In an ESPN article by Brian Campbell earlier this month, UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman said he would love to take on UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
“I’ve got Anderson Silva on my mind, but if the fans wanted to see that fight…
“I’ve got Anderson Silva on my mind, but if the fans wanted to see that fight [against Jones] and the UFC wanted it to happen, I’m 1000 percent in.”
The newly crowned 185-pound champion stated beforehand he was not the type who says “Hey, you wanna fight?” but did note that he already ask to fight Jon Jones once before. Weidman stated that he threw his name in the ring for UFC 159 after Dan Henderson dropped out due to injury. According to Weidman, “I wasn’t a big enough name at that point, so they were like, no.”
It is unclear whether Weidman meant the UFC or Jon Jones’ camp turned down the fight.
A superfight with Jones would surely please the hardcore fans of the sport. However, there is a question of whether the battle would actually be a superfight for the more casual fans.
After all, the interest of casual fans is often what propels the UFC to put on less logistically sound bouts. For example, Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz and ChaelSonnen vs. Jon Jones were each put on partially because it could draw in more casual fans.
The less devoted of the MMA community are only now realizing the talent that Weidman wields. A second win against Silva at UFC 168 is a start, but Weidman likely needs two or three more high-quality wins for the UFC to truly consider a possible bout with Jones.
A superfight only makes sense for the UFC if big money can be made, as a champion has to lose some clout by stomaching a loss on his record. So for now fans simply have to hope both champions keep winning.
Former UFC light heavyweight great Tito Ortiz has teased the idea of a potential comeback to MMA.
One of Ortiz’s fellow UFC Hall of Famers, Stephan Bonnar, has yet to hint at a return from retirement, although he apparently still enjoys stirring up fri…
Former UFC light heavyweight great Tito Ortiz has teased the idea of a potential comeback to MMA.
One of Ortiz’s fellow UFC Hall of Famers, Stephan Bonnar, has yet to hint at a return from retirement, although he apparently still enjoys stirring up friction.
Bonnar, who retired in October, less than a month after getting outclassed by Anderson Silva at UFC 153, wasted little time responding to Ortiz’s claim that he didn’t deserve his induction into the UFC Hall of Fame.
Fan APE12A caught up with Bonnar at the UFC Fan Expo before UFC 162 and elicited this response from the runner-up of The Ultimate Fighter Season 1.
“I’m just gonna call it how it is. I’m gonna help him out. We all know he’s broke. We know Jenna took all his money. You know, Punishment Clothing—the only people I see wearing that nowadays are homeless people. His management company, you know—not making any money there. So I’m gonna help the poor guy get paid.”
Ortiz, the owner of Punishment Athletics, retired in July 2012 following his loss to Forrest Griffin at UFC 148. In his last 10 fights, which included just one title bout (a loss to Chuck Liddell), Ortiz mustered a 2-7-1 record.
After a year of being comfortably retired, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” made his first genuine indication that he could return to MMA via Twitter on July 10.
“Nice 2be a free agent. Need 2make a big decision 4my future 4my kids future. Nice 2 have a great surrounding and 2be healthy. #Positive 7yrs.”
Bonnar tested positive for the anabolic steroid Drostanolone following his devastating loss to “The Spider,” and subsequently got banned for a year from the UFC.
In the wake of Bonnar‘s UFC 153 debacle, “The American Psycho” announced his retirement at the age of 35.
Bonnar got inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame alongside fellow The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 finalist Griffin at the UFC Fan Expo. Bonnar didn’t, however, suggest that he has plans for a comeback, even for the potential opportunity to settle things with Ortiz.
Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix winner Daniel Cormier is still pushing for a light heavyweight title shot. While he called out UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones back at the final Strikeforce event back in January, the former USA Olympic Wrest…
Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix winner Daniel Cormier is still pushing for a light heavyweight title shot. While he called out UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones back at the final Strikeforce event back in January, the former USA Olympic Wrestling Team member has remained a force at heavyweight.
Speaking with UFC Tonight for their July 24 edition, he flatly stated that he was going to implore the UFC brass to let him jump the line for an immediate title shot at 205 lbs following his UFC 166 bout with Roy Nelson.
Though Cormier has been hinting that he wishes for shot at Jones’ belt, he has seemed relatively content working over top-10 heavyweights in the meantime. After beating Josh Barnett to cement himself as the top heavyweight in Strikeforce, he took on no-name light heavyweight Dion Staring in a heavyweight bout at Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine.
While he would rough up Staring and call out Jon Jones, he wound up facing long-time UFC heavyweight title contender Frank Mir in his first bout in the Octagon. He is now slated to face off with new rival Roy “Big Country” Nelson. Nelson and Cormier have been beefing mightily over the last month, with Cormier saying he wants to fight Nelson “for Dana White”, with Nelson labeling it “an Uncle Tom move.
Cormier is a relatively small heavyweight in terms of his height and frame, and questions about a potential drop to 205 lbs have always lingered. The move seemed unlikely for a long while due to a near-death experience stemming from his weight cut for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. However, with his friend and teammate, Cain Velasquez, reigning as heavyweight champion, he feels like the light heavyweight division is the best place to make a run for the belt, and is confident he can safely make weight
Jones is currently scheduled to face Alexander Gustafsson in September at UFC 165. Cormier, meanwhile, will face Nelson at UFC 166 on a to-be-determined date (which will likely be in October or November).
Chael Sonnen has never met a microphone or camera that he doesn’t love. The man is a one man press machine; promoting himself, the UFC and the sport of MMA (usually in that order) every chance that he gets. If there’s a subject Sonnen doesn’t have an o…
ChaelSonnen has never met a microphone or camera that he doesn’t love. The man is a one man press machine; promoting himself, the UFC and the sport of MMA (usually in that order) every chance that he gets. If there’s a subject Sonnen doesn’t have an opinion on the MMA world has yet to find it.
So, when Bleacher Report recently caught up with Sonnen we asked him his opinion on some other fighters that seem to get a lot of attention in the media, Nick and Nate Diaz. It’s not a surprise that Sonnen had some thoughts to offer on the fighters from Stockton.
Sonnen is set to headline UFC on Fox Sports 1 first UFC card on August 17 opposite former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
Chael Sonnen has never met a microphone or camera that he doesn’t love. The man is a one man press machine; promoting himself, the UFC and the sport of MMA (usually in that order) every chance that he gets. If there’s a subject Sonnen doesn’t have an o…
ChaelSonnen has never met a microphone or camera that he doesn’t love. The man is a one man press machine; promoting himself, the UFC and the sport of MMA (usually in that order) every chance that he gets. If there’s a subject Sonnen doesn’t have an opinion on the MMA world has yet to find it.
So, when Bleacher Report recently caught up with Sonnen we asked him his opinion on some other fighters that seem to get a lot of attention in the media, Nick and Nate Diaz. It’s not a surprise that Sonnen had some thoughts to offer on the fighters from Stockton.
Sonnen is set to headline UFC on Fox Sports 1 first UFC card on August 17 opposite former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
While the marquee for UFC on Fox 8 lists Demetrious Johnson vs. John Moraga as the main event, many people are looking at the welterweight battle between Jake Ellenberger and Rory MacDonald with just as much interest.
The two fighters are both ranked i…
While the marquee for UFC on Fox 8 lists Demetrious Johnson vs. John Moraga as the main event, many people are looking at the welterweight battle between Jake Ellenberger and Rory MacDonald with just as much interest.
The two fighters are both ranked in the top five in the division, and with a win it’s going to be hard to deny either one a title shot in the very near future.
Despite his name not being listed as the headline fight, Ellenberger knows what’s on the line when he faces MacDonald Saturday night in Seattle.
“I would definitely feel like this is a No. 1 contender’s fight, and I’ve been told that verbally, but you never know,” Ellenberger revealed when speaking to Bleacher Report. “In a division like this, we’ve got if not the toughest division in the UFC. It’s constantly changing. You see guys that are top three or top five, and they go out of the top ten. It’s changing so often.”
The measuring stick for Ellenberger is facing a fighter who, according to the official rankings from the UFC, is actually one spot ahead of him in the top ten. It’s safe to say Ellenberger doesn’t agree with that assessment, just like a certain comparison that gets thrown around quite often.
MacDonald is one of the main training partners of UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, and they are often placed in the same sentence when talking about the superior fighters coming out of their gym in Montreal.
While it’s true MacDonald and St-Pierre do train together, the gap in talent and skill couldn’t be further apart, according to Ellenberger.
He also says you can stop the discussion about the two of them fighting one another because not only does he plan on beating MacDonald at UFC on Fox 8, but if the two teammates ever did square off, the results would be pretty one-sided.
“Georges St-Pierre and Rory are two completely different fighters and two completely different styles,” Ellenberger said. “You look at GSP, he’s extremely skilled, he’s been on top for many years and he’s obviously proven time and time again that he’s the champ. For people to say that Rory’s this or Rory’s that, Rory’s the next GSP, Rory is GSP 2.0, give me a break. On what planet?
“That wouldn’t even be a close fight. It wouldn’t even be a good fight. You tell me where Rory is going to be as good as GSP matching in one area? It’s not true.”
Leading up to this fight, Ellenberger has taken a different approach when taking aim at MacDonald than many of his past opponents. It’s not so much in his training techniques as it is him poking at MacDonald via Twitter quite a few times over the last few months.
Throughout his fight career, Ellenberger has never had much use for trash talk, but for some reason this time he opted to have some fun at MacDonald’s expense.
“I do it for laughs,” Ellenberger said about his Twitter rants aimed at MacDonald. “Anybody can take anything personal. You should see some of the things people tweet me. I die laughing. It’s hilarious. Any time you’re in the spotlight, you can’t take things personally. In truth, it makes the fight more intriguing, but at the end of the day we’re still going to fight, and he can try to beat me up for saying it.”
Part of it also came from the fact that Ellenberger believes that to this point in his UFC career, MacDonald has skated by on a healthy dose of fear and respect from his past opponents. Add to that a couple of lightweights posing as welterweights, and Ellenberger is certain that MacDonald’s status is more than just a little more bloated than what he’s actually earned to this point.
“They give this kid too much respect,” Ellenberger commented. “We’ve had a lot of common opponents. He’s fought good friends of mine. Mike Guymon, Mike Pyle. He beat a couple of 55’ers. I mean, come on. B.J. Penn walks around at 167 pounds. His days of calling out who he’s fighting is over. You think you’re a top echelon fighter, well guess what? You’re not going to call who you fight. You’re not going to call the shots. You fight who they tell you to fight and prove that you’re the best in the world.”
While he’s not hiding his disdain for some of the praise that’s been heaped on MacDonald’s shoulders since coming to the UFC, Ellenberger still knows this is a dangerous fight.
At the same time, however, MacDonald’s status as the ‘next big thing’ could give Ellenberger the perfect platform to make an example out of him on live network television.
“There’s nothing he’s going to do that I haven’t seen. I’m doing so many things in training that I absolutely hate, but I’m going to do whatever it takes to win. It’s that psychological edge. I acknowledge what this kid does well. He’s got a lot of potential. He has some good kicks, he’s got a good jab, he’s got a good body shot, but that’s not going to change the way I fight him,” Ellenberger said. “He’s got a hell of a lot more to worry about than I do.”
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report, and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
In an ESPN article by Brian Campbell earlier this month, UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman said he would love to take on UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.