Author: McKinley Noble

Greg Jackson Calls Jones vs. Sonnen a Tough Puzzle, Says Sonnen “Earned It”

UFC champion Jon Jones may not think that Chael Sonnen deserves a shot at his light heavyweight title, but his own head trainer doesn’t completely agree.During a short interview with FightHub TV, Greg Jackson actually had nothing but praise for the for…

UFC champion Jon Jones may not think that Chael Sonnen deserves a shot at his light heavyweight title, but his own head trainer doesn’t completely agree.

During a short interview with FightHub TV, Greg Jackson actually had nothing but praise for the former middleweight title contender, noting that Sonnen is much bigger challenge than people think:

The match-ups don’t really matter to me because it’s not my job to pick them. I just have to solve the puzzle that’s in front of us. It’s a tough puzzle. It’s actually going to be a tougher fight than people think. I don’t take it lightly.

It’s not surprising that Jones’ coach is wary of Sonnen, especially given that Sonnen has previously defeated two of his most high-profile fighters already.

Despite Jackson’s usual gameplans, Sonnen was able to beat both Brian Stann at UFC 136 and Nate Marquardt at UFC 109, finishing the former by a rare submission via arm triangle choke. That puts Sonnen at 2-0 against Greg Jackson’s team, and a win over Jones would be quite a hat trick.

That’s likely why Jackson thinks so highly of Sonnen‘s skills, as he praised various examples of the Oregon native’s athletic qualities that make him a threat to other fighters. Somewhat surprisingly, Jackson even claimed that he thought Sonnen deserved to fight Jones despite coming off a loss:

He earned it in some ways. [Just] because he fought and basically lost to Anderson [Silva] twice, you can’t fault anybody for that—Anderson’s amazing. I think [Sonnen]’s got legitimate credentials. You’d have to talk to rest of the division more than the coach to figure out if he talked his way into it or not.

Regardless of whether or not he deserves it, Sonnen will face Jones at a future date for the UFC light heavyweight title—his third title fight in just five fights. But first, MMA fans will get to see how both men interacted as opposing coaches on Season 17 of The Ultimate Fighter, premiering in its new Tuesday night slot, Jan. 22 on FX.

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UFC’s Forrest Griffin Takes Injury Photo, Shows Horribly Mangled Knee

Forrest Griffin won’t have to worry about losing to a guy in pink tights, thanks to his knee injury.Although he was originally scheduled to fight Phil Davis as part of the main card at UFC 155, Griffin was ultimately forced to pull out of the match aft…

Forrest Griffin won’t have to worry about losing to a guy in pink tights, thanks to his knee injury.

Although he was originally scheduled to fight Phil Davis as part of the main card at UFC 155, Griffin was ultimately forced to pull out of the match after citing a knee injury.

Now, we know just how bad the damage really was.

Sending out a rather gruesome photo from his Twitter account, Griffin revealed his patched-up knee, now a swollen mess of stitching, scrapes and medical tape.

Griffin has battled a few injuries during the course of his Octagon career, the most common one being a recurring shoulder injury that sidelined him from a UFC 114 bout with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

However, this MCL tear and ACL strain appears to be the worst one yet.

UFC 155 has been plagued with injuries and schedule changes from the get-go.

Previously, middleweight contender Chris Weidman dropped out of a match with Tim Boetsch due to shoulder injury, while top lightweight Gray Maynard was scrubbed from his fight with Joe Lauzon after complications to his knee necessitated surgery.

Both fighters have been replaced by Constantinos Philippou and Jim Miller, respectively.

Hopefully, UFC 155 stays intact with its main event, a heavyweight title fight between champion Junior dos Santos and challenger Cain Velasquez. If so, the card will go down this Saturday, Dec. 29, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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TUF 17 Speculation: Was Dana White Talking About Swedish Sensation Tor Troeng?

There’s a mystery fighter taking part in the next season of The Ultimate Fighter who’s so fearsome, he put the fear of God into everybody in the TUF house.Dana White cryptically hinted at a potential new star on the coming season of the UFC’s…

There’s a mystery fighter taking part in the next season of The Ultimate Fighter who’s so fearsome, he put the fear of God into everybody in the TUF house.

Dana White cryptically hinted at a potential new star on the coming season of the UFC’s long-running reality show, telling outlets like ESPN that this man sent four men to the hospital when he fought them.

Whoever he is, the guy sounds like a badass.

But a recent interview from across the Atlantic might hint at his identity.

Tor Troeng.

Don’t be surprised if the name sounds awesome, but unfamiliar. Swedish fighter Tor “The Hammer” Troeng has spent much of his fighting career in Europe, and prior to trying out for TUF, has never competed on American soil.

But according to a recent interview with Swedish website Kimura.se (via Google Translate), Troeng is indeed a competitor on the show—and he just might be the dangerous phenom that White is talking about.

Troeng was cagey in his interview with Kimura.se, only stating that he couldn’t talk about anything that took place on TUF. Nonetheless, the website seems to state that the middleweight fighter was competing as “a participant in the TUF house.”

However, Swedish website MMAnytt has also confirmed (via Google Translate) that Troeng appears in the latest trailer for the show, very briefly seen using battleropes at the 0:15 mark.

If we know that much to be a fact, that begs the next question: Is “The Hammer” the one who held his TUF 17 cast members in an iron grip of fear?

Not only does this author think so, there’s also strong circumstantial evidence that suggests he’s one of the season’s two finalists. Let’s break down this train of thought.

1. Troeng is definitely a competitor on the show and a cast member of the TUF household.

2. Dana White said that a TUF cast member put four opponents in the hospital. Given that he said so in the same breath and as though this happened during the course the show, it’s fair to assume that this person won his elimination fight, first round match, quarterfinal bout and semifinal qualifier.

3. Troeng is a solid fighter and currently boasts a gaudy 11-1-1 stretch (with nine finishes) dating back over the last four years. That’s impressive, especially considering his last loss was against former UFC fighter Thales Leites.

4. Troeng is an extremely violent fighter.

Just look at this highlight reel of his matches, which includes frantic ground-and-pound, huge slams, one-punch knockout power and dominant wrestling chops. A fighter like that seems to fit the bill of someone who would instill fear in his competitors.

All that circumstantial evidence seems to point squarely at Bloody Elbow‘s 2012 World MMA Middleweight Scouting Report prospect as a TUF 17 finalist.

If all the clues are indeed pointing to the right man, he might even win the whole season.

But as usual, we can’t know for certain unless more information is leaked. Maybe European sledgehammer Tor Troeng really is this mystery fighter—but even if he isn’t, just who the hell is the guy that eventually beat him?

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist and FightFans Radio writer. His work has appeared in GamePro, Macworld and PC World. Talk with him on Twitter.

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Why Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen’s Sudden Friendship Kills Interest in TUF 17

When listening to MMA community about The Ultimate Fighter, the common line of thought is that this upcoming season will be one of the show’s best yet.But, frankly, it doesn’t seem quite so interesting anymore.In fact, the heated buzz around the w…

When listening to MMA community about The Ultimate Fighter, the common line of thought is that this upcoming season will be one of the show’s best yet.

But, frankly, it doesn’t seem quite so interesting anymore.

In fact, the heated buzz around the whole Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen angle has recently had a ton of cold water thrown over it.

Before the season was even announced, Jones and Sonnen were figuratively at each other’s throats. Starting with Sonnen picking a fight over Twitter, he and the light heavyweight champion had been trading some incredibly fierce trash-talk that had the MMA world buzzing.

So what happened?

Quite simply, the UFC dropped the ball.

During an October 30th Metro PCS fan chat, UFC president Dana White had Jon Jones on live steaming video answering fan questions, a pretty routine treat for hardcore fans.

Then, Chael Sonnen took a seat next to Jones—and they got friendly.

Not just friendly, like two co-workers having a fireside chat. It was more “buddy-buddy”, as if the two were close friends or college roommates.

Sitting side-by-side, Jones and Sonnen playfully traded barbs during the interview, even mock-choking and striking each other while mugging for the camera.

Even worse, Jones (once again) showed why he’s a failing student of Fight Promotion 101, feeding the media a quotable quip that he “doesn’t hate” Sonnen anymore.

Thankfully, Sonnen wasn’t quite as candid, but still broke the fourth wall by stating that Jones was “a pretty good guy.”

Well, thanks, guys.

Even if you don’t have anything personal against each other anymore (and Sonnen’s a charmer, so this author doesn’t blame the malleable Jones), you’ve ruined a major aspect of the show for several fans.

Some of the most successful seasons of TUF happen when the coaches hate each other, at least on camera. It worked for Michael Bisping vs. Dan Henderson, Georges St-Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck, Quinton Jackson vs. Rashad Evans and especially Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber.

Now why should I bother paying attention when Jones tells MMA Junkie that Sonnen “doesn’t deserve” a shot at his UFC light heavyweight belt? Even if it is true, this author no longer believes there is much animosity behind that statement.

Maybe this is only something that bothers hardcore fans, but a hardcore MMA fan is exactly the kind of person that even chooses to watch TUF in the first place.

Dana White never should have let these two near each other on camera. Not this early at least.

Good for Jones and Sonnen on kissing and making up. They’ve shown that they’re both mature adults, (mostly) burying the proverbial hatchet—and much of TUF 17’s hype along with it.

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist and FightFans Radio writer. His work has appeared in GamePro, Macworld and PC World. Talk with him on Twitter.

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UFC 155: Herb Dean to Referee Junior Dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez Title Fight

There’s plenty of things that could derail the UFC 155 main event before it even happens. But if both Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez make it to the Octagon unscathed, they’ll have an extremely reliable referee calling the shots.Herb Dean, conside…

There’s plenty of things that could derail the UFC 155 main event before it even happens. But if both Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez make it to the Octagon unscathed, they’ll have an extremely reliable referee calling the shots.

Herb Dean, considered by acclamation alone to be the most capable referee in MMA, has officially been assigned in-cage duties for JDS vs. Velasquez, according to a report from MMA Junkie:

Veteran referee Herb Dean has been assigned to officiate the UFC heavyweight title fight between champion Junior Dos Santos (15-1 MMA, 9-0 UFC) and former champ and top contender Cain Velasquez (10-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC). Glenn Trowbridge, Tony Weeks and Marcos Rosales have been tapped as the three judges for the bout.

MMA Junkie also notes that fellow referees Steve Mazzagatti and Yves Lavigne were also considered for the main event, but the duty ultimately fell to Dean.

This should come as a relief to many hardcore MMA fans, as Mazzagatti has a reputation for making bad calls in the midst of a fight.

By contrast, Dean is highly regarded for his consistency and authoritative stance, which has so far earned him “Best Referee” honors at the 2011 World MMA Awards and high praise from UFC president Dana White.

Dean’s last work for the UFC was seen during the main event of the TUF 16 Finale, where Roy Nelson won a knockout victory against Matt Mitrione.

During the bout, Mitrione lost his mouthpiece during a heated exchange, prompting Dean to almost interrupt the fight. However, Dean visibly chose to wait for a moment where his presence wouldn’t negatively alter the immediate course of the round—a point rendered moot as Nelson stopped Mitrione via TKO seconds later.

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Dana White on TUF 17 Season: Entire House Was ‘Terrified’ of One Fighter

The 17th main season of The Ultimate Fighter is already dead set on drawing a lot of eyeballs with coaches Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen, but Dana White hints at another star on the rise.During a media lunch attended by the UFC president and Ronda Ro…

The 17th main season of The Ultimate Fighter is already dead set on drawing a lot of eyeballs with coaches Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen, but Dana White hints at another star on the rise.

During a media lunch attended by the UFC president and Ronda Rousey, White hinted at an interesting competitor that was so violent, he had the rest of the TUF 17 house paralyzed in fear (via MMA Mania):

“We have a guy on this season of The Ultimate Fighter, every fight he’s in, someone goes to the hospital. The whole house is terrified of this guy. F—ing terrified. Everybody. I picked this fight, and this guy is lined up with the guy I’m telling you about, and the guy has a nervous breakdown in the house over the weekend. Has a f—ing nervous breakdown. Freaks out and has a nervous breakdown. This guy scared the living s— out of everyone. It’s awesome.”

This seems to corroborate with a quote from MMA Fighting’s Dave Doyle, who relayed that White mentioned one fighter on TUF 17 “who put all four of his opponents into the hospital” during the season.

If this mystery fighter made it through four men during the season, that seems to hint that he’s a finalist who will be heading to the Ultimate Fighter 17 finale showdown.

Typically, fighters on a normal season of TUF have to compete in three fights to get a shot at the show’s six-figure contract prize and free Harley Davidson motorcycle. That includes at least one qualifying fight to get into the house, a quarterfinal fight and an additional semifinal bout.

But if this fighter sent four men to the hospital, that either hints at an extra round or an unaired qualifying match. It wouldn’t involve a physical altercation outside of a cage, as the TUF rules explicitly state that fighters will be banned from the season if they attack each other outside competition—unless this fighter broke the rules late into the show.

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