Jon Jones Calls Weight-Cutting Daniel Cormier ‘Crackhead With A Suit On’

Perhaps there has been no other UFC rivalry with the sheer amount of trash talk, backstory, and animosity than the over three-year spat between current light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and longtime former champion Jon Jones. The two started off their resilient confrontation with the spectacle that was the UFC 178 media day brawl back […]

The post Jon Jones Calls Weight-Cutting Daniel Cormier ‘Crackhead With A Suit On’ appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Perhaps there has been no other UFC rivalry with the sheer amount of trash talk, backstory, and animosity than the over three-year spat between current light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and longtime former champion Jon Jones.

The two started off their resilient confrontation with the spectacle that was the UFC 178 media day brawl back in the summer of 2014, and after fighting once in early 2015, the foregone conclusion that was a rematch was then rescheduled more than once thanks to injuries from Cormier and a never-ending stream of drug-related troubles for Jones.

They’ll finally rematch in the main event of Saturday night’s (July 29, 2017) UFC 214 from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, and today, the two light heavyweight legends went face-to-face for what will hopefully rank as the final press conference of many. Due to that fact, Jones not surprisingly got the trash talk rolling early, snubbing a well-known MMA reporter before going off on “DC” as predicted.

It all started when Cormier was asked if he truly believed Jones had used steroids to get to the championship, to which the champ relied he believed he had and was not afraid to say it:

“Earlier this week, Jon about cried because I accused him of using steroids. Do I feel like he tried to cheat? Yeah I do. Why can I not say what I feel? Why can I not say what I want? If I believe it in my heart, I will say it. And yes, I do believe he’s done it for a long time, so I don’t care.”

Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea for USA TODAY Sports

Jones interrupted his opponent by asking how long he thought he’d been on the juice:

“How long do you think I’ve been doing steroids?”

Cormier gave an honest assessment of his view, believing Jones to have not used steroids only during the very first part of his career while being dirty for the vast majority of his time at the top:

“Well, you’ve earned the title fight, you know, so I imagine you’re about 3-0 in the UFC, so those first three fights. Ovince Saint Preux, Gusmao, and Forrest Bonnar – what’s that guy’s name that he beat? Yeah, Stephan Bonnar. Stephen Bonnar those three fights is when you didn’t do steroids, but everything else in the middle is eliminated.”

“Bones” then pointed out that he when he was attempting his comeback in early 2016 and posting videos of him lifting insane amounts of weights at a new powerlifting gym, USADA was in effect and he did not test positive, choosing to leave out the fact that he was removed from last summer’s UFC 200 rematch with Cormier for failing a USADA drug test:

“When I started powerlifting four days a week, with these chicken-ass legs , with these bad genetics, and I started deadlifting 600 pounds, squatting 500 pounds, USADA was in full effect. So how did I get away with that?”

Cormier clarified his words, adding that he didn’t believe Jones was on steroids for his lackluster defeat of Ovince Saint Preux at UFC 197 last year, and it showed:

“I’m not saying you did it last year versus Ovince Saint Preux. You were clean last year when you fought Ovince Saint Preux. That’s why you look like you look. You look like a bum.”

That’s when Jones took things up a level, sowing off his physique that has been a highly discussed topic this week:

(Lifts shirt up) “How do I look? How do I look DC?”

Never one to rely on the merits of his physique, Cormier brushed Jones’ six-pack off as vanity muscle:

“That’s all just for show.”

But Jones wasn’t playing, as he ripped into an obviously drained Cormier for actually being the one who looked like the junkie of the two, ending the assault with a vicious insult:

“Who looks like a junkie here? Look at this guy’s face. Who looks like a junkie here today? You look like a crackhead with a suit on.”

Finally, Cormier ended the back-and-forth by noting that while he can look like a crackhead with a suit on as long as he’s never been one like Jones had:

“I can look like a crackhead with a suit on, but I’ve never been a crackhead like you have though. So you can say I look like one, but I’ve never been one. I’ve never been one.”

The post Jon Jones Calls Weight-Cutting Daniel Cormier ‘Crackhead With A Suit On’ appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Glover Teixeira Is Ready To Go Five Rounds With Alexander Gustafsson

Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Glover Teixeira is getting ready for his upcoming fight against fellow UFC light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson at UFC Fight Night 109. Although the two fighters are known for their knockout power, Teixeira expects this fight to go the distance and has been working hard on his cardio […]

The post Glover Teixeira Is Ready To Go Five Rounds With Alexander Gustafsson appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Glover Teixeira is getting ready for his upcoming fight against fellow UFC light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson at UFC Fight Night 109. Although the two fighters are known for their knockout power, Teixeira expects this fight to go the distance and has been working hard on his cardio for the upcoming bout.

The reasoning behind Teixeira’s extra push for his condition is due to Gustafson’s history of pushing his opponents to their limits. His fights with Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier are a perfecting example of that. Teixeira put a ton of work into his upcoming fight as he spent three months preparing for it and is expecting to be in the octagon for 25 minutes.

“I think it could go all five rounds,” he told MMA Junkie. “Of course, I always look to finish as quickly as possible, by submission or knockout. But Gustafsson is tough, and he’s difficult put away. So I’m thinking it will probably last all rounds.”

Gustafsson is headlining his third UFC event and hoping to build on his winning streak after coming off a win over Jan B?achowicz after going 1-3 that includes losses to Jones, Cormier, and Anthony Johnson.

Sep 4, 2013; Belo Horizonte, BRAZIL; Glover Teixeira enters for his fight against Ryan Bader (not pictured) during UFC Fight Night at Mineirinho Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports

Teixeira anticipates using all of his skills in this upcoming fight and is ready for a grueling fight against Gustafsson.

“Gustafsson is extremely tough, and has very good physical conditioning,” Teixeira said. “He’s been a top fighter for several years. I’ve faced other opponents like him, so I know he’s difficult to fight. He walks and sometimes even runs around the octagon. So I have to be patient and make use of my agility. I’ll beat him. I don’t know how, but I’ll beat him. Either I’ll connect with a fist, or I’ll take him down and put my jiu-jitsu to work.”

On paper, the two fighters are similar. The only difference between them is that Gustafsson has had two shots at the light heavyweight title while Teixeira has only had one. Although Teixeira would like to have another fight for the title, his focus is on this upcoming fight, and then he will think about the future.

“My plan right now is to beat Gustafsson,” Teixeira said. “Then I’ll think about the future. Sometimes the UFC can be controversial. I try not to get involved in that. I try to just worry about what’s within my reach. I’ll worry about Gustafsson now, then we’ll decide what’s next.”

UFC Fight Night 109 takes place on Sunday, May 28, 2017, at Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden. The prelims will air on UFC Fight Pass with two bouts at 10 a.m. ET while four bouts will air on FOX Sports 1 at 11 a.m. ET. The main card will air on FOX Sports 1 at 1 p.m. ET with six bouts.

The post Glover Teixeira Is Ready To Go Five Rounds With Alexander Gustafsson appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Alexander Gustafsson Still Gunning For Jon Jones Rematch

Alexander Gustafsson is still on the hunt for Jon Jones. ‘The Mauler’ comes off of a unanimous decision win over Jan Blachowicz last September, where he snapped a two-fight losing skid to Anthony Johnson and Daniel Cormier. Feeling revitalized in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career after the win, Gustafsson will now step into the

The post Alexander Gustafsson Still Gunning For Jon Jones Rematch appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Alexander Gustafsson is still on the hunt for Jon Jones.

‘The Mauler’ comes off of a unanimous decision win over Jan Blachowicz last September, where he snapped a two-fight losing skid to Anthony Johnson and Daniel Cormier. Feeling revitalized in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career after the win, Gustafsson will now step into the Octagon against UFC veteran Glover Teixeira.

The pair will headline the UFC Fight Night 109 card from Gustasson’s hometown of Stockholm, Sweden on May 28th from the Ericsson Globe arena. Earlier today (Wed. March 29, 2017) a press conference in Sweden was held to promote the event, where Gustafsson was asked about his thoughts on a possible rematch with Jon Jones.

The UFC light heavyweight title will be contested for at UFC 210 between champion Daniel Cormier and No. 1-ranked Anthony Johnson next month (April 10th), and Jones – who is currently serving a one-year suspension from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) – is likely to get the first crack at the winner. The bout between Gustafsson and Teixeira could very well be heavily involved in the 205-pound title picture moving forward (quotes via MMA Junkie):

“Jones is one of those fights I think everybody wants,” Gustafsson said. “It’s a hard choice because you have the belt, and you have Jones. Jones is a true champ in my eyes (because he never lost the belt in the octagon). There’s no one like him, and to beat him would be as big as being the world champ.”

alexander gustafssonJones and Gustafsson fought in the main event of UFC 165 back in September of 2013. ‘Bones’ won the bout with a heavily controversial unanimous decision, after one of the greatest light heavyweight title fights of all time. They were originally set to rematch at UFC 178, however, Gustafsson was forced out of the bout do to a torn meniscus.

Now the Swede has an opportunity to get himself back in the mix for not only a shot at the 205-pound crown, but redemption against Jones, whom he feels he beat that night in Toronto. Before he begins planning any of that, however, Gustafsson is 100 percent focused on the task at hand, Teixeira:

“I will be the winner of this fight, I can tell you that,” Gustafsson said. “We’ll see what happens. My focus is on Glover right now. That’s a tough challenge for me. I’m going to score that, and we’ll see what happens for me. We’ll move forward.”

Teixeira is fine with the fact that Gustafsson is ultimately gunning for a rematch with Jones, as he would rather focus on becoming the light heavyweight champion of the world:

“Jones is coming back, so who knows (about a title shot),” Teixeira said. “But after I beat Gustafsson I can fight for the title, and Gustafsson can have his rematch with Jones.”

Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland of USA TODAY Sports

 

The post Alexander Gustafsson Still Gunning For Jon Jones Rematch appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Alexander Gustafsson Addresses Recent UFC Retirement Rumors

alexander-gustafsson-interv

https://youtu.be/tOtBqhpTmRY

Although there have been rumors to the contrary, former UFC title contender Alexander Gustafsson insists he is not hanging up his UFC gloves anytime in the near future.

Following back-to-back losses to Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and Daniel Cormier, the Swedish MMA star recalled being “really pissed” but doesn’t remember ever using the dreaded “R” word to describe his future plans.

“It was just one of those things, when you lose — I don’t even think I actually said ‘retiring,'” said Gustafsson during his appearance on this week’s edition of “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani. “I just came from a loss, I was really close to finishing [Cormier] and close to a win, and I was just pissed. I just lost a fight so I was really pissed, and maybe I said something about, like, maybe I wanted to take a break or something like that. Never retire.”

As Gustafsson continued, he explained that sometimes things like the recent rumors regarding his possible retirement from the sport just happen. In closing, however, he made sure to make it clear one final time that he isn’t “even close to retiring.”

“And you know, you say something, and something else comes out from the media. So it is what it is, but I never considered retiring and it wouldn’t happen, because it’s just one of those things you can’t just say, because it’s so much harder to really do it. This is what I do. This is what I am good at. It’s nothing that you just quit one day, so I wasn’t even close to retiring.”

Gustafsson returned to his winning ways following the two aforementioned losses to “Rumble” Johnson and Cormier by defeating Jan Blachowicz at the recent UFC Fight Night 93 event in Germany.

H/T to MMAFighting.com for transcribing the above Alexander Gustafsson quotes.

alexander-gustafsson-interv

https://youtu.be/tOtBqhpTmRY

Although there have been rumors to the contrary, former UFC title contender Alexander Gustafsson insists he is not hanging up his UFC gloves anytime in the near future.

Following back-to-back losses to Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and Daniel Cormier, the Swedish MMA star recalled being “really pissed” but doesn’t remember ever using the dreaded “R” word to describe his future plans.

“It was just one of those things, when you lose — I don’t even think I actually said ‘retiring,'” said Gustafsson during his appearance on this week’s edition of “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani. “I just came from a loss, I was really close to finishing [Cormier] and close to a win, and I was just pissed. I just lost a fight so I was really pissed, and maybe I said something about, like, maybe I wanted to take a break or something like that. Never retire.”

As Gustafsson continued, he explained that sometimes things like the recent rumors regarding his possible retirement from the sport just happen. In closing, however, he made sure to make it clear one final time that he isn’t “even close to retiring.”

“And you know, you say something, and something else comes out from the media. So it is what it is, but I never considered retiring and it wouldn’t happen, because it’s just one of those things you can’t just say, because it’s so much harder to really do it. This is what I do. This is what I am good at. It’s nothing that you just quit one day, so I wasn’t even close to retiring.”

Gustafsson returned to his winning ways following the two aforementioned losses to “Rumble” Johnson and Cormier by defeating Jan Blachowicz at the recent UFC Fight Night 93 event in Germany.

H/T to MMAFighting.com for transcribing the above Alexander Gustafsson quotes.