Author: McKinley Noble

UFC Champ Jon Jones Makes Top 20 List in ESPN 2012 ‘Cross-Sport’ Power Rankings

Following a dominant year of title defenses and star-making headline news, Jon Jones has been rated as one of the year’s Top 20 athletes across all sports.That list, compiled by ESPN, places the UFC light heavyweight king at No. 18 overall, ahead of mo…

Following a dominant year of title defenses and star-making headline news, Jon Jones has been rated as one of the year’s Top 20 athletes across all sports.

That list, compiled by ESPN, places the UFC light heavyweight king at No. 18 overall, ahead of more famous stars like Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings.

However, Jones is a long way from the peak of the list, which is topped by LeBron James of the Miami Heat, one of the highest-paid and most prolific athletes in the world.

Here’s how the list broke down, with several budding young stars and older veterans:

1: LeBron James (NBA, Heat)
2: Lionel Messi (Soccer, FC Barcelona)
3: Kevin Durant (NBA, Thunder)
4: Eli Manning (NFL, Giants)
5: Cristiano Ronaldo (Soccer, Real Madrid)
6: Michael Phelps (Swimming)
7: Serena Williams (Women’s Tennis)
8: Miguel Cabrera (MLB, Tigers)
9: Anthony Davis (NCAA CBB, University of Kentucky)
10: Brittney Griner (NCAA Women’s CBB, Baylor University)
11: Usain Bolt (Track and Field)
12: Johnny Manziel (CFB, Texas A&M)
13: Gabby Douglas (Gymnastics)
14: Buster Posey (MLB, Giants)
15: Brad Keselowski (NASCAR)
16: Jonathan Quick (Hockey, Kings)
17: Rory McIlroy (Golf)
18: Jon Jones (UFC)
19: Adrian Peterson (NFL, Vikings)
20: Kobe Bryant (NBA, Lakers)

Even though Jones is towards the bottom of this year’s list, he’s the first combat sports athlete to be included in the Top 20 since ESPN first began compiling these rankings.

Previous year-end picks in 2010 and 2011 didn’t include any champions or notable rookies from MMA or boxing, making Jones a rare pick.

Like most athletes on this list, Jones had a career-making year in 2012, defeating former UFC champions Rashad Evans and Vitor Belfort in two successful title fights and becoming only the fourth of 12 men to defend the UFC light heavyweight title four times.

Jones also made headlines in some notable controversies this year after crashing his Bentley Continental GT in a Binghamton, New York suburb and pleading guilty to a DWI charge.

“Bones” didn’t stop there, additionally playing a part in the cancellation of UFC 151 after refusing to face former middleweight contender Chael Sonnen on eight days’ notice.

Intended challenger Dan Henderson pulled out of the match due to a knee injury, setting off a chain of events that ended with Jones electing to drop the fight altogether when Sonnen appeared as a last-minute replacement.

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Paul Daley Bar Brawl ‘100 Percent False,’ Visa Issue Nixes Bellator Tourney Bout

Bellator fighter and former UFC welterweight Paul Daley has responded to reports that he has been arrested due to a bar brawl, stating that the claims are false.Initially reported by ESPN, it seemed that Daley was facing up to two years in prison if co…

Bellator fighter and former UFC welterweight Paul Daley has responded to reports that he has been arrested due to a bar brawl, stating that the claims are false.

Initially reported by ESPN, it seemed that Daley was facing up to two years in prison if convicted of the charges.

Moreover, the charges were said to be the main thing barring Daley from leaving England.

However, “Semtex” has gone to his official Facebook profile to clear the air, stating he’s merely having Visa issues that won’t be cleared up in time for the start of Bellator’s next welterweight tournament:

“It seems as though a mass press release has gone out to the MMA media, stating I was involved in a bar brawl, arrested, and cannot obtain a P-1 visa to compete in the USA

…I am currently awaiting a decision on my visa, which is not expected until late April. Which means i am unable to compete in the season 8 Bellator tournament, as it starts in January.

I will be fighting in Europe in the coming months, so I am able to stay active while awaiting a decision on my visa status.

I was not involved in a bar brawl. This is 100% a false statement.”

Still, Daley notably doesn’t address whether or not he was arrested on an assault charge. According to ESPN, a spokesperson from Bellator MMA made the initial announcement about Daley being dropped from the “Season Eight” welterweight tournament.

Either way, it’s bad timing for Daley, as he will miss Bellator’s SPIKE debut on January 17, 2013. This will be Bellator’s first season after their run on the promotion’s official website and MTV2, as SPIKE was contractually unable to show non-UFC content on their channel during the past year.

Before signing with Bellator, Daley had previously fought in the UFC and Strikeforce, being involuntarily cut from the former.

During a UFC 113 title eliminator bout with Josh Koscheck, a frustrated Daley struck Koscheck after the final bell of the third round, frustrated at being controlled by the superior wrestler. UFC president Dana White promptly dropped Daley from the promotion, famously citing that Daley would never fight in the UFC again.

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UFC 155: 5 Key Facts About Junior Dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez

This coming Saturday at UFC 155 in Las Vegas, the UFC heavyweight title picture will close out a full year of mixed martial arts when champion Junior dos Santos faces Cain Velasquez.Their first match wasn’t under the best of circumstances, as a lengthy…

This coming Saturday at UFC 155 in Las Vegas, the UFC heavyweight title picture will close out a full year of mixed martial arts when champion Junior dos Santos faces Cain Velasquez.

Their first match wasn’t under the best of circumstances, as a lengthy build-up to the UFC’s single-fight event on Fox ended in an anti-climatic first-round flash knockout.

Hopefully, this rematch will provide a more complex victory for either fighter this time around, especially now that Velasquez is entering the bout fully recovered from an ACL injury that threatened to sideline him in November last year.

With that in mind, here’s five interesting key facts that UFC fans should keep in mind during the lead-up to the titanic heavyweight rematch.

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UFC 155 Video: Dana White Video Blog Day 1, Joe Lauzon Wins $6K in Sparring

There’s little more than a week left until UFC 155, and as usual, Dana White is kicking off fight week with his semi-regular video blog series.In the first installment, the focus is squarely on Joe Lauzon, who will be competing on Saturday against fell…

There’s little more than a week left until UFC 155, and as usual, Dana White is kicking off fight week with his semi-regular video blog series.

In the first installment, the focus is squarely on Joe Lauzon, who will be competing on Saturday against fellow lightweight contender Jim Miller.

As White narrates for the camera, a friend of his called “Nick The Tooth'” was making good on a drunken grappling challenge against Lauzon with the caveat that Lauzon would win $1000 from White for each successful submission attempt.

In shades of an actual UFC event, the friendly sparring session was held in a full-size Octagon with ringside officials, a post-production crew and even a referee (one of Lauzon’s training staff). Judging by the footage, the challenge went down at the KeyArena in Seattle, Washington, which places the match around the recent UFC on Fox 5 card earlier this month.

Despite Nick being the larger man, Lauzon effortlessly pulled off six submissions in a single three-minute match, netting a $6000 prize from his boss. In order, Lauzon showed off an armbar, front-lock guillotine, toehold, armbar, a flying triangle choke and a third armbar.

Nick The Tooth walked away from the match a bit bloody but still had plenty of praise for Lauzon:

“It was a rough one. I didn’t think he would have that kind of strength. He was strong, he was fast [and] he was explosive.”

Lauzon’s submission skills will almost certainly face a much stiffer test when he fights against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Jim Miller this Saturday at UFC 155. Although it’s not a requirement to win, Lauzon also aims to net a record-breaking 12th post-fight bonus in the UFC, which would officially top Anderson Silva‘s 11 post-fight bonuses.

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UFC Contender Dan Henderson Expects to Retire in 2014 After Four More Fights

Having just cleared 42 years of age, former Strikeforce and two-division Pride FC champion Dan Henderson is expecting to end his career in the next couple of years.Although he’ll be a good three years off from getting anywhere close to scratching the t…

Having just cleared 42 years of age, former Strikeforce and two-division Pride FC champion Dan Henderson is expecting to end his career in the next couple of years.

Although he’ll be a good three years off from getting anywhere close to scratching the title of “Oldest Fighter to Win a UFC Fight”—a distinction held solely by UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture—Henderson tells Brazilian publication TATAME (via Google Translate) that he’ll most likely hang up his gloves at the end of 2014.

Counting his upcoming UFC 157 bout with former UFC champion Lyoto Machida, “Hendo” states he has four more fights left, with two apiece over the next 24 months.

“I have to fight a couple more years. I have at least two more fights ahead of me next year, so I guess that would make at least two more fights after that,” [Henderson] said in an exclusive interview to TATAME.

Hendo always said that one purpose of his trip was to win the UFC belt, it would be one of the few remaining for [his] collection. Today, however, he says the goal [has] changed a bit of focus and [he] will not get upset if [he has] to retire without the title.

Despite being considered one of the world’s top pound-for-pound MMA fighters with recent wins over Shogun Rua and Fedor Emelianenko, Henderson has never won a UFC championship due to extended careers in Pride, King of Kings and Strikeforce.

However, the Team Quest founder still carries a 6-2 record in the promotion dating back to 1998 with victories at five separate UFC pay-per-view events.

At UFC 157, Henderson will star in the co-main event slot against Machida, with newly-crowned women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey defending her belt against fellow Strikeforce veteran Liz Carmouche on Feb. 23 at Anaheim’s Honda Center.

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Jose Aldo’s Coach Says ‘1 More Year’ Before Move to UFC Lightweight Division

Sooner or later, UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo is moving up to the lightweight division, says Nova Uniao head trainer and one-time UFC veteran Andre Pederneiras.Aldo’s weight cut is notable for being especially torturous on the young f…

Sooner or later, UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo is moving up to the lightweight division, says Nova Uniao head trainer and one-time UFC veteran Andre Pederneiras.

Aldo’s weight cut is notable for being especially torturous on the young fighter, whom Pederneiras claims is still growing, even at 26 years old.

But for Aldo, the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t so far away. During an interview with MMA Junkie Radio (via MMA Junkie), Pederneiras acknowledged that it’ll soon be time to allow Aldo the extra 10 pounds, outlining the current career plan for his prized champion:

Every fight, he wants to fight at 155 pounds. “I don’t want to cut any more weight.” Every day I listen to him about that.

I think for him it’s better to wait a little bit because he’s putting on mass every year. He doesn’t need to put so much mass that he can’t move the same. He’s gaining weight because he’s so young. I don’t want to put pressure on him to gain weight. I prefer to wait maybe one more year.

As MMA Junkie points out, Aldo wouldn’t be a very tall lightweight at 5’7″, but that didn’t stop the even-shorter former UFC champion Frankie Edgar (5’6″) from crawling his way to the top of the 155-pound division over much larger fighters.

Speaking of which, Aldo’s last fight at featherweight could possibly be against Edgar himself, as the two men are slated to face each other at UFC 156 on Feb. 2 in Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Events Center for Aldo’s featherweight title.

Provided both fighters remain un-injured, it’ll be Aldo’s sixth consecutive title defense (counting his WEC career) and Edgar’s seventh consecutive title fight.

Regardless of the outcome, Edgar expects to remain at featherweight to use his size advantage against the rest of the division.

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