Author: Matthew Roth

Jon Jones Says Fight with Rashad Evans Is the Ali/Frazier of MMA

The build up to UFC 145 seems like it has taken forever. The reality though is that Jon Jones and Rashad Evans have been on a collision course since Jones received a shot at Mauricio Rua’s light heavyweight title. For over a year, the two fighters…

The build up to UFC 145 seems like it has taken forever. The reality though is that Jon Jones and Rashad Evans have been on a collision course since Jones received a shot at Mauricio Rua’s light heavyweight title. 

For over a year, the two fighters took shots at each other in the media and at one point even had to be separated at a night club by Georges St. Pierre. With the fights just a week away, the time for talk is over. 

Don’t expect the pre-fight trash talk to shake Jones’ confidence. He’s already had to deal with more controversy before the fight with Quinton Jackson. 

“I wouldn’t say that it’s been the most exhausting lead up to a fight. It kind of reminds me of the Rampage (Jackson) fight. We had smack talking, controversy.  It was drama in the Rampage fight too,” said Jones.

“Someone calling me fake or cocky, that does nothing to me, it’s like alright. I really believe only God can judge me. But somebody calling me a cheater, that really got to me. So I wouldn’t say this was the most exhausting build up to a fight, not at all.”

Jon Jones has settled in as UFC champion. After successful title defenses against Quinton Jackson and Lyoto Machida, Jones is poised to become the face of the UFC. There’s been recent discussion about the UFC’s decision to sponsor Jones for his fight with Evans. 

“I’ve had a goal of being sponsored by Nike for many, many years and a part of our strategy to try to make that happen one day is to not be a billboard, and not just be sponsored by TapOut one week and Affliction one week and then MusclePharm next week and then all of these random companies.”

He added “But we came up with a strategy to keep it clean and be sponsored by the UFC itself and I’m glad the UFC wanted to work with me as well and I think they trust that I’ll never make them look bad.”

Jones views the fight with Evans as not just the most important of his MMA career but also as the biggest fight in the history of the light heavyweight division. He may be right. Based on media attention, the fight with Evans should be one of the most financially successful in the history of the UFC.

“This fight it has been referred to on several occasions as the Ali vs. Frazier of our sport and of our time,” Jones said. “I think that this fight would sell out in Madison Square Garden the first day that tickets went on sale and that’s amazing. I think it would sell out the Yankee Stadium.  It would sell out anything.”

While he may be over-exaggerating about the reach of this fight, there is one thing that everyone can agree upon, the fight between Jones and Evans will be the fight to decide who reigns supreme in the light heavyweight division. The time for talk is over and now it’s time to put up or shut up. 

 

All quotes were obtained from UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans timeline posted to UFC extranet.

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UFC on Fuel TV 2 Aftermath: Pound-for-Pound Rankings Following UFC on Fuel 2

With UFC on Fuel 2 in the books, let’s take the time to look at the current pound-for-pound rankings in MMA. While none of the fights had a huge impact on the rankings, they did affect the landscape in every division. This weekend Jon Jones and Ra…

With UFC on Fuel 2 in the books, let’s take the time to look at the current pound-for-pound rankings in MMA. While none of the fights had a huge impact on the rankings, they did affect the landscape in every division. 

This weekend Jon Jones and Rashad Evans square off in the main event of UFC 145. The fight will not only decide the champion of the light heavyweight division, but it will also have an enormous impact on both of their legacies. 

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UFC on Fuel TV 2 Results: Questions Answered and Lessons Learned

UFC on Fuel TV 2, also known as UFC Sweden: Gustafsson vs. Silva, is in the books. Like every show, there are questions answered after the fights. The night saw Alexander Gustafsson defeat Thiago Silva in one of the most beautiful performances of his y…

UFC on Fuel TV 2, also known as UFC Sweden: Gustafsson vs. Silva, is in the books. Like every show, there are questions answered after the fights. The night saw Alexander Gustafsson defeat Thiago Silva in one of the most beautiful performances of his young career. There is also a new name to learn at welterweight: Siyar Bahadurzada is now 1-0 in his UFC career. 

Unfortunately, there were some disappointing performances as well from some fighters with a lot of hype. Find out what we learned from another night of fights and who impressed the most. 

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UFC on Fuel TV 2 Results: The Real Winners and Losers

UFC on Fuel TV 2 is in the books. There were some very important matchups on the televised portion of the card that had divisional importance. Because of the outcomes, there will be some very interesting fights to be made in the future. Alexander …

UFC on Fuel TV 2 is in the books. There were some very important matchups on the televised portion of the card that had divisional importance. Because of the outcomes, there will be some very interesting fights to be made in the future. 

Alexander Gustafsson impressed, as he systematically picked Thiago Silva apart for three rounds to win a unanimous decision. There was some hinting during the broadcast that he could be the next man to face Jon Jones, but those thoughts are way too premature. 

The biggest surprise of the card was Siyar Bahadurzada putting Paulo Thiago to sleep with a right hand. It was as vicious a knockout as we’ve seen in the UFC, and Baha is the current front-runner for Knockout of the Year honors.

There were some big winners and even bigger losers Saturday night, so find out who impressed and who didn’t in the UFC’s first show in Sweden. 

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Bellator 65: Makovsky vs Dantas Live Results and Play-by-Play

Bellator 65 takes place tonight in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In the main event Zach “Fun Size” Makovsky will be defending his bantamweight strap against Eduardo Dantas. The night kicks off at 7:00 PM ET/6:00 PM CT on Spike.com with six preliminary fig…

Bellator 65 takes place tonight in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In the main event Zach “Fun Size” Makovsky will be defending his bantamweight strap against Eduardo Dantas. The night kicks off at 7:00 PM ET/6:00 PM CT on Spike.com with six preliminary fights.

After those conclude make your way over to MTV2 and watch the four fight main card. And be sure to join the live discussion of the fights! 

Main Card

Zach Makovsky vs Eduardo Dantas (Bantamweight Title)

Mike Corey vs Daniel Straus (Featherweight)

Ed West vs Marcos Galvao (Bantamweight)

Alexis Vila vs Luis Nogueira (Bantamweight)

Preliminary Card

Ailton Barbosa vs Kric McCray (Welterweight)

Lyman Good vs LeVon Maynard (Welterweight)

Emanuel Brooks vs Mikhail Malyutin (Lightweight)

Terrell Hobbs vs Will Martinez (Lightweight)

Scott Heckman vs Lester Caslow (Featherweight)

Duane Bastress vs Plinio Cruz (Middleweight)

Kenny Foster vs Jay Haas (Featherweight)

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Alistair Overeem: Can the UFC Trust Him with the Heavyweight Title?

UFC 146 was set to be the biggest heavyweight card in UFC history. With a PPV card comprised of only heavyweight fights, it was the UFC’s chance to showcase their vastly improved and deep heavyweight division. The logic is obvious really; fight fans lo…

UFC 146 was set to be the biggest heavyweight card in UFC history. With a PPV card comprised of only heavyweight fights, it was the UFC’s chance to showcase their vastly improved and deep heavyweight division. The logic is obvious really; fight fans love heavyweights. And in the case of fights there is no such thing as “less is more.”

But then the Nevada State Athletic Commission decides to be sneaky. At the UFC 146 pre-fight press conference the commission tested the fighters in attendance. Among those tested were Junior Dos Santos, Frank Mir, Cain Velasquez and Alistair Overeem.

Of the six fighters tested, five came back totally clean. Unfortunately the one positive test was from Alistair Overeem who’s scheduled to face Junior Dos Santos for the heavyweight title in the main event.

Overeem has previously held titles in Strikeforce, Dream, and was the last winner of the K-1 Grand Prix. Unfortunately, since joining the UFC roster he’s had nothing but issues with the NSAC regarding drug tests.

UFC 141 was supposed to be his coming out party for the UFC audience. At the top of the biggest card of the year, Overeem was set to face Brock Lesnar in the main event of the evening. However, issues with his pre-fight drug test put the fight in jeopardy. Alistair left the United States to look after his sick mother and made several mistakes with choosing a lab to conduct his blood work. 

After much confusion the blood was taken, and the fight went off without a hitch. Overeem defeated Lesnar with a vicious combination of knees and punches, retiring the former champion in the process. The win also earned Alistair a shot at the heavyweight strap.

However, the failed drug test now means that the proposed bout may never happen. There have always been doubts about Overeem from a vocal minority who always questioned the means used to attain his superhero-like physique. Now they have even more reason to believe that Alistair has taken shortcuts in his career. 

Which brings us back to the original question: Can the UFC actually trust Alistair Overeem to hold the UFC heavyweight title?

It seems like a simple question. He’s extremely marketable and represents himself well at media appearances, so of course they should trust him with a title. However, it’s far more complicated than it seems.

A UFC champion will always be viewed as the face of the promotion. They represent the UFC inside and outside of the cage, and everything they do will be scrutinized. They also have to defend their title whenever Joe Silva comes calling, save for a serious injury.

At this point the UFC is still going forward with the proposed bout between Dos Santos and Overeem, and in my opinion, they are making a huge mistake. 

With both of his fights in the UFC already surrounded with controversy from pre-fight drug tests, Alistair Overeem is a liability. Even if his B sample comes back negative for elevated levels of testosterone, there isn’t any reason to believe that in the future there won’t be more controversy. 

There’s the other issue that should Overeem win and test positive in his post-fight drug test, the UFC would have to strip their champion of a title and return it to previous champion. But that’s not the only issue. If Dos Santos loses in devastating fashion, will the UFC be able to rebuild the brand of their monster heavyweight champion?

Zuffa has had to deal with this exact situation in the past when Josh Barnett defeated Randy Couture for the heavyweight belt back in 2002 at UFC 33. Barnett had already tested positive in Nevade during a “fact finding” mission by the commission regarding PEDs. The UFC knew about the positive test and went ahead with the proposed fight anyway. 

Barnett became the youngest heavyweight champion in history and then was stripped of the title when his tests came back positive for banned substances. It would also be the last time Josh Barnett would fight in the UFC. 

Until Alistair Overeem can prove that he can take and pass drug tests without issue, the UFC would be best served at keeping him as far away from the title as possible. Their branding and reputation depends on it. 

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