Tag: Daniel Cormier Injury

Countdown To UFC 197: Jon Jones vs. Ovince St. Preux

With last night’s UFC on FOX 19 from Tampa, Florida, in the books, the focus of the MMA world will immediately shift to next weekend’s awaited UFC 197 pay-per-view (PPV) event on April 23 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the main event, legendary former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will

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With last night’s UFC on FOX 19 from Tampa, Florida, in the books, the focus of the MMA world will immediately shift to next weekend’s awaited UFC 197 pay-per-view (PPV) event on April 23 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In the main event, legendary former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will finally make his long-awaited return from a lengthy legal battle against impromptu challenger Ovince. St. Preux for the interim belt after his originally scheduled grudge rematch with Daniel Cormier fell apart when “DC” injured his leg in training.

To get fan excited for the return of all-time great “Bones,” the customary Countdown to UFC 197: Jones vs. St. Preux was released on FOX Sports 1 this evening. Check it out here:

In the co-main event, decorated flyweight Demetrious Johnson will fight for his unprecedented eight straight 125-pound defense when he battle touted Olympic gold medalist wrestler Henry Cejudo. Check out the full Countdown to UFC 197: Johnson vs. Cejudo right here:

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‘Bones’ Quote: I’ll Fight Daniel Cormier In His Living Room

Former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones’ long-awaited rematch with current champion Daniel Cormier may have been unceremoniously scrapped from next weekend’s (Sat., April 23, 2016) UFC 197 from Las Vegas exactly two weeks ago, yet even though ‘Bones’ will now take on Ovince St. Preux, it would seem as if at least some of his

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Former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones’ long-awaited rematch with current champion Daniel Cormier may have been unceremoniously scrapped from next weekend’s (Sat., April 23, 2016) UFC 197 from Las Vegas exactly two weeks ago, yet even though ‘Bones’ will now take on Ovince St. Preux, it would seem as if at least some of his focus is still fixated on ‘DC’.

With MMA finally being signed into legalization in Jones’ home state of New York this week, the illustrious but troublesome legend not surprisingly aimed for the UFC’s anticipated New York debut at Madison Square Garden as the location of his inevitable grudge with Cormier, who is dealing with a foot injury for the next two months.

Blasting the champ during today’s (Fri., April, 15, 2016) UFC 197 media conference call (via MMA Fighting), Jones threw a barb at ‘DC’ by saying while he probably wouldn’t fight him in New York, he’d be wiling to take him on anywhere:

“Yeah, I would be honored to main event against Daniel Cormier at Madison Square Garden. The question is, you know will Daniel Cormier accept that fight. Daniel Cormier has had a lot of mental struggles when it comes to me and uh…” (laughs) “…that’s just one more thing that he doesn’t need. I’m sure he doesn’t want to fight me in my backyard, because he needs all the mental breaks he can get.

“So, who knows. I doubt he’d fight me at Madison Square Garden. But like I said, I’ll fight him wherever. The Oklahoma State wrestling room, his living room, whatever.”

Jones then turned his attention to the expected hot topic of his legal troubles outside the cage, where he was arrested on felony hit-and-run charges in Albuquerque last year before landing in jail for violating the probation he received for the first offense by supposedly drag racing after practice recently.

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The decorated champ, who lost his belt only due to his personal trouble, showed a bit of confidence — or arrogance, depending on your point of view — by stating that he’s already a hall of famer who can only stop himself be getting into hot water outside of the Octagon, a view that is hard to argue with:

“Only thing I need to do is just right things outside the Octagon,” he said. “I could never fight again and be put in the hall of fame. I’m not saying that to sound arrogant, but we all know it’s true. I have to do the right things outside the Octagon. That’s it. Nobody hearing my name in the news ever again, that’s a huge victory for me, and I’m going to try my hardest to make sure that happens.

“Outside of that, when it comes to actually fighting, I don’t really feel like I have much to prove to anybody. I’ve done some pretty amazing things in this sport, and fighting is a journey. You have your ups and downs, you have your wins and losses, and fortunately I’ve never lost. But wins and losses at this point in my life doesn’t really define who I am. I think I’m a champion the rest of my life. What goes into defining who I am is how I get my life under control outside of fighting.”

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Cormier On Pulling Out Of Jones Rematch: It Was The Right Thing To Do

Disappointing news broke last week when reigning 205-pound champion Daniel “DC” Cormier was forced to withdraw from his highly anticipated rematch with former boss Jon Jones due to injury. Cormier was originally reluctant to pull out of the bout against his most bitter rival, but at the end of the day, the former Olympian feels

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Disappointing news broke last week when reigning 205-pound champion Daniel “DC” Cormier was forced to withdraw from his highly anticipated rematch with former boss Jon Jones due to injury.

Cormier was originally reluctant to pull out of the bout against his most bitter rival, but at the end of the day, the former Olympian feels as if he made the right decision:

“It was the right thing to do,” Cormier told MMAjunkie. “I couldn’t have fought to the best of my ability under the circumstances. I wouldn’t have been my best. In order to fight Jon and beat Jon, I have to be at 100 percent. For all the issues we have and everything, I do respect who he is as a competitor. I do respect what he brings to the table. I need to be 100 percent if I’m going to beat this guy, so I’m at peace with my decision.”

In the wake of Cormier’s injury, the UFC has called on No. 6-ranked Ovince St. Preux to step up on short notice and clash with Jones at April 23’s UFC 197 for the interim light heavyweight strap.

The switch up hasn’t halted the intense rivalry between Cormier and Jones, however, as the two have consistently clashed on twitter in recent days.

In today’s day and age, bad blood and drama sells tickets, which is ultimately what it comes down to for the UFC, but “DC” assures us that the beef between he and Jones is ‘real’:

“The social media stuff I put out, a lot of that was due to me just getting out of that procedure and still being on morphine,” Cormier said. “It is what it is. Jon and I have a real-life thing that we go through and we go through it. That’s just what it is. To say anything different would actually be a lie. What Jon and I have is real.”

As far as when the rematch will actually take place, the champion isn’t sure at this point, although his injury shouldn’t keep him out of action too long.

One possibility could be scheduling the two to meet at the UFC’s first card in New York which will likely take place next fall. Jones, a native of the Empire State, has always expressed his interest in fighting at Madison Square Garden, but that timeline doesn’t seem to work for “DC”:

“I don’t know when the next opportunity would be for us,” Cormier said. “I don’t know what the realistic thing would be. I don’t want to delay this thing very long. I hate the fact I had to delay it to begin with. I prefer to do it as soon as I can when I’m healthy.

“(New York is) way too far. I’m 37 years old. I need to be fighting. To have to wait all that time would be a little too much.”

How do you see the rematch playing out when it does indeed occur?

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Jon Jones Pleads Not Guilty To Recent Drag Racing Charges

Troubled former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones had his scheduled UFC 197 (April 23, 2016) interim title tilt with No. 6-ranked Ovince St. Preux put into jeopardy when he was jailed last week due to violating his probation standards after receiving multiple traffic violations. “Bones” was reportedly pulled over by a New Mexico

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Troubled former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones had his scheduled UFC 197 (April 23, 2016) interim title tilt with No. 6-ranked Ovince St. Preux put into jeopardy when he was jailed last week due to violating his probation standards after receiving multiple traffic violations.

“Bones” was reportedly pulled over by a New Mexico State police officer who claimed that he was ‘drag racing’, a claim that the fighter has repeatedly dubbed as false.

Jones then proceeded to engage in a verbal war with the officer, and eventually ended up with five traffic tickets he felt as if he didn’t deserve.

Luckily for the reigning pound-for-pound king, however, he was released from custody without any serious repercussions, although he will have to appear in traffic court next month (May 11, 2016).

According to FOX Sports, the former divisional kingpin has plead not guilty to the charges.

Jones’ team feels very confident that the fighter will be let off the hook rather easily, and his lawyers actually voiced their disagreement with the tickets last week in court:

“We believe that they are bogus,” she said.

“We believe that he was profiled.”

Despite having his originally scheduled rematch with bitter rival and defending champion Daniel Cormier put on hold after “DC” suffered an injury, “Bones” still has a somewhat risky task on his hands.

While many aren’t considering OSP a serious threat, Jones will be making his return to action after well over a year on the sidelines opposite a powerful and athletic southpaw.

How do you see the bout, as well Jones’ future playing out?

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Ovince St. Preux: I Can Finish Jon Jones, I’m A Beast

Less than a year ago, No. 6-ranked light heavyweight competitor Ovince St. Preux was essentially dominated and finished by former title challenger Glover Teixeira in the main event of UFC Fight Night 73. He has since bounce backed with a rather forgetful decision victory over Rafael Cavalcante at February’s UFC Fight Night 82. Despite not

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Less than a year ago, No. 6-ranked light heavyweight competitor Ovince St. Preux was essentially dominated and finished by former title challenger Glover Teixeira in the main event of UFC Fight Night 73.

He has since bounce backed with a rather forgetful decision victory over Rafael Cavalcante at February’s UFC Fight Night 82.

Despite not necessarily making any major statements recently, OSP will now take on the reigning pound-for-pound king, and a man many consider to be the greatest fighter of all-time in Jon “Bones” Jones at April 23’s UFC 197 for the interim 205-pound strap.

St. Preux was given the opportunity of a lifetime after current divisional kingpin Daniel Cormier suffered an injury last week.

While many have already counted him out, St. Preux actually feels as if much of the pressure lies on Jones, who hasn’t competed in well over a year, in the upcoming bout.

In fact, the former collegiate football player feels as if he can hang with the division’s elite:

“(The interim-championship title) adds a little more pressure,” Saint Preux told MMA Junkie. “Not to me, but to him. In a situation like that, what do you have to lose?

“At times, I feel I do better on short notice,” Saint Preux said. “It’s going to get a little hectic in the next two, three weeks. But at least it wasn’t like that for the last three or four months, so I don’t have to do any adjustments at all. All the adjustment’s on (Jones). You look at me, and I’m a pretty good fighter. I can hold my own with the best of them.”

Despite currently standing a step below the division’s upper echelon, OSP is indeed a freak athlete, and a very powerful one at that.

With that being said, St. Preux even went as far as to say that he has the ability to put Jones away if an opportunity were to present itself:

“I might not put you away, but you’re going to feel it, and your knees are going to buckle. And if I hit you with a third one, it will put you away. That’s the happy medium I’ve been working on,” Saint Preux said. “Guys like that, you break them out of their pattern, and that’s what I intend to do. If I have the opportunity to finish him, I’m going to go ahead and take that opportunity. I guarantee you, he knows, as well as his camp knows, I can do that if the opportunity presents itself.

“He’s a beast, and I’m a beast, too. We both can do some beast (expletive).”

Are you giving OSP any chance against “Bones” in Las Vegas?

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Jon Jones: DC Is An Absolute Coward Who Will Never Beat Me

After an injury forced UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel “DC” Cormier out of his highly anticipated rematch with the returning former king Jon “Bones” Jones at April 23’s UFC 197, it was recently announced that No. 6-ranked Ovince St. Preux would step up to meet Jones for the interim 205-pound strap. Cormier, appearing on today’s

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After an injury forced UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel “DC” Cormier out of his highly anticipated rematch with the returning former king Jon “Bones” Jones at April 23’s UFC 197, it was recently announced that No. 6-ranked Ovince St. Preux would step up to meet Jones for the interim 205-pound strap.

Cormier, appearing on today’s (April 4, 2016) edition of the MMA Hour, discussed his injury, while offering St. Preux the chance to train, all expenses paid, at the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) in the lead up to the bout.

Jones, who also appeared on the show, took this offer as a sign of weakness from Cormier, taking the chance to rip the champion in the process:

“Daniel is an absolute coward who will never beat me,” Jones said on The MMA Hour. “And I say that not from an arrogant place. I say that from a place where, me getting my belt back, it means everything to me. That belt right now is a big part of my life. It means everything to me. Me losing to OSP should be the last thing that [Cormier] would want, because if I were to somehow lose, that means he doesn’t get to avenge his only loss.”

Continuing on, “Bones” claimed that Cormier is ‘grateful’ to have pulled out of the fight, once again confirming that Cormier will never get the better of him inside of the Octagon:

“His inviting OSP to his training camp shows me that he’s so grateful that he’s not fighting me in three weeks,” Jones said. “That he’s so grateful that he gets to have one more family photo-op with that belt, because he knows that he’s not going to beat me, especially now with a knee injury. He’s going to be nursing his knee to get back to 100-percent. I’m going to just be getting stronger, better, faster, more rehearsed in my game plan to beat him.

“So, Daniel, man, he’s a mental midget. I’m not worried about Daniel. Obviously him inviting OSP shows that he’s so lucky he’ll be watching from the sidelines and not actually in that cage with me.”

In the end, the pound-for-pound king took to his official twitter account to take one more shot at his bitter rival, framing Cormier as a ‘pu**y’:

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