Author: Jordy McElroy

Rampage: "I Still Think I Can Win My Title Back from Jones"

The second time could be the charm if Quinton “Rampage” Jackson gets his way. Despite losing to Jon Jones at UFC 135, the former UFC light heavyweight champion’s determination hasn’t wavered. He still believes he’ll be champion again someday, regardles…

The second time could be the charm if Quinton “Rampage” Jackson gets his way.

Despite losing to Jon Jones at UFC 135, the former UFC light heavyweight champion’s determination hasn’t wavered.

He still believes he’ll be champion again someday, regardless of who’s holding the title.

In a special blog for Yahoo! Sports, Jackson talks about the loss to Jones, his return to Japan and his upcoming bout against Ryan Bader.

“I still think I can win my title back, and I still think I can even win it back from Jon Jones, but I would have to execute the game plan. Jones was very good on the night. He did what he had to with his style and stopped me doing what I needed to do. Respect to him.”

Jackson, who has been criticized in the past for a lack of motivation, poured his heart and pocket into training for the Jones bout. It’s rumored the former Pride star spent a whopping $1 million on his training camp for the bout.

Unfortunately, none of it was enough to deter Jones, who is easily one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

“I worked so hard for the Jones fight in September. I trained my ass off. As I said before the fight, I was in the best shape of my life, but in the octagon, I didn’t perform like I should have done. It is frustrating for me, and I feel bad for all my team who got me ready for that Jon Jones fight. I still want my belt back. I will always think of that belt as mine, even when I’m an old, bald wrinkled ass man. I’m very, very proud of unifying that UFC belt with the Pride belt, and for that reason, a little bit of me will always think of that belt as belonging to me.”

Jackson wasn’t able to come away with the win, but he should at least be able to take a moral victory away from the experience. Jones has virtually destroyed every light heavyweight in his path, but out of the fallen, Jackson, who was submitted by Jones in the fourth round, managed to survive the longest.

A rematch against Jones could be in Jackson’s future, but it would be unwise to look past Bader, a former top-10 light heavyweight. Jackson and Bader are slated to do battle at UFC 144 on February 26 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

“Nothin’ is promised to no one. I should beat Ryan Bader at UFC 144 in Japan next Saturday––and I plan on knocking his ass out in front of my Japanese fans––but I’ve put in the work in the gym to make sure I do that. I get to fight in Japan for the first time in six years. It’s no secret I love Japan. Japan is where I became an MMA fighter. It is where I made a name for myself and learned how to kick ass. The fans there are so respectful. I can’t wait to perform for them again. I really, really want a sick knockout for them, and maybe even I’ll do my powerbomb if Bader is dumb enough to give me the chance.”

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Bigfoot: ‘Overeem’s a Lion, but He’ll Turn into a Kitten When JDS Hits Him’

Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and Alistair Overeem both train with the Blackzilian camp, but that doesn’t mean they see eye to eye.The former Strikeforce heavyweights understand their paths could cross one day in the UFC, and according to Rashad Evans, they …

Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and Alistair Overeem both train with the Blackzilian camp, but that doesn’t mean they see eye to eye.

The former Strikeforce heavyweights understand their paths could cross one day in the UFC, and according to Rashad Evans, they refuse to train together.

Overeem is slated to face Junior dos Santos for the UFC heavyweight title in May.

While he puts work in with the Blackzilian camp in Florida, Silva’s original home still lies with Team Nogueira, which features the Nogueira brothers, Anderson Silva and Dos Santos.

Portal do Vale Tudo recently caught up with the heavyweight star to get his thoughts on the upcoming championship bout between Dos Santos and Overeem.

“In a fight, anything can happen. They are two very strong fighters, top of the category. I don’t see how Overeem can beat [Dos Santos]. Overeem is a lion, but when [Dos Santos] hits him, he’ll turn into a kitten. Overeem’s fighting spirit will return to the locker room when [Dos Santos] lands a punch.”

Overeem has struggled when faced with adversity in the past. His losses in Pride to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira are the first that come to mind.

After a strong start in both bouts, Overeem immediately began to wilt when his opponents survived his early onslaught and began to land shots of their own.

As a heavyweight, “The Reem” has found new life. His new-found physique and dedication to the sport has helped him capture the Strikeforce heavyweight title, Dream interim heavyweight title and K-1 World Grand Prix title.

Will a UFC title be next?

“In a fight, anything can happen.” Silva couldn’t have said it any better. This is especially true when you have two heavyweight strikers boasting one-punch knockout power.

As for MMA fans, the clichéd saying, “don’t blink”, should do just fine.

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Chris Weidman: ‘I’d Finish Anderson Silva’

Throughout the years, many fighters have come forth to call out MMA’s reigning kingpin Anderson Silva, but Chris Weidman did more than just issue a challenge.He offered up an early prediction of how a bout between him and Silva would inevitably go down…

Throughout the years, many fighters have come forth to call out MMA‘s reigning kingpin Anderson Silva, but Chris Weidman did more than just issue a challenge.

He offered up an early prediction of how a bout between him and Silva would inevitably go down.

“I think with a full camp I’d finish [Anderson Silva],” Weidman said in an interview with The Garv. Obviously I’m not fighting Anderson Silva next, but if I was, that would be my prediction. I’m confident with myself. You have to be as a fighter, and obviously, I have a lot of respect for Anderson Silva. I think he’s awesome.”

Weidman extended his unbeaten record to 8-0 at UFC on Fox 1, where he earned a unanimous-decision victory over former UFC title contender Demian Maia.

Despite taking the fight on 10 days notice, Weidman managed to prove himself as a legitimate threat at 185 pounds by taking out one of the division’s biggest names.

“It was probably one of the toughest things I ever did. I’ll never definitely do it again, but I’m happy I did it,” said Weidman. “I had great people around me to support me and people who believed in me, you know, 32 pounds in 10 days, which somehow I did it, and I’m happy I did it. It paid off.”

“I kept pressing forward. I kept making him think and making him a little nervous, put him in situations where he had to think, which is going to get you a little tired.”

With the win, Weidman now finds himself deep in the middleweight herd of potential contenders.

Silva likely hasn’t even processed the possibility of fighting Weidman in the future. He is rumored to be facing Chael Sonnen in Sao Paulo, Brazil in the summer.

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GSP: ‘My Training Is Based on Experiments from the Communist Block in USSR’

Georges St-Pierre isn’t your typical athlete.As UFC welterweight champion, St-Pierre has taken various approaches in training to ensure optimum performance on fight night.Some of his more unorthodox training methods include gymnastics and explosive tra…

Georges St-Pierre isn’t your typical athlete.

As UFC welterweight champion, St-Pierre has taken various approaches in training to ensure optimum performance on fight night.

Some of his more unorthodox training methods include gymnastics and explosive training.

Now, St-Pierre, who was sidelined with a knee injury in December, is leaning on a new way of training to expedite his recovery process and take his fight game to a new level.

“I’m like seven weeks out from the surgery, so now at the SSL Training Center I’m training with Gavin MacMillan, and it’s a very interesting type of training,” St-Pierre told “Showdown” Joe of UFC Central Sportsnet.

“It’s something that I’ve never done before, something that I’ve always wanted to try for a long period of time because I read a lot about it, and now is the perfect timing for me to learn that new kind of training program. All the training that I do now is based on scientific experiments they did during the Communist Bloc in USSR.”

St-Pierre has earned a reputation for his innovative training methods in the past, but this one takes the cake.

What can an MMA fighter of the 21st century possibly learn from experiments that took place literally decades ago?

“Back then, if you remember, they had unlimited resources and unlimited budget because USSR wanted to prove the supremacy of communists,” said St-Pierre. “They wanted to build up the best athletes, and that’s why they dominate in the Olympic games. They put so much money into sports science.”

“From all the results of the experiments they have done, that’s what I do. It’s all based on that. They don’t lift weights because it messed up the joint, so they do different kinds of workouts. It’s about stability and mobility on the joint and the core.”

St-Pierre’s timetable for a return is looking like November, which will make it well over a year since he last fought.

With an interim title in place, the welterweight division continues to try to sort itself out with its rightful king watching from the sidelines.

St-Pierre doesn’t know who will be standing across the Octagon from him in November, but he vows to be ready.

“The guy who wins will be champion for a few months, but soon, I’m gonna put my hands on him and get back into the Octagon. I’ll take the title away from him.”

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BJ Penn Still ‘Heartbroken’ Over Losses to GSP and Frankie Edgar

Time away from the sport has given BJ Penn a chance to reflect on his MMA career.He is generally respected by peers and fans as one of the greatest fighters of all time. Outside of Randy Couture, he is the only fighter in UFC history to ever hold a tit…

Time away from the sport has given BJ Penn a chance to reflect on his MMA career.

He is generally respected by peers and fans as one of the greatest fighters of all time. Outside of Randy Couture, he is the only fighter in UFC history to ever hold a title in two separate weight classes.

His name will undoubtedly be featured alongside other legends in the UFC Hall of Fame one day.

With all of these accomplishments, Penn is still struggling to find solace in hanging up his gloves and walking away. He recently spoke with Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com about his current state and if he plans on returning.

“I’m trying to find myself a little bit––not as a fighter trying to come back to the sport, but just as a person. I just honestly sit back and reflect and look at how it went. I really do feel I could have done a lot better in a lot of different situations. I’m heartbroken with the way some of the fights went. The way my UFC 94 fight [against Georges St-Pierre] and my fights with Frankie Edgar went. I’m heartbroken about those fights.”

After losing a split decision to St-Pierre in March 2006, Penn, who was lightweight champion at the time, had his chance at vengeance in January 2009 against the French Canadian in a champion versus champion super fight.

St-Pierre dominated the bout from start to finish and made an all-time great look like a cakewalk. Penn’s corner was forced to throw in the towel at the end of the fourth round.

The back-to-back unanimous decision losses to Edgar were a bit more surprising. Despite being the overwhelming favorite in both bouts, Penn could never settle into a rhythm against Edgar.

There was obviously a new sheriff in the lightweight division who just happened to have the number of one of the greatest lightweights in UFC history.

“I feel I could’ve made better choices, but I don’t feel a major urge that I’ve got to go fix that right now.”

Penn officially announced his retirement after losing to Nick Diaz in October 2011. At 33 years of age, Penn is still in his prime. He still remains one of the most talented fighters on the UFC roster. With the right mindset and motivation, he’s a dangerous outing for any fighter in the lightweight and welterweight divisions.

“I’ve thought about it, but even if you are in your physical prime, there’s still no sense going back if your head isn’t there. I’m enjoying my time away from the sport. That’s where I’m at right now. I’m living a regular life instead of living the roller coaster. I haven’t [lived a normal life] in 15 years.”

There is talk of the UFC being interested in Penn headlining a potential card at the Aloha Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii. While ecstatic about the possibility of fighting in his homeland, Penn doesn’t want to get any hopes up, as he remains very much undecided about his MMA future.

“I want to tell [my fans] that their guess is as good as mine. I don’t know [what’s next]. [Me and Dana White] would have to sit down and talk about what made sense. That’s amazing that they’re finally deciding to go to Hawaii, but I wouldn’t want to waste Dana’s time, getting his hopes up on something he wants to put together.”

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Rampage Admits He Would’ve Retired If He Beat Jon Jones

If things went accordingly, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson planned on howling for the final time in his championship bout with Jon Jones at UFC 135. As fate would have it, things didn’t go according to plan. Rampage was beaten handily and submitted in the f…

If things went accordingly, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson planned on howling for the final time in his championship bout with Jon Jones at UFC 135.

As fate would have it, things didn’t go according to plan. Rampage was beaten handily and submitted in the fourth round by the 24-year-old champion.

“Believe me, I still want to retire as champion. I want to hold the belt once more,” Rampage said in an interview with Fighters Only. “I guess if I had won that Jon Jones fight and if the Japan show wasn’t next, there’d have been a very good chance I would have retired already.”

A former UFC light heavyweight champion, Rampage’s charisma and light-hearted personality has given him life outside the UFC.

In June 2010, he made his acting debut starring alongside Hollywood heavy-hitters Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper in The A-Team movie.

With growing Hollywood aspirations, questions began to pop up surrounding Rampage’s dedication to fighting, but those were quickly put to rest after fans witnessed his incredible efforts in preparing for Jones.

It was rumored that Rampage spent $1 million on his training camp for the Jones bout. The gym even included a bedroom where he shacked up between sessions. It symbolized the sacrifice and dedication that only champions live by.

Every athlete dreams of going out on top. The thought of retirement weighed heavily on Rampage’s mind in the Jones bout, but an opportunity to return to Pride FC’s old stomping grounds in Japan would’ve been the cold splash of reality needed to snap him out of it.

“It would have been a great time to bow out, but I almost certainly would have stayed around to fight in Japan anyway, to defend the belt,” Rampage said. “Then if I would have successfully defended it on this (UFC 144) show, I definitely would be retiring––and retiring a very happy man too!”

“To retire as UFC champion and to have defended the belt in Japan? Oh man, that would have been perfect.”

Rampage is slated to fight Ryan Bader at UFC 144 in Saitama, Japan on February 26.

On fight night, it will be exactly six years since Rampage’s last fight under the Pride banner in the Saitama Super Arena.

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