The rivalry between UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Rashad Evans wasn’t always this ugly. In fact, it was once a friendship. Sure, they were never best of friends. However, they spent plenty of time together, with Jones learning under…
The rivalry between UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Rashad Evans wasn’t always this ugly. In fact, it was once a friendship.
Sure, they were never best of friends. However, they spent plenty of time together, with Jones learning under Evans’ wing as he began his historic rise up the UFC ladder.
Then this happened: Jones admitted in an interview with Ariel Helwani that, if Dana White forced him to face Rashad, he would likely do it rather than risk being fired. That was the moment that changed everything for both men. It changed Evans’ life in a drastic manner, forcing him to leave his home at Greg Jackson’s gym for the climate and comfort of South Florida, where he became the founder of the Blackzilian fight team.
It also tore apart a management company. Glenn Robinson and Malki Kawa had merged their respective client rosters and were operating as one company. Robinson managed Evans and Kawa managed Jones. The bitter split between both fighters ultimately forced Robinson and Kawa to end their business agreement and go their separate ways.
Jones and Evans were scheduled to face off in August 2011, but a hand injury to Jones forced him to pull out of the fight. A few weeks after pulling out of the fight, Jones discovered that his hand injury wasn’t as serious as originally believed and opted to take a fight instead of undergoing surgery.
Unfortunately, Evans was already booked into a fight with Phil Davis at that point. Jones instead faced Rampage Jackson at UFC 135 in September.
Here we are, over a year later, and Jones and Evans are finally going to face off in the cage. Check out this extended preview that highlights the ever-widening chasm between two of the best fighters in the sport.
With the UFC still on the shelf until early next month, the rest of the mixed martial arts world has not taken a break in its absence. Numerous fight promotions put on great cards to keep MMA fans entertained this weekend.From Bellator to Superior Cage…
With the UFC still on the shelf until early next month, the rest of the mixed martial arts world has not taken a break in its absence. Numerous fight promotions put on great cards to keep MMA fans entertained this weekend.
From Bellator to Superior Cage Combat, from the United States to the United Arab Emirates, all sorts of MMA action went down this weekend.
When Chael Sonnen steps into the Octagon to challenge Anderson Silva for the UFC title, middleweight contender Tim Boetsch will be pulling for “The Spider” in hopes of one day receiving an opportunity of his own to dethrone the pound-for-pound juggerna…
When Chael Sonnen steps into the Octagon to challenge Anderson Silva for the UFC title, middleweight contender Tim Boetsch will be pulling for “The Spider” in hopes of one day receiving an opportunity of his own to dethrone the pound-for-pound juggernaut.
Chael showed a strong wrestler does well against him. The only thing that Chael failed to do was damage Anderson throughout the fight, and that’s kind of my specialty. I will deliver a high amount of damage from start to finish, and that would make a huge difference in the outcome of the fight.
Since dropping to middleweight, Boetsch has been flawless in ousting Kendall Grove, Nick Ring and former UFC title contender Yushin Okami.
The win over Okami at UFC 144, where he rallied from a two-round deficit to net the third-round knockout, was easily the biggest of Boetsch’s career.
Now, he is a top-10 middleweight contender, and in a division starving for fresh title contenders, “The Barbarian” isn’t far off in his title aspirations.
A lot of fighters out there are [scared of Silva]. They think of him as an invincible superhero. If you’re thinking that way about your opponent, you’ve already lost. I think that’s what happens to a lot of guys. They lose that fight before they even get in the cage with him.
Silva’s reign of terror has lasted nearly six years in the UFC. In all that time, no fighter has been able to stop him, but in August 2010, Sonnen gave others hope when there wasn’t any.
After months of trash talk, Sonnen backed up his words with a dominant performance against the champ for four-and-a-half rounds, but unfortunately for the Oregon native, he wasn’t able to seal the deal against Silva, who came from behind in dramatic fashion with a submission late in the fifth round.
Sonnen will get an opportunity to redeem himself in the title rematch rumored for June 29, and Boetsch will be sitting quietly on the sidelines hoping another monumental upset is averted.
I want Anderson to hold onto that belt until I get there. He is obviously a legend in the sport already. That being said, everybody has to lose eventually, and I want to be the guy to take that belt from him. That’s been a dream of mine for a long time.
Last week, the UFC premiered the new format for its flagship show The Ultimate Fighter. The first episode featured all of the fights to get into the TUF house shown live. This week’s episode is what we’ll be more likely to see this season.It star…
Last week, the UFC premiered the new format for its flagship show The Ultimate Fighter. The first episode featured all of the fights to get into the TUF house shown live. This week’s episode is what we’ll be more likely to see this season.
It starts with a recap of all of the events of the week, with a live fight taking place at the end of the episode.
I have to say that so far, I’m fan of the new format.
The UFC’s slogan is “As Real As it Gets,” and this format brings the show ever closer to achieving that notion. I got the sense in past seasons that sometimes events weren’t exactly as they appeared (events not occurring exactly the week they were shown, etc.). Editing can change a lot. This isn’t to say that there isn’t a lot of editing still going on; I mean you’re still essentially condensing a week’s worth of events into about 30 minutes.
What’s satisfying about the new format is that you feel as if you’re watching things exactly as they happen. It feeds that voyeuristic nature of reality television. I like how they sometimes put the day and time in the corner of a scene, so you know exactly when it occurred. There’s a certain immediacy to the format, as there’s also a countdown to the live fight.
Now, onto the actual episode:
With the 16 fighters moved into the house, the coaches get to choose their fighters.
Team Faber won the coin toss, so they had a choice between picking the first fighter or the first matchup. They chose the matchup, therefore Team Cruz picked the first fighter.
Cruz took Justin Lawrence, who probably was the most intriguing fighter from last week’s episode. He really does seem like a star in the making, although it’s still way too early to tell.
Faber took Al Iaquinta with his first pick, and here are the rest of the fighters, in the order they were picked:
Sam Sicilia (Cruz), Cristiano Marcello (Faber), Myles Jury (Cruz), Daron Cruickshank (Faber), Mike Rio (Cruz), Joe Proctor (Faber), James Vick (Cruz), Michael Chiesa (Faber), Vinc Pichel (Cruz), John Cofer (Faber), Chris Tickle (Cruz), Andy Ogle (Faber), Jeremy Larsen (Cruz) and finally, Chris Saunders (Faber).
Apparently, Chris Tickle wanted to be on Faber’s team and Cruz used a little psychology and picked him up instead.
This eventually proves to be a non-issue, as Tickle eventually states that he loves being on Cruz’s team.
Faber picks the matchup and decides to pit his third pick Daron Cruickshank against the lanky boxer James Vick. I thought Cruickshank was the second-most impressive fighter of last week. Faber thinks this will be a guaranteed win.
Michael Chiesa learns that his father passed away. He’s allowed to return home and later returns to the show.
We’re then shown Vick and Cruckshank’s training sessions
Vick works on using his length to his advantage and works on his submission game. Team Faber suspects that Team Cruz will try to emphasize Vick’s lankiness, so they work on Cruickshank’s submission defense. This should be a shoo-in.
The fight starts, and all goes as expected. The fighters don’t engage too much, and it’s mostly a stand-up affair. Vick seems hesitant, but stays at range, trying to utilize his reach. Cruickshank throws many flashy kicks, but doesn’t land anything too big. Cruickshank ducks down for a takedown, and Vick nails him with a knee.
Cruickshank is out cold.
Team Cruz goes nuts, and you can tell that Vick is elated. We head to the post-fight interviews, and Jon Anik does his best impression of Joe Rogan. The best part is when Anik interviews Cruickshank. He asks him to describe the challenge in staying focused in the house if he potentially gets a chance to return to the competition due to another fighter’s injury. Then, his parting words are “congratulations.” Got to love live TV.
Anik interviews Dana White, and White says that Faber may have underestimated Vick, seeing as how Vick beat Dakota Cochrane last week. Cochrane has a win over former WEC lightweight champ Jamie Varner.
To be fair, I thought Vick was a big underdog. Cruickshank looked well-rounded in his preliminary fight, while Vick wasn’t very impressive. What Vick does having going for him, besides his boxing, is his size. There’s literally no substitute for his size at his weight class. He used it to his advantage and nailed Cruickshank with a knee he never saw coming.
It’s time for next week’s fight announcement, and Cruz picks his No.1 guy, Justin Lawrence. To everyone’s surprise, Cruz decides to let Faber pick a fighter to go against him. Faber is taken aback and hesitates while he makes a decision. Faber asks, “Who’s ready to scrap now, guys?” And no one responds.
Faber gives control back to Cruz, and he chooses Faber’s No. 2 pick, Cristiano Marcello. Cruz obviously seems very confident in Lawrence, and this should be an interesting matchup. Lawrence primarily displayed striking skills in his preliminary fight, while Marcello was the former BJJ coach for the Chute Box gym in Brazil.
The tumultuous relationship between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and the UFC is quickly turning a once beloved champion into an eyesore for the MMA community. Since losing to Ryan Bader at UFC 144, Jackson has been in a back-and-forth contractual dispute …
The tumultuous relationship between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and the UFC is quickly turning a once beloved champion into an eyesore for the MMA community.
Since losing to Ryan Bader at UFC 144, Jackson has been in a back-and-forth contractual dispute with the UFC regarding financial figures.
According to Jackson, the promotion believes he has lost his appeal, and he isn’t worth the same numbers he was making when he first came in.
“After [my last bout] I was like, ‘I’m not putting my life on the line for these guys no more.’ They know what’s going on, but they’re still trying to make me look bad,” Jackson told Bas Rutten in an interview on HDNET. “They’re trying to make me lose my fan base. I don’t want to be part of the UFC.”
“If Dana doesn’t want me to be bigger than the UFC, then let me go. If they feel like I lost my appeal, then let me go. The UFC talks about how they’re in a billion homes and they’re making all this money, and yet, I’m making less money than I used to make with the UFC.”
Is the UFC trying to make Jackson “lose his fan base,” or are fans just witnessing another episode of sour grapes from a former champion coming off a major upset loss?
While the vast majority will likely pick a side to defend, the line between right and wrong may be more blurred than initially perceived.
Obviously, the UFC isn’t trying to kill Jackson’s fan base, but the disgruntled star does have his reasons for being upset with the promotion.
Most fans are oblivious to the strenuous training regimens and dieting a fighter has to undergo to compete at an elite level. It can be draining physically and mentally on a person. To fans, a fighter is only as good as his last fight.
Unfortunately for Jackson, he is coming off two consecutive losses, and in his most recent bout, he came in six pounds overweight.
“I think the UFC should say thank you to Rampage. This is my first time ever not making weight. They could tell that something was wrong. In my whole career, I’ve always been respectful to everybody and made weight. Why would I want to give 20 percent of my purse for not making weight?” asked Jackson.
After injuring his knee during training, Jackson was advised by his doctor to undergo Testosterone Replacement Therapy to make up for low testosterone levels and help with the healing.
While the treatments proved beneficial to Jackson’s overall health, the side effect was an excessive weight gain his camp wasn’t prepared to deal with. The knee injury prevented Jackson from doing his normal routines to cut the weight, and he wasn’t able to make 205 pounds by fight time.
When it comes to making weight and showing up to fight, Jackson has always been a model star in the UFC. Some will undoubtedly question his motivation in past bouts against Bader, Matt Hamill and Keith Jardine, but it’s amazing how one hiccup has shifted an entire view of a future all-time great.
Perhaps, people are still hung up over Jackson accepting the role of B.A. Baracus in the Hollywood rendition of The A-Team movie nearly three years ago.
While Jackson saw the opportunity as a chance to live out his childhood dreams and expand his family’s financial horizons, fight fans merely saw a money-grubbing prima donna postponing an anticipated bout with nemesis Rashad Evans.
Some fans haven’t been along for the ride as long as others, but for longtime Pride and UFC fans, Jackson has dedicated his entire life to fighting and entertaining.
None of this excuses his blunders and missteps over the years, but as a fan, it’s interesting to put yourself in the athlete’s shoes once in awhile. Jackson has worked hard for so many years, and instead of a thank you, people attack him for taking a role in a movie or missing weight for the first time.
How many other fighters have missed weight in the UFC on multiple occasions? How many fighters fail drug tests and don’t show up to press conferences? How many big names have ventured out into TV shows and movies?
The line between right and wrong is blurred because the UFC really aren’t in the wrong here either. It’s a business, and when a fighter’s performance declines, their paycheck should also take a hit. This philosophy applies to every sport.
UFC president Dana White puts a lot of effort into putting on big events and giving fans the fights they want to see. While he’s lenient enough to give fighters the chance venture out into other areas of entertainment, the UFC is ultimately his primary concern.
It isn’t good for business when extracurricular activities begin to affect a fighter’s Octagon performance.
The UFC aren’t taking Jackson’s fans away. They are leaving on their own accord. Some people are fans of Quinton Jackson, a funny personality with multiple talents, and others are fans of Rampage, a former Pride superstar and UFC light heavyweight champion.
The battle lines are drawn. Where do you stand?
Jordy McElroy is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. You can follow him on Twitter @JordyMcElroy for breaking news, updates and an occasional laugh here and there.
Now that Carlos Condit has the interim welterweight title, he is not going to chance losing it to anyone other than GSP. Recently, Condit said he would be willing to wait until GSP has rehabilitated his knee to fight the Canadian sensation and unify th…
Now that Carlos Condit has the interim welterweight title, he is not going to chance losing it to anyone other than GSP.
Recently, Condit said he would be willing to wait until GSP has rehabilitated his knee to fight the Canadian sensation and unify the titles once more.
It seems like a great many fighters mistake waiting for the virtue of patience. They are not the same thing.
Throughout the history of the fight game, activity has been the key ingredient in keeping a fighter sharp. Those skills which are vital to combative sports are quick to gather rust in the face of inactivity because training is one thing, fighting another.
When Fedor was fighting in Pride, he was at his best when he kept active. During the height of his glory, Fedor was fighting at least three times a year. In 2003, after capturing the Pride heavyweight title, he fought four more times. He fought five more times in 2004.
After the fall of Pride, Fedor began to fight less and less, and a decline in his skills followed—clear for all to see. He fought just twice in 2009, having difficulty in both fights (against Andrei Arlovski and Brett Rogers), and then just once in 2010, suffering his first loss in many years.
The rest of Fedor’s story is well known: two more defeats in 2011 and then the release from Strikeforce.
But Fedor is now atop a two-fight win streak, with both fights happening in the last two months of 2011.
Of course, there have always been exceptions to any given notion. Rashad Evans managed to come back from a 13-month layoff to lay a beating on Tito Ortiz, and he looked better than ever.
But more often than not, the longer a fighter stays on the shelf, the worse-for-wear his skills become.
While it is hard to fault a fighter for wanting to play it safe and step away in order to save a favorable position in ranking and standing, time on the sidelines also means a timeout period—as in out of sight, out of mind.
And if there is one thing Dana White has nailed, it is this: why sit it out and wait; you’re going to have to fight them all anyway.
Or, to put it another way: sometimes you fight the fights where you find them; other times, you fight them where they find you.
Last week, the UFC premiered the new format for its flagship show The Ultimate Fighter. The first episode featured all of the fights to get into the TUF house shown live. This week’s episode is what we’ll be more likely to see this season.