Famed MMA coach Greg Jackson is wary of Chael Sonnen, but still insists that star pupil Jon Jones can handle the “American Gangster” in the Octagon.During an interview on Sherdog Radio Network’s “Cheap Seats” show on Tuesday, the founde…
Famed MMA coach Greg Jackson is wary of ChaelSonnen, but still insists that star pupil Jon Jones can handle the “American Gangster” in the Octagon.
During an interview on Sherdog Radio Network’s “Cheap Seats” show on Tuesday, the founder of Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts noted that Sonnen presents many stylistic questions for Jones. Although Jackson is very certain that Sonnen can be soundly beaten, he asserted that the threat posed by the former middleweight title contender is nonetheless very real:
[Sonnen‘s] grinding, in-your-face style can be nullified. There’s no doubt we can nullify it, but it is a little bit different than everybody thinks it is. Losing to Anderson Silva twice doesn’t mean that [Sonnen] is washed up or that he’s not effective as a fighter. He’s actually a very good fighter, and he deserves a lot of respect.
Jones is an overwhelming 6-to-1 favorite to beat Sonnen, according to early betting odds. However, Jones found himself in trouble at UFC 152, coming within inches of losing his title via armbar to middleweight VitorBelfort—the biggest underdog out of all of Jones’ opponents yet.
Jackson also brought up past occasions where his fighters have tangled with Sonnen, most recently, Brian Stann (at UFC 136) and former UFC middleweight Nate Marquardt (at UFC 109). Both times, Jackson’s students came up short in very decisive losses. With that kind of history, Jackson refuses to sleep on Sonnen as an easy match-up:
Sonnen is a great fighter. I’ve been in the trenches against Sonnen several times and seen what he is capable of when he is on, and [I’ve seen] what he does well. I would never disrespect Sonnen by saying, ‘Jon will roll right over this guy. That’s a gimme fight.’ Those fights don’t exist.
Jackson also stated that he wouldn’t be spending too much time with Jones on the set of The Ultimate Fighter, but would “help out here and there” when he could afford time away from his Albuquerque, New Mexico gym. The Ultimate Fighter commences filming in a couple of weeks and will move off its regular Friday night spot on the FX channel.
Even though Chael Sonnen is adamant that he’ll defeat Jon Jones for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, oddsmakers apparently aren’t convinced.As reported by MMA Junkie, Jones is a 6-to-1 (-600) favorite to win his fifth title defense at a yet…
Even though ChaelSonnen is adamant that he’ll defeat Jon Jones for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, oddsmakers apparently aren’t convinced.
As reported by MMA Junkie, Jones is a 6-to-1 (-600) favorite to win his fifth title defense at a yet-to-be-determined event on April 27, 2013. Sonnen is a 4-to-1 (+400) underdog:
“The price should be higher, but given the time Chael has to prepare and adjust to the extra weight, he enters the bout in the same ballpark underdog price as Rashad Evans did against Jon Jones,” said Oddessa, who can be found at @mmaodds on Twitter. “The ‘TUF’ publicity along with the preview shows should help sell this fight enough to generate two-way action.”
Ever since beating Mauricio “Shogun” Rua for the light heavyweight title last year at UFC 128, Jones has been the overwhelming favorite for all his title defenses. According to BestFightOdds, VitorBelfort is the biggest underdog to have fought Jones so far.
At a -600/+400 split, Sonnen is being given worse odds than Rua, LyotoMachida and Quinton Jackson, although it’s roughly in line with odds placed on Rashad Evans.
Jones and Sonnen will be dueling coaches on The Ultimate Fighter, which will air on FX next January. Filming is set to take place starting at the end of this month.
Chael Sonnen continues to take the war of words to Jon Jones, stating that the UFC light heavyweight champion simply should’ve left the division.Just this past Tuesday, the UFC announced that Jones would be coaching opposite Chael Sonnen for The Ultima…
Chael Sonnen continues to take the war of words to Jon Jones, stating that the UFC light heavyweight champion simply should’ve left the division.
Just this past Tuesday, the UFC announced that Jones would be coaching opposite Chael Sonnen for The Ultimate Fighter, with both men fighting for Jones’ title next spring.
During that night’s episode of UFC Tonight on Fuel TV, Sonnen ripped into Jones, stating that he warned “Bones” this day would come. Sonnen also made sure to reiterate his opinion that the belt didn’t truly belong to young champion:
I’ve got nobody out there willing to fight me. And little Jon Jon the leprechaun has my belt that I’m coming to take. There wasn’t a whole lot of math you had to put into it.
Sonnen’s claim to the 205-pound title echoes statements made previously when he declared himself the champion by forfeit in the aftermath of the canceled UFC 151 card.
When asked about Jones’ reasons for accepting the fight—a match that Jones has openly decried as something that would delegitimize the championship—Sonnen followed up with more pointed quips:
He should not have been pressured into this. I did everything I could to warn this guy. I held up a big flag that said, ‘Hey Jon, I’m coming to the division, which puts you on notice to pack your bags and get out of it.’ He was talking about going to heavyweight, and he should have done it. The bottom line is, he waited too long, and now the man has arrived.
Sonnen also called his canceled UFC 155 match with Forrest Griffin a “faux-faux” fight, dismissing the former UFC light heavyweight champion during the interview.
As a parting shot, Sonnen also took the time to hype TUF‘s “amazing” young talent, and further predicted that Jones would be teaching his own team to be “selfish, entitled brats.”
According to Jon Jones’ Twitter feed, filming for TUF will begin early next week. Jones is currently recovering from an elbow injury suffered during his title defense at UFC 152 against former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort.
Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen is a match that shouldn’t be happening.Sonnen is coming off a one-sided loss to Anderson Silva; his second failed bid at the middleweight title. He also hasn’t fought at light heavyweight in the UFC since a submission loss to…
Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen is a match that shouldn’t be happening.
Sonnen is coming off a one-sided loss to Anderson Silva; his second failed bid at the middleweight title. He also hasn’t fought at light heavyweight in the UFC since a submission loss to Renato Sobral in 2005 at UFC 55.
He hasn’t done anything at 205 pounds to earn a title shot at Jones, unless you count his scathing, biting trash talk over Twitter.
UFC President Dana White told The Times on Tuesday that Jones and Sonnen have been assigned as opposing coaches in the third installment of The Ultimate Fighter on FX, creating some extensive pre-fight hype for their April 27 pay-per-view title match at a site to be determined.
The Ultimate Fighter with Jones and Sonnen is set to begin shooting on Oct. 29 in Las Vegas, with a debut in early January as young middleweights participate in a tournament that leads up to an April “TUF” finale at the Vegas Hard Rock Hotel, where the winner will receive a multi-fight UFC contract.
No matter how you spin it, it’s true sign of desperation for the UFC and FX.
It’s short-sighted matchmaking in an attempt to save a failing show, and make some easy PPV money by cannibalising one of the UFC’s biggest stars.
It’s irresponsible, exploitative and cheap.
But it’s still the right match to make. It can save The Ultimate Fighter, give Jones time to rest his injured arm and catapult “Bones” to the next level of stardom.
Let’s be realistic here—Jon Jones has essentially cleaned out the light heavyweight division. If you look at it critically, there’s just no one left on Jones’ level.
He’ll be an overwhelming favorite over the winner of Dan Henderson vs. Lyoto Machida, and no prospects in his weight class are anywhere near ready to challenge for the title. Not Phil Davis, not Alexander Gustafsson, and not even grizzled veteran Glover Teixeira.
Moreover, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) is dying.
Roy Nelson and Shane Carwin are performing dismally in TV ratings, with the current TUF season drawing record-low viewers in its Friday night death slot. Since UFC president Dana White is determined to drag the show through the trenches, he needs to bet everything on the next season.
If TUF is going to be saved, Jones vs. Sonnen is the best bet for the UFC and FX.
Even though it’s unfair that Sonnen gets to skip his UFC 155 fight with Forrest Griffin, it’s not like anyone else at 205 pounds deserves a title shot more than he does. Sonnen is one of the UFC’s biggest stars, and in the lead-up to his title fight with Jones, he’ll be ruthlessly prodding, taunting and bashing Jones for weeks on end.
Plus, this is something that can either make or break Jones as a star.
He’s reviled by much of the target audience for TUF—and if ratings don’t improve with him as a coach, that’s a crippling blow to him and the UFC.
That’s good television, no matter how you slice it, and it’ll be interesting to see how Jones reacts to the utter audacity of another middleweight title contender being gifted a title shot.
[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.]
Dana White is already making the wrong moves with women’s MMA.For the last few weeks, the UFC president has been openly hinting that he’s close to making a superfight between Ronda Rousey and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos, arguably one of the biggest possi…
Dana White is already making the wrong moves with women’s MMA.
For the last few weeks, the UFC president has been openly hinting that he’s close to making a superfight between Ronda Rousey and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos, arguably one of the biggest possible bouts in mixed martial arts right now.
Even better, it could possibly headline a UFC card, according to statements made during a keynote speech at a recent television industry summit (relayed by publicist Amy Pfister):
While not committing to it, @danawhite just said @RondaRousey vs. Cris Cyborg could/should be a main event on UFC pay per view. #CTAM
But as attractive as a “champion vs. former champion” match between the world’s two best female fighters may look on paper, it’s the wrong one to make.
As Ronda Rousey herself stated in the aftermath of Cyborg’s positive test for anabolic steroids, the fairest way for this fight to take place is if it happens at the 135-pound bantamweight limit.
More than anything else, the idea is that Cyborg may have been using banned substances for most of her career, and the weight cut will force her to shed some of her advantageous muscle mass. Cyborg’s also had difficulty in the past just trimming down to 145 pounds, so a 135-pound cut may even bring her usual aggressiveness down a notch.
Either way, that fight shouldn’t be happening.
During her reign as the Strikeforce women’s featherweight champion, Cyborg destroyed her entire division in one-sided fights that made every opponent look utterly outclassed. As a result, the 145-pound women’s roster is a wasteland, with no marketable fights to be made outside of Invicta FC and small regional shows.
Considering how long Cyborg’s been suspected of doping, it’s not something that should be rewarded with a starring role in a high-profile UFC or Strikeforce main event.
Moreover, this is exactly the kind of shortsighted matchmaking that’s been plaguing the UFC for the last year. It’s little more than a quick “dream fight” cash-in that kills the luster of the losing fighter—and forgive me for saying so, but that fighter’s going to be Rousey.
Even with the weight cut, Cyborg is too strong, too fast and too aggressive to lose to “Rowdy” in a five-round fight.
Cyborg’s stand-up is light years beyond anything that Rousey has shown in any of her fights. That’s a problem right off the bat, and the former featherweight champion’s sheer strength won’t let her fall prey to an armbar as easily as Sarah Kaufman or many other women have.
Even assuming that Cyborg hasn’t been on performance-enhancing drugs for most of her career, the insane muscle build that’s already etched into her frame hints at a mauling waiting to happen. If I were a betting man, I would put money on Rousey getting beaten worse than Gina Carano.
But none of that needs to happen.
Instead of a matchup between Rousey and Cyborg, Dana White should be thinking of the bigger picture. He should be trying to promote a more diverse stack of fights designed to set up a proper title mix for the female bantamweights.
Why not have Rousey rematch Miesha Tate, and set up another main card fight that same night with Sara McMann?
Rousey and Tate already have a huge rivalry that’s tailor-made for the UFC promotional wagon, and McMann’s status as an Olympic silver medalist practically markets itself.
Just sign Shayna Baszler to the same card, pack in the story of her close split-decision loss to McMann at Invicta FC 2 and you’ve got a deep, multi-angled storyline to set up for weeks with UFC Primetime and a “Countdown” show.
That’s the right way to bring women’s MMA into the spotlight and set up an immediate title contender for the bantamweight belt.
Dana White and the UFC have been playing fast and loose with their main event talent and already paid the ultimate price once for weighing entire cards on a single fight. Doing the same thing with Ronda Rousey’s future will be equally damaging for them and women’s MMA.
[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.]
It sounds like Dana White hasn’t changed his mind about adopting women’s MMA.Although the majority of the questions at the UFC 153 post-fight press conference revolved around Anderson Silva, potential superfights and the company’s future plans for Braz…
It sounds like Dana White hasn’t changed his mind about adopting women’s MMA.
Although the majority of the questions at the UFC 153 post-fight press conference revolved around Anderson Silva, potential superfights and the company’s future plans for Brazil, the final minutes of the session were devoted to Ronda Rousey and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos.
Dana White praised both fighters as the best in the world, and noted that the time seems right for him to get involved in women’s MMA:
As far as women’s MMA goes, I’m warming up to it, thinking about sticking my toe in it and seeing how this thing goes. I agree with you, obviously, Cyborg is one of the best in the world and Ronda Rousey is another one. So we’ll see what happens.
Exactly what that means is up to interpretation, but it mirrors statements the UFC president made during the UFC on FX 5 post-fight press conference and a MetroPCS live fan chat last August.
Rousey‘s future is uncertain, as Strikeforce has canceled the rest of its events this year, fueling speculation that the promotion will close its doors. If Showtime does pull the plug on Strikeforce—one of the most prominent stages for female fighters—women’s MMA will take a huge hit.
Dana White has been working behind the scenes in an attempt to put together a fight between Rousey and Cyborg, although he has yet to confirm if that fight would be a UFC event.
For her part, Ronda Rousey has stated that she would only take the bout at the 135-pound bantamweight limit, calling Cyborg a “cheater” following the former featherweight champion’s positive test for stanozolol, an anabolic steroid.
Most notably, the UFC president has taken it upon himself to keep Rousey in the spotlight with several events, including a cameo spot on The Ultimate Fighter: Live, appearances at various UFC cards and celebrity events like the season premiere of FX‘s Sons of Anarchy.
Famed MMA coach Greg Jackson is wary of Chael Sonnen, but still insists that star pupil Jon Jones can handle the “American Gangster” in the Octagon.