Author: Jordy McElroy

Jon Jones’ Manager Says Client Isn’t Running from MMA Public

Jon Jones may seem invincible inside the cage, but outside, the 24-year-old UFC champion is proving to be very human.On Saturday, TMZ reported that Jones was arrested after crashing his Bentley into a pole in New York State’s Broome County.A statement …

Jon Jones may seem invincible inside the cage, but outside, the 24-year-old UFC champion is proving to be very human.

On Saturday, TMZ reported that Jones was arrested after crashing his Bentley into a pole in New York State’s Broome County.

A statement was released immediately following the accident by Jones’ manager, Malki Kawa, who confirmed the champ had been arrested on suspicion of DUI.

Since the accident, there hasn’t been any word from Jones, who had kept his nose clean up until this incident.

In an exclusive interview with MMAWeekly Radio on Tuesday, Kawa gave personal insight on the accident and how Jones was coping with the situation:

“He’s okay. Obviously, I really can’t say much. I’m not going to comment too much on it. We hope that the fans and the media will give Jon a chance to gather his thoughts together, and get everything he needs to get together, and you guys will be hearing from Jon directly. He’s not hurt or anything like that, that’s a good thing about it, but it’s an unfortunate situation. We’ll get him through it.”

As is every other human being, Jones is far from perfect, but media and fans have already taken it upon themselves to attack the credibility of his good-guy persona.

It shouldn’t be hard for Jones to make the full transition to the villain role: People have vilified him since he defeated Mauricio “Shogun” Rua for the light heavyweight title.

With that said, greatness comes with hate. There are people out there who want to see Jones fail, and with incidents like the one on Saturday, he only validates their opinions.

Kawa continued:

“I would kind of like to let the fans know to give him a chance. Give yourself a chance to get all the facts in yourselves, wait until everything gets said and done and then at that point if you want to vilify him afterwards and you heard him speak and you heard him say his part and then vilify him, I can’t control what people are going to say.

But it is too soon, it is too quick in my opinion. He really is a decent guy, he’s a very, very good guy trying his hardest to be a good role model, a good example and he wants to be that. No one’s perfect and he’s never said he was and never said that he doesn’t make mistakes. It’s a fact he made a mistake, he messed up and I’m sure he’s going to come out and apologize and do what he’s got to do.”

Jones certainly isn’t the first pro athlete to make a mistake, especially considering his young age. Still, the world tends to place celebrities and athletes on higher pedestals than everyone else.

It comes with the territory.

Jones is already taking a lot of heat for the situation, and it’ll be interesting to see if what he has to say can fan some of the flames. With that said, the young champ hasn’t spoken a word yet.

He sits in silence as avalanches of criticism continue to roll his way, Kawa doing his talking:

“No one’s running from anything, at the end of the day he’s a man, he’s going to stand up like a man, but there’s obviously legal advisors involved, processes involved and he’s just going through it right now. I can promise you that he’s trying his hardest not to stay quiet and not address the concerns, he’d like to.”

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Strikeforce Results: Is Daniel Cormier’s Ascent as Impressive as Jon Jones’?

All eyes are on Daniel Cormier.The American Kickboxing Academy prodigy known as “DC” defeated Josh Barnett on Saturday night to keep his unbeaten streak alive and win the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix.In many ways, Cormier’s rise to prominence is …

All eyes are on Daniel Cormier.

The American Kickboxing Academy prodigy known as “DC” defeated Josh Barnett on Saturday night to keep his unbeaten streak alive and win the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix.

In many ways, Cormier’s rise to prominence is comparable to that of UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

After Alistair Overeem was released from Strikeforce, Cormier was given an opportunity to step in as an alternate in the Strikeforce Grand Prix, despite only having eight professional fights under his belt.

Unlike Jones, Cormier wasn’t offered bouts against guys like Stephan Bonnar, Brandon Vera and Vladimir Matyushenko to prepare for top-10 opposition.

It was sink or swim for the former U.S. Olympian, who was tossed to the upper-echelon sharks after a pair of Strikeforce victories over Devin Cole and Jeff Monson.

Cormier’s ascension isn’t just as impressive as Jones’, but it wouldn’t be far-fetched to say it surpasses it in some ways.

While Jones showed minor growing pains in earlier bouts, Cormier’s entire journey has been smooth sailing. Like Jones, he hasn’t really shown any holes in his game.

This isn’t suggesting Cormier possesses the same all-around talent as Jones, who is arguably the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world. There’s still much for the Louisiana native to prove, and it all starts with inking a deal with the UFC.

As cliché as it sounds, the sky truly is the limit for Cormier—an Olympic level wrestler with tremendous standup skills.

Will he follow in Jones’ footsteps and become a UFC champion?

Regardless, Cormier’s days of being a blip on the radar are over.

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Strikeforce Results: Was the Heavyweight Grand Prix a Success or a Failure?

A little over a year ago, Strikeforce kicked off its inaugural Grand Prix tournament that brought together the best heavyweights in the world.The Pride-like nostalgia stemming from the return of the tournament format had the MMA world buzzing for month…

A little over a year ago, Strikeforce kicked off its inaugural Grand Prix tournament that brought together the best heavyweights in the world.

The Pride-like nostalgia stemming from the return of the tournament format had the MMA world buzzing for months.

Unfortunately, the general interest level in the tournament nosedived after the quarterfinal bouts.

Everything that could go wrong went wrong with the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix.

With that said, was it a success or failure?

For Strikeforce, it’s hard to call the Grand Prix a success. Fans never really got to see the blockbuster matchups they were hoping for. Strikeforce certainly isn’t to blame for the lack of marquee fights.

Fedor Emelianenko was defeated handily. Alistair Overeem was removed from the tournament and released from Strikeforce due to an alleged scandal involving Golden Glory Gym. Fabricio Werdum and Andrei Arlovski were both eliminated in the first round.

From strictly a business perspective, the outcomes of certain fights didn’t go the way the promotion would’ve liked. To top it all off, the tournament was won by Cormier, an alternate for Overeem who was still relatively unknown to the casual viewer in his bout with Barnett.

There are certainly a lot of positives that can be taken away from the tournament.

The Strikeforce Grand Prix served as Cormier’s coming out party as a rising superstar in the heavyweight division. Who would’ve guessed an alternate with only eight professional bouts under his belt would win it all?

The tournament also helped open casual eyes to world class veterans like Barnett, Sergei Kharitonov and Antonio Silva. With Silva already signed to a UFC contract, fans have started expressing interest in seeing Barnett and Kharitonov compete on the big stage.

Things may not have gone according to plan, but thanks to Strikeforce, the heavyweight division has reemerged as arguably the most stacked weight class in the world.

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5 Strikeforce Fighters the UFC Should Sign Right Now

With Strikeforce dwindling and Zuffa in command, it’s time for the UFC to start picking fruit from its own garden.For years, fans dreamed about potential super fights involving the best of Strikeforce facing the best in the UFC. When Zuffa purchased th…

With Strikeforce dwindling and Zuffa in command, it’s time for the UFC to start picking fruit from its own garden.

For years, fans dreamed about potential super fights involving the best of Strikeforce facing the best in the UFC. When Zuffa purchased the San Jose-based promotion in March 2011, it was a forgone conclusion by fans that they would finally get the fights they have been waiting to see.

Now, we are more than a year into the UFC-Strikeforce deal, and there are a plethora of world-class names still locked up in Strikeforce contracts.

Strikeforce is certainly great for the UFC to have around, but unfortunately, everyone can’t cut it at the UFC level. It doesn’t mean fans don’t enjoy watching them fight; Strikeforce gives UFC castoffs another outlet to compete at a high level and stay relevant in the MMA world.

With that said, though, there are fighters currently on the Strikeforce roster who can compete in the UFC and make a run at a world title.

Here are five Strikeforce fighters the UFC should sign right now.

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Strikeforce Results: 5 Fights We’d Love to See Gilbert Melendez in Next

For the first time in a long time, Gilbert Melendez found himself in a fight on Saturday night.In the co-main event of Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier, Melendez escaped with the lightweight title after a controversial split decision win over longtime …

For the first time in a long time, Gilbert Melendez found himself in a fight on Saturday night.

In the co-main event of Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier, Melendez escaped with the lightweight title after a controversial split decision win over longtime nemesis Josh “The Punk” Thomson.

The bout served as an eye-opener for some who believed that Melendez was the No. 1 lightweight in the world.

After the fight, Melendez even admitted that his performance pushed him down the ranks in some people’s eyes. He saw the entire bout as a “lose-lose” situation.

“I’m in a lose-lose situation against Josh. Look, even though I won, I still lost,” Melendez said in his post-fight interview with Strikeforce commentator Mauro Ranallo.

While Thomson is unquestionably a solid lightweight, he doesn’t make the cut in most top-10 rankings. To put it bluntly, top UFC lightweights are competing against significantly tougher opposition.

Until the UFC signs Melendez, fans will never know how “El Nino” stacks up against the best in the world.

Here are five fights we’d love to see him in next.

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Strikeforce Results: Why the UFC Needs to Sign Barnett, Cormier and Melendez

Josh Barnett, Daniel Cormier and Gilbert Melendez served their time in Strikeforce, and now, the time has come for the UFC to give these MMA stars an opportunity to compete on a more fitting stage.Outside of Barnett, Cormier and Fedor Emelianenko, ever…

Josh Barnett, Daniel Cormier and Gilbert Melendez served their time in Strikeforce, and now, the time has come for the UFC to give these MMA stars an opportunity to compete on a more fitting stage.

Outside of Barnett, Cormier and Fedor Emelianenko, every relevant heavyweight in the world is already under contract with the UFC.

Considering Emelianenko’s track record with UFC negotiations, his name is definitely off the table, but Barnett and Cormier should be shoe-ins.

The UFC has already absorbed all of Strikeforce’s significant heavyweight talent. Why not take the final two remaining on the roster?

If anything, Barnett and Cormier’s performance on Saturday night should be enough to validate a UFC contract. Regardless of his personal issues with UFC President Dana White, Barnett is a legend of the sport and a future Hall of Famer.

He deserves an opportunity to finish his career out with the same promotion that helped make him a star.

Meanwhile, Cormier could be an intriguing option as a heavyweight title contender. It wouldn’t be a shocker if the UFC offered the former Olympian a shot at UFC gold upon entry.

As the Strikeforce World Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion, a title fight would certainly draw a lot of attention from a UFC vs. Strikeforce perspective.

Melendez is long overdue a spot on the UFC roster. For years, fans have debated where he ranks among the very best in the lightweight division. While some are bold enough to give “El Nino” the top spot, others aren’t convinced.

Melendez’s lackluster performance against a game Josh Thomson certainly didn’t help. A champion vs. champion fight between Melendez and the reigning UFC champ is a fight fans have been salivating over for years.

Unfortunately, there are contract issues keeping the UFC from inking Melendez.

It’s certainly not good for business. Melendez was one judge away from losing a split decision to Thomson. A loss would taint any potential blockbuster lightweight bout the UFC hopes to put together in the future.

It’s time for the UFC to put pen to paper and bring over the lingering Strikeforce stars fans want to see.

Time could be running out.

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