wouldn’t be surprised if one of those top names pulls out of the fight an hour before it is supposed to take place.
For now, let’s focus on the positive. The card is in good shape to move forward and we have one of the greatest fighters the sport has ever seen fighting in the main event.
“Bones” flew up the ranks with record speed. He had six professional fights (6-0) before getting his shot with the UFC. Those six fights took place within a span of four months. Two of the six wins were decided by a knockout within 36 seconds.
You will find four of his six pre-UFC fights here in this slideshow. The other two fights (Anthony Pina and Parker Porter) are nowhere to be found anywhere on the internet. If you have access to those two fights, please contact me and I will add them and credit you for finding the fight. Please be aware that a simple search will yield a positive result for both those fights, but they are mislabeled.
As you watch these, take note as to how fast Jones appears to evolve from each fight. Enjoy, and let’s hope the 152 card stays intact.
Joe Chacon is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report and a staff writer for Operation Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @JoeChacon.
We’ve all seen it happen before.In team sports, a huge favorite will ahead of their next opponent toward a more elite matchup in the future. The favorite ends up coming out flat and getting upset by the underdog.Could Chael Sonnen be heading towards th…
We’ve all seen it happen before.
In team sports, a huge favorite will ahead of their next opponent toward a more elite matchup in the future. The favorite ends up coming out flat and getting upset by the underdog.
Could Chael Sonnen be heading towards the same fate?
Let’s face it, Sonnen is a huge favorite over Forrest Griffin. The Vegas line doesn’t show him as the massive favorite I am going to make him out to be, but anybody who saw Griffin/Ortiz III knows Griffin’s best days are far behind him.
It would be irresponsible to believe Sonnen isn’t smart enough to take Griffin seriously. If I have learned anything over the years from the way Sonnen acts, it is that everything he does is calculated. It would be reassuring, however, to see him focus some of his public energy towards his upcoming fight.
Sonnen and Griffin will fight at UFC 155 on December 29. Yet we are still reading and writing about Jon Jones rejecting a fight against Chael Sonnen in an effort to save UFC 151. Sonnen hasn’t said much about his fight against Griffin, and he doesn’t appear to be letting go of his intentions of talking himself into a title fight with Jon Jones.
Sonnen needs to focus on Griffin because the validity of everything he says will begin to diminish should he lose this fight. Fans have soaked up the media circus Sonnen creates with his outlandish and comical statements. But what good are those statements if he goes on to lose three out of his last five fights?
A loss to Griffin will also force the UFC to throw Sonnen towards the rear of title contention for any weight class. Fans are already confused as to how he could have potentially been given a title shot against Jones.
It brings back memories of people being up in arms about Brock Lesnar getting the title fight against Randy Couture.
When Sonnen and Griffin fight, I can’t lose. I have enjoyed watching both fight over the years. I would hate to see Sonnen’s career fade away. I believe his creative way of presenting himself provides a huge value for the UFC.
But, if he wants to continue his relevancy in the sport, he needs to spend more time calling out Griffin and less time dwelling on a fight opportunity with Jones that never transpired.
Joe Chacon is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a Staff Writer for Operation Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @JoeChacon.
The discussion on how Jon Jones handled himself over the last few months will hopefully at some point fade into actual talk about his fight against Vitor Belfort at UFC 152 on September 22.If you want to look at the positives surrounding Jones and his …
The discussion on how Jon Jones handled himself over the last few months will hopefully at some point fade into actual talk about his fight against Vitor Belfort at UFC 152 on September 22.
If you want to look at the positives surrounding Jones and his questionable decision-making as of late, then look no further than the main card that fans are going to be treated to:
Jon Jones vs. Vitor Belfort
Joseph Benavidez vs. Demetrious Johnson
Michael Bisping vs. Brian Stann
Matt Hammill vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
Cub Swanson vs. Charles Oliveira
On paper, I consider this to be a stacked card, so we can all thank Jones for rejecting Chael Sonnen and contributing to UFC 152—that’s if you focus on the bright side of things.
There aren’t very many people giving Belfort a chance to beat Jones. Jones is a huge Vegas favorite to win the fight and anybody who has watched these two guys fight over the last few years can see why. Belfort’s strength is still his quick and powerful punches. It is hard to envision him getting anywhere near Jones, especially with the nearly 11″ reach advantage “Bones” will have.
Let’s say for our purpose here that Jones unleashes a spinning back-fist that Belfort ducks under. In the same beautiful motion, Belfort returns a counter uppercut that lands flush on Jones’ chin and drops him. Belfort becomes the Light Heavyweight Champion and Jones exits the arena dejected and confused.
This may not be as bad for the UFC as many would initially think.
Belfort will continue to progress the popularity of the UFC through Brazil. “The Phenom” already has a huge fanbase in Brazil, but a win over Jones would do nothing but great things for the sport in his native country.
With a loss, the UFC may be able to rein in a little more of the control they appear to be losing in dealing with Jones. I don’t know Jones on a personal level, but if you compare his actions from two years ago to how he goes about things today, it becomes evident his ego needs a reality check.
Every great athlete or sports team needs to become grounded after long periods of success.
If Jones loses the fight and the championship, he may also lose the chip on the shoulder he appears to be carrying around with him nowadays. The loss may humble him a bit, at least in the eyes of the fans.
The UFC and Jon Jones will both benefit from Jones losing the belt—temporarily. Perhaps they will regain the respect they had for each other and realize that they need each other to be successful for the years to come.
Joe Chacon is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a Staff Writer for Operation Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @JoeChacon.
Jon Jones continued his magical run onto the S-List of most MMA fans today by posting this gem on his Twitter account:Thanks to the old man and his knee I don’t either “@aarondkuehn: Thanks to @jonnybones I have no plans tonight….”—…
Jon Jones continued his magical run onto the S-List of most MMA fans today by posting this gem on his Twitter account:
Thanks to the old man and his knee I don’t either “@aarondkuehn: Thanks to @jonnybones I have no plans tonight….”
There appears to be some sort of public relations education issue with Jones, but you already know that. For more on this tweet and how he has blamed Dan Henderson for the cancellation of UFC 151, you can head over to Jonathan Snowden’s column that he posted earlier today which also includes Jeremy Botter’s take.
I’m tired of all things related to Bones Jones. However, with UFC 152 still three weeks away, I thought I’d bring up one last thing that I feel could make or break the perception of the UFC as we move past this tumultuous year.
With every bit of news that comes from Jones, it makes me wonder if this is how it would have been should Tito Ortiz have had access to a Twitter account during his “Bad Boy” days. How great (or horrible) would it have been to see the tweets exchanged between Ortiz and Dana White about dodging a fight or other contract issues.
I’ve long been a fan of Ortiz, but there were times when I really couldn’t stand the guy he was portraying in and around the Octagon. He was always about how much money he was going to earn, and he always thought he was greater than he really was. Even as his career ended with only winning one fight in his final six years with the UFC, Ortiz still thought of himself as a legend.
Ortiz built that foundation of a legend for being who he was in the late ’90s and throughout the first decade of 2000. He was public enemy No. 1, and love him or hate him, he brought a reaction and a following. People tuned in regardless of how they felt about him. They either wanted to see him win or get his oversized head knocked into the crowd.
Jones didn’t have an agenda to become a villain like Ortiz did, but a villain he has become. I feel Jones can do a lot of harm to the UFC as a brand if he doesn’t snap back into the person we first saw enter the Octagon.
People who dislike the NBA do so because they can’t stand the overpaid, selfish and egotistical athletes. Fans have been been drawn to other sports like MMA because there is a perceived notion that more athletes are performing out of passion rather than a dollar amount. Obviously, these fighters need to be paid, and we are approaching a very volatile time for the UFC as enter this new era. Perhaps, the “Jon Jones era.”
The reason Jones is the UFC’s biggest headache is simple. If other elite fighters see Jones can disrespect the organization and choose to reject potential fights, we then begin to lose a portion of why the UFC has become so successful.
Historically, for the most part, fighters (both prospects and champions) have fought whoever the UFC has set before them. Now that major companies such as Nike see the potential for revenue from endorsing somebody like Jones, we may start to see more popular fighters reject who the organization wants them to fight.
If this becomes a recurring theme, the UFC is going to think of the Tito Ortiz era as a cakewalk, compared to the inflated egos that may be fighting within the Octagon in the near future.
Can we, as fans, be bitter toward fighters if they don’t want to fight the best for every single one of their fights? Should they be afforded the opportunity to have a few “cupcake” fights every now and then to build up their win total which would, perhaps, help them land a big-time sponsor?
We can all agree that the UFC does a great job, for the most part, with matching up the best with the best. We just don’t know how much longer they’re going to be able to make their fighters say yes more often than not.
If you’ve grown tired of the “Bones Jones” saga, well, you haven’t seen anything yet.
Joe Chacon is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a staff writer for Operation Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @JoeChacon.
Most new businesses open their doors with grand opening specials and a great “customer-first” type of attitude. Whether it’s a grocery store, sandwich shop, or in this case a MMA promotion.Shannon Knapp, the fuel behind the scenes of the Invicta Fighti…
Most new businesses open their doors with grand opening specials and a great “customer-first” type of attitude. Whether it’s a grocery store, sandwich shop, or in this case a MMA promotion.
Shannon Knapp, the fuel behind the scenes of the Invicta Fighting Championships, has adopted this mentality for the upstart women’s fighting organization.
It becomes increasingly evident with every interview she does that she is truly motivated by the opportunities she is able to provide for aspiring female fighters. As Knapp puts it, she is not in this to “line her pockets.” Her passion for the sport and the direction she is looking to take Invicta FC in is admirable.
Many promotions around the world offer to stream their events online for a fee. Generally the cost to watch those events is about $10. Knapp has made sure Invicta FC was accessible to everyone with a good internet connection. The biggest difference between Invicta FC and many of the other promotions is that Invicta’s fights are free.
For the time being this appears to be a successful way to go about building momentum for WMMA. One has to think ahead and wonder if this is going to be a sustainable way of broadcasting the events. Can Invicta FC and free streams be synonymous with each other for the long run?
I don’t believe it should be expected. Perhaps Invicta FC can finish out 2012 with free events online but Knapp has shown through her promotion that the quality of the female fight cards are worthy of fans chipping in a fee for online broadcasts. In fact, the fans in Kansas City, KS nearly sold out the 3,500 seat arena to watch the last card in person.
In the same interview with Bloody Elbow, Knapp had this to say about the future of streaming the Invicta FC cards:
I can’t ever see a time when we’re not going to be streaming them, or at least part of them. There’s so many people out there that support the women athletes, and want to be involved in this journey with us. If we end up with somebody that doesn’t facilitate the needs for everybody to be able to watch, then I’m sure we’re always going to supplement and go ahead and stream. It’s our goal to make sure everyone has the opportunity to watch our cards.
While it sounds like Knapp may already have a vision for what she anticipates doing to the free streams in the near future, fans shouldn’t be discouraged from watching Invicta FC cards if and when it comes to the point where a fee is being charged. These women have a ton of talent and in order for the talent pool to deepen within an organization fans are eventually going to need to support it financially.
Yes, free streaming is the best business model for the promotion now, as fans that are able to watch it for free now will be the same ones who will pay a fee for it in the future.
Joe Chacon is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a Staff Writer for Operation Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @JoeChacon.
UFC fans are gearing up for the first flyweight belt to be handed to either Demetrious Johnson or Joseph Benavidez in September. As the talent pool continues to grow in this young division, it has become evident that the action that takes place here is…
UFC fans are gearing up for the first flyweight belt to be handed to either Demetrious Johnson or Joseph Benavidez in September.
As the talent pool continues to grow in this young division, it has become evident that the action that takes place here is some of the most exciting in the sport. While most UFC fans are familiar with the top three fighters on this list, they will no doubt be introduced to the others relatively soon.
Here are the top flyweights for the month of August.
These rankings are the combined efforts of some of Bleacher Report MMA‘s best writers, as we continue to try to provide you with the best content on the Web.
We’ve all seen it happen before.