Author: Michael Dulka

UFC 159: Trash Talk Adds Intrigue to Fight Between Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen

With just over a week remaining before Chael Sonnen and Jon Jones fight at UFC 159, the pair have taken their trash talking to another level. While some see the pre-fight chatter as foolish, it adds quite a bit of intrigue and hype for the fight.The tr…

With just over a week remaining before Chael Sonnen and Jon Jones fight at UFC 159, the pair have taken their trash talking to another level. While some see the pre-fight chatter as foolish, it adds quite a bit of intrigue and hype for the fight.

The trash talking has heightened as Sonnen has decided to use his Twitter to provide a daily countdown to the fight. In some posts he’s talked himself up, while others have been directed at Jones.

Here are some of the best posts from Sonnen‘s countdown:

For the most part, the tweets aren’t very serious. Most are just general fluff with bits of humor, including Sonnen‘s incorrect use of hashtags.

Jones had a few things to say about them as reports have stated (via Yahoo! Sports):

I have seen some of Chael‘s countdown Twitter feed, but I think I stopped reading it at about day 27. It doesn’t fuel me anymore. It’s foolishness really.

While Jones denied that the tweets and trash talk have gotten to him, his recent statements regarding Sonnen bring this into question. Jones got involved in the media frenzy by bringing up steroids (via Yahoo! Sports):

Chael Sonnen is a guy, people know he’s done steroids throughout his entire career. Probably the reason why his testosterone is low now.

Sonnen‘s use of testosterone replacement therapy has been a hot-button issue in MMA. Regardless of whether or not fans agree with the treatment, the use of the word “steroids” is sure to bring about attention. In the age of performance-enhancing drugs, that’s a weighted-word.

With plenty of time before the actual fight, it will be interesting to see what Sonnen comes up with next in his countdown. Will he respond to Jones’ steroid quote? Will Jones engage in further trash talk?

While the extent of the dislike for each other can definitely be questioned, the perceived bad blood is great for the UFC and its fans. The more fans think the fighters dislike their opponent, the better. The constant chatter—including tweets—is a nice way to make fans anticipate the fight even more.

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Belfort vs. Bisping: Crushing Defeat Means Uncertain Future for Michael Bisping

Michael Bisping’s title aspirations disappeared from view as Vitor Belfort’s leg knocked him out and ended their fight at UFC on FX 7 on Saturday night. Following the loss, Bisping’s future looks cloudy following his second loss in his last three fight…

Michael Bisping‘s title aspirations disappeared from view as Vitor Belfort‘s leg knocked him out and ended their fight at UFC on FX 7 on Saturday night. Following the loss, Bisping‘s future looks cloudy following his second loss in his last three fights. 

The two fighters fought well in the first round and were closely matched. Belfort started to look better toward the end of the round and continued his flurry into the second round. Belfort‘s left leg kick to the head floored Bisping. As Belfort continued to punch the fallen Bisping, the fight was stopped and Belfort was announced the winner. 

Bisping entered the fight with a very certain path to UFC glory. He needed to beat Belfort and he would have gotten a shot at Anderson Silva for the title. A loss means that he must regain his standing and work his way back toward having a shot at the title. 

Outside of the actual loss of a title chance, Bisping‘s ability to reach that level seems to be in question. Yet Bisping took to Twitter following the fight and vowed to his supporters that he would be back:

His next fight could be a matchup of similarly fallen Alan Belcher. The two would benefit from the fight as they look to bounce back from crushing defeats. Belcher lost his last fight in a unanimous decision to Yushin Okami on Dec. 29, 2012.  

Bisping‘s loss means it’s not clear who will be next up to fight Anderson Silva. The reigning champion last fought on Oct. 13 when he beat Stephan Bonnar in the first round. 

At age 33, Bisping will need to rebound quickly and get some quality fights lined up. In order to reach his title aspirations, Bisping can’t afford another letdown. There is still hope he can reach the peak, but his loss to Belfort makes for quite a detour. 

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