UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has always maintained he’d be open to facing middleweight champion Chris Weidman in a ‘super fight,’ but hasn’t always seemed so attentive to the idea. In February, Jones said he’d like to see Weidman grow his resume before considering fighting him.
“A lot of people are starting to mention Chris Weidman’s name and I think in order for it to be a superfight Chris Weidman needs to get his name a little bit bigger and prove himself against some other world champions,” Said Jones. “With that being said, I think Cain Velasquez is the only guy that would actually be considered a superfight.”
Since Weidman’s impressive performance against former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida Jul. 5 at UFC 175, Jones seems much more interested in putting together an ‘all-New York’ super fight in Madison Square Garden.
“Oh, man, I think that would be awesome,” Jones told Sherdog.com. “I would absolutely jump at the opportunity to have a super fight with Chris Weidman. I respect him a lot as a person and as a champion, and I think that that fight would make great sales — absolutely.”
More on the topic of The Garden, Jones says it would be his dream to compete in the famed venue.
“Muhammad Ali fought there, and Mike Tyson fought there,” said Jones. “The greatest fighters of all-time have all gotten to compete at the Garden, so I think that our time will come. I think that our proponents and our people will continue to push for it, and I think that eventually, we won’t be ignored. They just can’t ignore us forever.”
Jones defends his light heavyweight title to Daniel Cormier Sept. 27 at UFC 178 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
5 MUST-READ STORIES
Dragon’s blessing. Lyoto Machida isn’t worried about Chris Weidman’s striking against Vitor Belfort. ‘If he has to stand, he will. Vitor can obviously land a punch and end this, that’s what makes this sport so captivating, but I think he will be ready to fight him there.’
‘Evergreen.’ WWE executive Stephanie McMahon says UFC events have no replay value and can’t be counted on to entertain. ‘With UFC, you can pay money to watch a pay-per-view and it can be a terrible fight, right? The guy you were really rooting for that UFC has been building as a star gets knocked right off and suddenly that person doesn’t really matter anymore. And all that investment is lost. You never had that with WWE.’
‘I realize that I do it.’ Jon Jones discusses his controversial eye pokes that seem to happen on a frequent basis during his fights.
‘The gentle art.’ Chuck Mindenhall gives his take on Saturday night’s Metamoris 4. ‘Metamoris is, essentially, a hipster territory of artistic restraint.’
Over saturation. Randy Couture believes the market has as much MMA as it can handle. ‘It’s hard to track where things are happening, where to find things. Unless one of my guys from the gym is fighting, I honestly don’t get the chance or don’t make a huge effort to tune in.’
MEDIA STEW
Nice look at Cung Le the action star.
Daniel Cormier comments on the ESPN hot mic session.
Nice compilation in case you were on vacation last week.
Fallon Fox wants a title fight at 145lbs in Invicta or a fight with Miesha Tate.
It’s been a rough week for MMA, but here’s Tito Ortiz doing some good.
Guess who made the SportsCenter Not Top 10.
Long watches.
Legends of Cage Warriors: Eire
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TWEETS
Results may vary.
I remain undefeated
— chael sonnen (@sonnench) August 10, 2014
congratulations to André Galvão athletes and Chael Sonnen by big fight in METAMORIS 4
— Anderson Silva (@SpiderAnderson) August 10, 2014
“@jahizen: Y did @Renato_Laranja snub @sonnench ????” I thought he had a Joy Buzzer in his hand and he was gonna Shock me.
— Renato Laranja (@Renato_Laranja) August 10, 2014
Get well soon.
Fake Jones.
Big win for The War Master.
@dc_mma Thanks bud. Some guys are too tough to get right away. You gotta tenderize them first. Now it’s your turn man. Show the world.
— Josh Barnett (@JoshLBarnett) August 11, 2014
Who is that handsome gent there in the front row on the right? @MedleyMike: pic.twitter.com/uAHSSwTqmI
— MVP (@The305MVP) August 10, 2014
They aren’t Speedos, they’re pro wrestling trunks. #KarlGotch #Metamoris4 #CatchWrestling #ProWrestling #CSW pic.twitter.com/aanOuSVJvT
— Josh Barnett (@JoshLBarnett) August 10, 2014
Next @MetamorisPro : @JoshLBarnett vs @The305MVP for the strap! (I’ll do commentary).
— Coach (@CMPunk) August 10, 2014
Neither guy has a problem taking a punch from a lady.
New video @GilbertMelendez x @EckoUnltd http://t.co/U8qkhGreRX
— Gilbert Melendez (@GilbertMelendez) August 7, 2014
Bocek reactions.
Mark Bocek ‘You can’t call PED abuse cheating when everyone is doing it’ . headlines like this that make younger fighters think it’s needed
— Edward Alvarez (@Ealvarezfight) August 11, 2014
The difference between me and @MarkBocek. He retired because of guys using PEDs. I retired because I couldn’t afford them. #mma #ufc
— Din Thomas (@DinThomas) August 10, 2014
Not a great day for the 4 Horsewomen.
@jessamynduke @PlayStation worst. Day. Ever.
— Shayna Baszler (@QoSBaszler) August 11, 2014
Gotta cover it.
I’m not a bad guy, I went to surprise my gf, help her set up her show and to give her an engagement ring and ended up fighting for my life.
— War Machine (@WarMachine170) August 11, 2014
The cops will never give me fair play, never believe me. Still deciding what to do but at the end of the day it’s all just heart breaking.
— War Machine (@WarMachine170) August 11, 2014
I only wish that man hadn’t been there and that Christy & I would behappily engaged.I don’t know y I’m so cursed.One day truth will come out
— War Machine (@WarMachine170) August 11, 2014
I will be releasing my statement in the morning to put many rumors to rest.
— Christy Mack (@ChristyMack) August 11, 2014
Cain showed up at Werdum’s seminar.
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announced this weekend (Aug. 8-10 2014)
Krzysztof Jotko vs. Tor Troeng at UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Story
Urijah Faber out, Alex Caceres vs. Masanori Kanehara at UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Nelson
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Amir Sadollah a UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Nelson
Nico Musoke vs. Alexander Yakovlev at UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Story
Cathal Pendred vs. Gasan Umalatov at UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Story
Akira Corassani vs. Chan Sung Jung at UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Story
FANPOST OF THE DAY
Today’s Fanpost of the Day comes via DROCK10.
Is Jon Jones the Dude playing the Dude, disguised as another Dude?
After years playing the role of misunderstood 20 year old trying to find his identity, Jon Jones has finally broken the number one rule of acting and gone “full retard”! The question at hand however, is whether we’re finally seeing the Jon Jones persona unravel, or observing the greatest troll to grace the octagon since Anderson Silva. I for one was leaning toward the latter, until his recent exchange with Daniel Cormier when he thought no one was looking. His reaction when they told him he was on air, combined with his soft spoken demeanor on FS1 makes me think we should all give Jon Jones a break.
Now before you burn me at the stake, hear me out. Jon is a middle child among his two brothers, and probably spent the majority of his coming up as the smaller of the 2. Combine that with the fact that he opted for wrestling where his brothers went for football, a degree of not fitting in probably colored a good portion of his home life. If I were to guess, I’d say Jon probably got picked on a lot; being a youngest myself, and the smaller brother, I can attest to some of the aftermath of spending years being overpowered, and excluded. You start to develop this sort of complex between being the “good person” your parents raised you to be, and the cold, calculating, manipulative person you become to survive. When you’re in a situation where you can’t physically defend yourself, you are faced with only a few options, to be more crafty than your opponent, and most of all, be prepared to go places they aren’t. Hence the eye pokes, knee kicks, shoulder cranks, and general disregard for “honor in tactics”. These behaviors are a result of being forced into a corner, and learning the only way you can win is to go around the rules since your physical limitations preclude you from fair competition.
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