Author: McKinley Noble

UFC 159 Results: Jon Jones Breaks Toe Badly in Win vs. Chael Sonnen

Here’s your only warning—the picture of Jon Jones’ injury suffered at UFC 159 is extremely graphic.There’s no other way to describe it.Immediately after celebrating his record-tying defense of the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, Jones noticed…

Here’s your only warning—the picture of Jon Jones‘ injury suffered at UFC 159 is extremely graphic.

There’s no other way to describe it.

Immediately after celebrating his record-tying defense of the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, Jones noticed that he had broken the big toe on his left foot.

Naturally, Twitter quickly lit up as fans and media tried to figure out exactly when the break occurred.

In a chilling turn of events, it was nearly off the bone during the first round, with Jones rolling his toe on a stuffed takedown around two minutes and 40 seconds, snapping it clean away from the foot as the friction tore it apart.

Jones picked up on the injury during his post-fight interview with UFC color commentator Joe Rogan, saying that he didn’t register it at first due to his adrenaline rush.

Rogan immediately went for a stool to aid the champion, calling over a doctor as he asked Jones if he could continue to talk with him.

Jones lamented the injury as well, stating that it ruined his post-event plans:

“I was supposed to go to Jamaica after this,” Jones said. “That’s not gonna happen.”

Interestingly, Jones might have even lost his UFC light heavyweight title if he hadn’t gotten the TKO stoppage against Chael Sonnen so early.

Judging by the application of standard MMA rules, an in-fight injury that impairs a fighter from competing could result in a “technical decision” defeat or a “doctor’s stoppage” loss.

And that’s regardless of whether or not it was an accident.

That would have been the worst-case scenario, and had Sonnen made it to the second round, we could have seen the most controversial upset in UFC history.

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania and The L.A. Times.

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UFC 159: Roy Nelson KOs Kongo, Wants Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva Winner

Could Roy Nelson be the next man to hold the UFC heavyweight title?If he gets a shot at the winner of Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva currently set for UFC 160, it would be a huge move for The Ultimate Fighter alumnus.Still, Nelson made a solid c…

Could Roy Nelson be the next man to hold the UFC heavyweight title?

If he gets a shot at the winner of Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva currently set for UFC 160, it would be a huge move for The Ultimate Fighter alumnus.

Still, Nelson made a solid case for his top ranking, stopping Cheick Kongo cold in the first round of their bout at UFC 159 on Saturday night.

After some extended grappling against the fence that saw the Frenchman thoroughly out-muscled and out-positioned by Nelson, a few feet of space on a break-up sealed his doom.

“Big Country” wasted no time in finding his range, hammering Kongo with a huge overhand right and dropping him to the mat.

One follow-up uppercut put Kongo out of commission while he was still on the ground, with Nelson cocking his fist as the referee dived in for the stoppage.

That bout sealed Nelson’s first three-fight winning streak since joining the UFC.

He’s now on a 6-3 stretch in the promotion, which doesn’t include his three wins in Season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter, where Nelson made a statement by shutting down Kimbo Slice before winning the show’s tournament and prized contract.

According to the official UFC rankings, Nelson is currently the No. 6 heavyweight in his division, with some stiff competition ahead of him in Velasquez, Silva, Junior dos Santos, Daniel Cormier, Fabricio Werdum and Alistair Overeem.

Nelson may be unlikely to fight for the title after beating the lower-ranked Kongo, but the right mix of injuries and opportunity could see him get a title shot.

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania and The L.A. Times.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC’s Matt Mitrione Slams ‘Spoiled’ Jon Jones: ‘Fight Me at Heavyweight, Coward’

Apparently, UFC heavyweight and former NFL player Matt Mitrione is no fan of Jon Jones.In fact, he wants to fight him in the Octagon in exactly a year.That’s the current fallout from Jones’ recent comments (via MMA Junkie) about Mitrione…

Apparently, UFC heavyweight and former NFL player Matt Mitrione is no fan of Jon Jones.

In fact, he wants to fight him in the Octagon in exactly a year.

That’s the current fallout from Jones’ recent comments (via MMA Junkie) about Mitrione’s verbal rant against infamous male-to-female transgender MMA fighter Fallon Fox during an interview on The MMA Hour, where the Blackzilian called Fox a “sick, sociopathic, disgusting freak.”

In turn, Jones stated that “Meathead” was simply a “scumbag kid” who “needs to shut his mouth”—prompting the following response from Mitrione:

Mitrione was supposedly in some hot water over his appearance on The MMA Hour, with the UFC quickly issuing a press statement noting he had been suspended for violating his contractual “code of conduct” clause.

To say the least, it didn’t last long.

Not only was the suspension quickly lifted, but Mitrione is now scheduled to make the fastest two-fight turnaround of his young fighting career at UFC on Fox 8 (via ESPN) against fellow heavyweight Brendan Schaub.

To boot, Mitrione also took a very pointed jab at Jones for his own career controversy, referencing Jones’ DWI in May 2012:

Mitrione also claims that Jones “can’t take a punch” and that “nobody” in the UFC heavyweight division is worried about the young light heavyweight champion potentially moving up a weight class in the future.

Jones hasn’t confirmed that he’s ready to enter the 265-pound division within the next year, and current plans from the UFC indicate that the next two years for “Bones” could involve more light heavyweight title defenses and a superfight with middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

At 25 years old, Jones has ample time to contemplate a division shift, while the 34-year-old Mitrione is attempting to build himself another winning streak.

(Jones is currently two wins away from breaking Tito Ortiz’s record for the most successful consecutive defenses of the UFC Light Heayvweight Championship.)

But does a Jones vs. Mitrione match seem possible?

It’s not likely, especially since a move to heavyweight for Jones would likely be for a superfight against the division’s current champion.

Of course, that’s assuming Jones defeats Chael Sonnen at UFC 159 and continues to hold the belt throughout his light heavyweight reign.

Unless Mitrione dramatically improves his UFC ranking and gets his hands on the UFC heavyweight title, he probably won’t ever face Jones in the Octagon.

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania and The L.A. Times.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Champ Jon Jones: I’m a Fan of Fallon Fox, Matt Mitrione Is a ‘Scumbag’

Several members of the MMA community have been highly critical of male-to-female transgender fighter Fallon Fox, but Jon Jones isn’t one of them.During his UFC 159 media rounds, “Bones” spoke with MMA Junkie about Fox, who was verbally slamme…

Several members of the MMA community have been highly critical of male-to-female transgender fighter Fallon Fox, but Jon Jones isn’t one of them.

During his UFC 159 media rounds, “Bones” spoke with MMA Junkie about Fox, who was verbally slammed in a tirade from UFC heavyweight and former NFL player Matt Mitrione during a segment on The MMA Hour (via MMA Fighting).

Although the UFC initially suspended Mitrione, the Blackzilian member was nonetheless quickly scheduled for a bout at UFC on Fox 8 (via ESPN).

But as Jones himself puts it, he still views someone like Mitrione as just another “ridiculous scumbag” while Fox is a “strong” role model that has earned his respect:

“I think he’s terrible for that,” Jones said. “It’s ridiculous. I think Fallon Fox, that’s a strong person. Despite what the person has been through in their life, that’s a strong person. I’m a fan of that person because of what they’ve gone through and what they’re willing to go through.

“People like Matt Mitrione are scumbags. He’s a scumbag. I don’t care if he’s off suspension or doesn’t fight again. He’s a ridiculous person.”

Jones said he believes in freedom of speech but that being a “decent” person should trump all.

“He needs to shut his mouth,” Jones said. “That’s how I feel about that kid. He’s scum.”

Jones also echoed a similar statement about Fox during a fan chat session on ESPN, saying that he “respects her strength” in the face of her public scrutiny.

However, Fox hasn’t looked very good to the MMA community recently, reportedly threatening Australian star Bec Hyatt and several other female fighters at Invicta FC 5.

(Note: Fox currently fights at 145 pounds, while Hyatt competes in the 115-pound strawweight division.)

Jones’ opinions on Mitrione aside, the heavyweight prospect is getting a record turnaround for his MMA career, having previously stopped Phil De Fries in a 19-second KO victory at UFC on Fuel 9 in Sweden less than a month ago on April 8.

Meanwhile, Jones has his own match to worry about on Saturday.

Seeking to tie the record for consecutive defenses of the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, Jones will face former middleweight Chael Sonnen in the main event of UFC 159 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania and The L.A. Times.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Report: Most Twitter Followers for UFC’s Anderson Silva, Roy Nelson Are Fakes

Social media has played a major role in the growth of the UFC, with many of the promotion’s fighters rewarded for promotion themselves on Twitter.However, most Twitter fans of stars like Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre aren’t even real people.Acco…

Social media has played a major role in the growth of the UFC, with many of the promotion’s fighters rewarded for promotion themselves on Twitter.

However, most Twitter fans of stars like Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre aren’t even real people.

According to a report filed by Ingrained Media, many of the UFC’s most notable fighters and popular personalities are followed online by several “fake” Twitter accounts, which are commonly made up of spambot drones or dummy profiles.

But while many Twitter accounts will attract their fair share of spam, Roy Nelson is a special case, with only 7 percent of his followers labeled as “good” and a rate of fake followers well over 80 percent.

To boot, here’s the top 10 most influential Twitter accounts in the UFC with verified “fake” followers and inactive accounts in their social network:

  1. Roy Nelson — Followers: 566,458 (Fake: 82%, Inactive: 11%)
  2. Michael McDonald — Followers: 24,626 (Fake: 56%, Inactive: 22%)
  3. Junior Dos Santos — Followers: 599,987 (Fake: 48%, Inactive: 33%)
  4. Anderson Silva — Followers: 3,301,511 (Fake: 47%, Inactive: 32%)
  5. Demian Maia — Followers: 285,245 (Fake: 47%, Inactive: 32%)
  6. Johny Hendricks — Followers: 80,325 (Fake: 41%, Inactive: 28%)
  7. Vitor Belfort — Followers: 793,158 (Fake: 40%, Inactive: 37%)
  8. Jose Aldo — Followers: 190,192 (Fake: 36%, Inactive: 31%)
  9. Dana White — Followers: 2,517,324 (Fake: 35%, Inactive: 37%)
  10. Georges St-Pierre — Followers: 678,834 (Fake: 34%, Inactive: 31%)

Many firms and services use dummy Twitter accounts to artificially boost a client’s social media reach—also a common practice with MMA media and fansites—but the percentages above look particularly damning for Nelson.

Interestingly, this infographic breakdown from Ingrained Media also notes that nearly one-fourth of Twitter followers in MMA come from fake accounts, affecting some of the UFC’s most popular Brazilian fighters.

Back in 2011, the UFC started to implement bonuses for fighters using Twitter (via MMA Fighting), with Nelson, Silva, “Big Nog,” Maia, and JDS pocketing most of the extra money.

That’s five fighters out of the only 17 to gain bonus cash for their Twitter activity in 2011 and 2012 (via MMA Fighting), showing a flaw in the UFC’s system.

In the three categories where fighters are given monetary incentives for social media use, only the “Most Creative” section focuses on actual content, while “Most Followers” and “Highest Percentage of New Followers” are ruled by raw numbers.

Ingrained Media additionally outs Cain Velasquez, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Dan Henderson, Lyoto Machida, Nate Diaz and MMA reporter Ariel Helwani (who wrote the MMA Fighting piece, coincidentally) as prominent Twitter personalities with more than a 30 percent rate of fake/inactive followers.

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UFC Star Ronda Rousey: Miesha Tate Should Dump ‘Douche’ Boyfriend Bryan Caraway

Ronda Rousey may never be friends with Miesha Tate, but at the end of day, “Rowdy” says that she ultimately respects her rival and her struggles.However, the champion doesn’t think much of Tate’s “pet” boyfriend.During an interview with MiddleEasy, Rou…

Ronda Rousey may never be friends with Miesha Tate, but at the end of day, “Rowdy” says that she ultimately respects her rival and her struggles.

However, the champion doesn’t think much of Tate’s “pet” boyfriend.

During an interview with MiddleEasy, Rousey gave opinions on a variety of topics, with some pointed words about UFC bantamweight and The Ultimate Fighter veteran Bryan Caraway.

As Rousey tells it, a “douche” like Caraway just isn’t worthy of Tate, who (unlike her boyfriend) is a former world champion and promotional star:

[Tate] seems like a cool chick, apart from her pet boyfriend. [Caraway] just seems like the biggest douche ever, and if you have a douche in your ear [all day], you’re going to adapt the vernacular of douchebaggery.

That’s partly what it is, but you can just tell, man. He’s got nothing going on for himself except for her, and I think that she would be doing way better without him. I mean, why him? This random wrestler guy [who] never did anything in wrestling, never really did anything in MMA, holding mitts for Miesha, who’s fighting for a world title shot? It’s ridiculous. If you ever saw that in boxing, you’d laugh your ass off.

Rousey even suggested that Caraway himself was holding “Cupcake” down, and that without him behind her, she “definitely” could have beaten No. 1 contender Cat Zingano.

However, Tate nonetheless came up short against “Cat” Zingano during their bout at The Ultimate Fighter 17 finale, suffering a TKO loss in a hard-fought battle.

Caraway also hit a setback in his own previous bout, dropping a split decision in Japan against fellow WEC veteran Takeya Mizugaki at UFC on Fuel 8—despite being coached by Tate to “coast” for the win on points in the third round.

Rousey has traded insults with both Tate and her boyfriend on several occasions, with Caraway infamously threatening Rousey on Twitter, stating an intention to “knock her teeth down her throat” and “break her arm” (via Bloody Elbow).

Caraway experienced a huge amount of backlash for his threats, while Rousey simply stated on The MMA Hour that she could most likely beat Caraway in an MMA fight.

Regardless, all three fighters have other opponents to worry about.

Not only is Rousey currently set to coach TUF 18 and compete against Zingano later this year, but Caraway is also due for a match against Johnny Bedford at UFC 159.

Tate, on the other hand, will have to rebuild her case for a title shot once her broken nose heals—and according to UFC Tonight (via UFC on Fox), the former Strikeforce bantamweight champion is angling for a bout against Liz Carmouche.

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania & The L.A. Times.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com