Author: Mike Chiari

Mark Hunt Calls Jon Jones a ‘Cheating Ass Loser’ After Failed Drug Test

UFC heavyweight Mark Hunt blasted Jon Jones on Tuesday after UFC president Dana White announced that Jones failed a drug test prior to his UFC 214 fight against Daniel Cormier.
According to TMZ Sports, Hunt called Jones a “cheating ass loser” and said …

UFC heavyweight Mark Hunt blasted Jon Jones on Tuesday after UFC president Dana White announced that Jones failed a drug test prior to his UFC 214 fight against Daniel Cormier.

According to TMZ Sports, Hunt called Jones a “cheating ass loser” and said Cormier “should get all of Jones’ money.”

Per TMZ, Jones tested positive for the anabolic steroid Turinabol.

Jones defeated Cormier by third-round knockout July 29 to win the UFC light heavyweight title, but his status is now in question.

Hunt has been in a position similar to Cormier, as he lost to Brock Lesnar via unanimous decision at UFC 200 last year.

After the fight, it was announced that Lesnar tested positive for clomiphene and 4-hydroxyclomiphene, so the result was thrown out and instead became a no-contest.

In response, Hunt sued UFC, White and Lesnar in January, citing UFC’s waiving of Lesnar’s obligation to undergo four months of random drug testing before returning to the Octagon.

Hunt explained the reasoning behind the lawsuit and the principle he was fighting for in May, according to Zane Simon of BloodyElbow.com:

“Do I want it to go to discovery? Yeah, of course I want it to go to discovery. Like I said, this s–t is going all the way. These guys are gonna have to make this right, and not just with me, but with every fighter’s contract. I want the Mark Hunt clause put in their contract. I want every fighter’s contract to put in—if you are juicing, all their money should go to the other guy. If you’re both juicing, none of you guys should get money. People say, well why don’t you take 80 percent, blah blah blah? I say, okay, so me losing my life is 80 percent worth? No. They shouldn’t get anything. Cheaters don’t deserve any sort of money. He knew. These guys that cheat know that they’re gonna get into a fight three or four months down the track, so they premeditatedly know that they’re gonna fight, so they cheat. So it’s like someone trying to rob a bank. They’re planning it out, they premeditate, they go rob the bank and they get the money. It’s like what these juice heads are doing with fighting.”

The lawsuit survived a motion from the defendants to be dismissed in June and remains active.

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Demi Lovato to Sing National Anthem Before Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor

Showtime confirmed Tuesday that Demi Lovato will sing the national anthem prior to Saturday’s fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor, according to TMZ Sports. 
Per TMZ, Lovato is a natural fit as a fan of combat sports who trains in…

Showtime confirmed Tuesday that Demi Lovato will sing the national anthem prior to Saturday’s fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor, according to TMZ Sports. 

Per TMZ, Lovato is a natural fit as a fan of combat sports who trains in mixed martial arts at Jay Glazer’s gym in Los Angeles.

The bout will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and pit arguably one of the greatest boxers in history against a fighter making his professional boxing debut.

While the 40-year-old Mayweather hasn’t fought in two years, he is a perfect 49-0 as a professional boxer and perhaps the greatest defensive fighter of all time.

McGregor boasts a 21-3 record in MMA and is the reigning UFC lightweight champion, but the 29-year-old is stepping into uncharted waters.

Despite the mismatch on paper, much of the money in Vegas has been placed on McGregor to pull off the major upset.

According to OddsShark, Mayweather is a minus-465 (11-50) favorite, while McGregor is a plus-365 (73-20) underdog.

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Conor McGregor Reveals Versace Robe on Instagram Ahead of Floyd Mayweather Fight

Conor McGregor will be a heavy underdog when he faces Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Aug. 26, but the UFC lightweight champion may be set to approach the ring in style.
On Thursday, McGregor tweeted a photo of a robe that was sent to him by Versace:

McGregor…

Conor McGregor will be a heavy underdog when he faces Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Aug. 26, but the UFC lightweight champion may be set to approach the ring in style.

On Thursday, McGregor tweeted a photo of a robe that was sent to him by Versace:

McGregor is preparing for his first professional boxing match, while Mayweather will look to improve his career record to 50-0.

McGregor has already made some intriguing fashion statements during the build toward the fight, including wearing a suit pinstriped with the words “f–k you” at a press event with Mayweather.

The 29-year-old Irishman has oozed with confidence since the fight was announced, but few are giving him a legitimate chance.

Although he is 21-3 in his MMA career and a two-division champion, his only boxing experience aside from his recent training is amateur in nature.

Conversely, Mayweather is arguably one of the best pound-for-pound fighters of all time with wins over the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Canelo Alvarez and Oscar De La Hoya on his resume.

Mayweather admitted to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith in a recent interview that he isn’t the same fighter he once was, but even an older and slower Mayweather has the advantage entering Aug. 26.

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Jon Jones Couldn’t Lift His Arm Days Before Daniel Cormier Fight, Says MMA Coach

Jackson Wink MMA head coach Mike Winkeljohn said Thursday that Jon “Bones” Jones fought Daniel Cormier at UFC 214 despite suffering an arm injury in training.
During an interview with Submission Radio (h/t FloCombat.com), Winkeljohn said the injury occ…

Jackson Wink MMA head coach Mike Winkeljohn said Thursday that Jon “Bones” Jones fought Daniel Cormier at UFC 214 despite suffering an arm injury in training.

During an interview with Submission Radio (h/t FloCombat.com), Winkeljohn said the injury occurred two days before the fight: “I’ll share with you [that] a couple nights before the fight, yeah, he couldn’t lift his arm —he had hurt it wrestling. He wrestled a little too hard with his partner, maybe a lack of warm-ups, I’m not sure, but it was kind of scary.”

Despite the ailment, Jones knocked Cormier out in the third round to regain the UFC light heavyweight championship.

Winkeljohn added that Jones never considered backing out of the fight: “He basically didn’t say anything other than that he’s fighting. He didn’t say anything about it. Let me put it that way. No matter how much it hurt, if it was tingling, if it felt weak, Jon didn’t say anything. He just went and fought. That’s why Jon Jones is the champion. He has that mindset.”

The bout was Jones’ first in more than a year due to suspension, but he didn’t miss a beat in improving his career record to 23-1.

After the win, Jones called out current WWE Universal champion and former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar for a future fight.

While Lesnar is currently suspended after testing positive for a banned substance last year, he and Jones could potentially put on the highest-grossing fight in UFC history due to their respective drawing power.

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Jim Ross Says ‘Word on the Street’ Is Jon Jones Is Interested in ‘WWE Payday’

Legendary WWE announcer Jim Ross wrote Monday that there is talk of UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones wanting to work with WWE at some point in the future.
In his blog, JR revealed that “word on the street” suggests Jones has intere…

Legendary WWE announcer Jim Ross wrote Monday that there is talk of UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones wanting to work with WWE at some point in the future.

In his blog, JR revealed that “word on the street” suggests Jones has interest in a “WWE payday” should the opportunity present itself down the line.

Jones is embroiled in a public rivalry with current WWE Universal champion and former UFC Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.

After Jones defeated Daniel Cormier by knockout to win the UFC Light Heavyweight title at UFC 214, he called out the Beast Incarnate, according to Greg Beacham of the Associated Press: “Brock Lesnar, if you want to know what it feels like to get your ass kicked by a guy who weighs 40 pounds less than you, meet me in the Octagon.”

Lesnar responded to the challenge by saying, “Be careful what you wish for, young man.”

The 40-year-old Lesnar hasn’t fought in UFC since beating Mark Hunt at UFC 200 last year, although the decision was overturned to a no contest following a positive drug test from Lesnar.

Lesnar is in the midst of a one-year suspension that is frozen until he re-enters the USADA drug-testing pool, and although there were rumors he re-entered recently, UFC denied it, per Marc Raimondi of MMAFighting.com.

If Lesnar and Jones do clash in the Octagon, it could pave the way for them to meet again in a WWE ring at some point after that.

Lesnar and Jones are two of the biggest draws in combat sports, and the fan interest would likely be significant regardless of when and where they collide.

 

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

 

 

 

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Conor McGregor, Paulie Malignaggi Sparring Got ‘Out of Control,’ Says Joe Cortez

Veteran boxing referee Joe Cortez revealed in an interview Monday that a recent sparring session between reigning UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor and Paulie Malignaggi got heated.       
Cortez discussed the situation with R…

Veteran boxing referee Joe Cortez revealed in an interview Monday that a recent sparring session between reigning UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor and Paulie Malignaggi got heated.       

Cortez discussed the situation with Randy Gordon and Gerry Cooney on SiriusXM Boxing:

McGregor is in preparations for his first professional boxing match, which will be a clash with Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Aug. 26 in the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

In the interview (h/t Anton Tabuena of SB Nation’s Bloody Elbow), Cortez said McGregor acquitted himself well against Malignaggi before things started getting out of hand:

“He handled himself pretty good with Paulie. That guy can pop. He was in there mixing it up a little bit with Paulie, and it was the real thing. They was no messing around. In fact, I had to stop the action, and I had to say, ‘All right, guys, you guys are a little out of control here, you gotta stop this.’ It got a little rough.”

Cortez also said he had to shut down the trash-talking between McGregor and Malignaggi while also trying to get them to have a clean sparring session:

“They were both roughing each other up, and I had to stop the action like in a regular fight. They were holding too much, they were trying to punch each other. I mean, it got a little bit out of control where I had to call ‘Time!’

“[I said], ‘All right, guys, you gotta stop this right now. I want a good clean round. Give me sportsmanlike conduct. Understand? I don’t want to take any points from either one of you. Do you understand?’ I looked at them, and they said, ‘OK, all right.’ And I said, ‘Time in.'”

Malignaggi boasts a 36-8 career record as a professional boxer, and he is a former welterweight and junior welterweight champion.

According to Sky Sports (h/t BoxingScene.com), Malignaggi has been impressed by what he has seen from McGregor: “It makes me respect McGregor to see his work ethic that he’s put into the training camp. Seeing him work hard every day and see that he’s really determined to upset the odds.”

The 29-year-old McGregor is 21-3 in his career as an MMA fighter and became the first UFC fighter to hold two titles at the same time (featherweight, lightweight).

He is easily among the top draws in combat sports, and his star power is undeniable. But he is stepping into an unfamiliar realm.

Mayweather is a perfect 49-0 in his boxing career, and despite being 11 years McGregor’s senior, his vast amount of experience makes him a significant favorite heading into the fight.

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