Tag: Forrest Griffin

Jon Jones vs. Rampage Jackson: Who Will Be Lyoto Machida’s Next Opponent?

It’s looking more and more as the days go by as though the next fight for the light heavyweight title will be between healing champion Jon “Bones” Jones and top contender Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Jones himself announced this in an interview…

It’s looking more and more as the days go by as though the next fight for the light heavyweight title will be between healing champion Jon “Bones” Jones and top contender Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Jones himself announced this in an interview with MMAJunkie.com on Thursday. While no contract has been signed and no date has been set, it seems to me that when it comes directly from the champion’s mouth, it should be a pretty reliable source.

We all know the history of Jones’ first title defense. First it was going to be Rashad Evans, but then Jones’ injury came along, forcing Evans to  instead fight Phil Davis this August. That left a vacancy in the challenger spot, and speculation has been non-stop as to who would get the first shot at Bones’ title.

All the recent buzz was surrounding two men: Rampage or Lyoto Machida? With the announcement this week that Rampage and Jones are set to go, where does that leave Machida? Who will “The Dragon” fight next?

Some quick deductive logic in terms of timing and fan excitement sees a scenario where four or possibly five top light heavyweights could be the next to face a crane kick to the teeth.

In early August, Evans will fight “Mr. Wonderful” Phil Davis in UFC 133, and I can see the winner of that match being next for Machida. I’m sure “Suga” would welcome a rematch if he wins, as the knockout loss to Machida put an end to his own brief title run. But if Davis wins, he will simply be looking  up toward the next rung on the the ladder, and Machida is it.

At the end of August in Brazil, for UFC 134, the man who lost the belt to Jones—Mauricio “Shogun” Rua—will fight popular contender Forrest Griffin, who is coming off a long layoff outside the cage. I see the winner of this fight also being in line for a fight with Machida. Machida and Rua have fought twice, with each winning once. Even though some people feel that Rua has two wins over Machida, a rubber match would surely draw interest.

Griffin has never faced Machida, but the two are currently in the same neighborhood in several world rankings, and this match-up would be very intriguing.

Aside from the winners of these two bouts there is one more man in the mix to fight Machida and, in my opinion, that is Ryan Bader. If Bader absolutely dominates Tito Ortiz in July as he should, I believe the timing would be perfect for a Machida-vs.-Bader match-up. The Dragon has some nice momentum and buzz right now from his KO of Couture at the end of April, and UFC may not want to wait for the August winners to recover, maybe instead pushing for Bader.

So there are the possibilities. And what does my crystal ball say? It says that Rashad beats Davis in early August, and has a rematch against Machida on the same card as Jones vs. Rampage late this year.

 

Dwight Wakabayashi is a correspondent for Bleacher Report MMA (also for MMACanada.net).

Catch him on Twitter @wakafightermma

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Clay Guida and 10 Fighters Who Would Benefit Most from Having 5-Round Fights

It’s getting to the point where fights will need to go more than three rounds to determine a clear winner. There have been many recent instances where fans have wished a fight had been five rounds instead of three.Not only would it result in more finis…

It’s getting to the point where fights will need to go more than three rounds to determine a clear winner. There have been many recent instances where fans have wished a fight had been five rounds instead of three.

Not only would it result in more finishes, it would also be an intriguing challenge for each fighter to fight harder when the fight gets deep in the fourth and fifth rounds, and their are many who do this already but rarely get to show it because they aren’t fighting for a title.

These are 10 non-champions who would benefit most from five-round fights.

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UFC 130: Does Quinton "Rampage" Jackson Deserve a Title Shot?

UFC 130: Rampage vs. Hamill was a fairly lackluster card in terms of the importance of the fights.An event that was originally slated to contain a rematch of Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard in addition to an explosive matchup between Rampage Jackson and…

UFC 130: Rampage vs. Hamill was a fairly lackluster card in terms of the importance of the fights.

An event that was originally slated to contain a rematch of Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard in addition to an explosive matchup between Rampage Jackson and Thiago Silva instead became riddled with injuries and was relegated to UFC 127-like status.

Still, the card was filled with fights that, while not necessarily making clear No. 1 contenders, allowed for title run talks to begin. Amongst these fighters were Rick Story, Frank Mir, and Rampage Jackson.

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UFC News: Shogun Claims Jon Jones Was the Best Fighter He’s Faced

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua has faced many top fighters in his MMA career. But the former UFC light heavyweight champion considers Jon Jones the best. Rua fought Jones at UFC 128 in March. Rua was dominated the entire fight, losing by TKO in the …

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua has faced many top fighters in his MMA career.

But the former UFC light heavyweight champion considers Jon Jones the best.

Rua fought Jones at UFC 128 in March. Rua was dominated the entire fight, losing by TKO in the third round.

Shogun has beat UFC greats Mark Coleman, Chuck Liddell, Lyoto Machida and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Rua has also defeated current Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem twice.

But Rua told ESPN that Jones was the toughest.

“After the Jon Jones fight I gave it a lot of thought, I reflected a lot, I thought about my training…everything. I came to some conclusions, but I don’t want to take anything away from Jones, he’s a good fighter.

I have given it a lot of thought because I hope to fight him again one day.”

Despite beating both Lyoto Machida and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in the past, Rua will have to wait in line for a title shot.

Although it’s something he doesn’t want to do, he knows it is “a part of the game.” Rua’s climb to the top begins with the first man he ever faced in the UFC, Forrest Griffin.

Despite being heavily favored to win, Rua lost the fight by rear naked choke.

Rua will have a chance to avenge that lost and get back on top in his home country of Brazil, at UFC 134.

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Relentless Attacks: Clay Guida and the Top 10 UFC Fighters with Limitless Cardio

Clay Guida is currently preparing for the biggest fight of his career.Clay has been with the UFC for a long time now and is currently riding a three fight win streak.As a result of his recent success, Guida has earned himself a shot at former WEC light…

Clay Guida is currently preparing for the biggest fight of his career.

Clay has been with the UFC for a long time now and is currently riding a three fight win streak.

As a result of his recent success, Guida has earned himself a shot at former WEC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis.

Pettis is a more technically skilled fighter than Guida so, if Clay wants to pull off a win here, he’s going to have to fight this fight his way.

Luckily, making other fighters fight his fight is something that Guida is very good at doing.

Clay fights at a relentless pace, sticks on his opponents and wears them down. The reason he’s able to utilize this strategy so effectively is Clay has a seemingly endless gas tank.

Cardio is an important thing for any fighter. Frequently we fighters defeating more technically skilled opponents because they are able to outwork them.

With that in mind, let’s take a look the top 10 fighters in the UFC with limitless cardio…

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UFC Rio: Mauricio Rua’s Coach Says Rua Will Improve His Skills at New Camp

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is one of the best fighters at 205 lbs, but his coach Rafael Cordeiro hopes he can recapture his dominance that made him a champion. But since the former UFC light heavyweight champion has reunited with his longtime coach, Co…

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is one of the best fighters at 205 lbs, but his coach Rafael Cordeiro hopes he can recapture his dominance that made him a champion. 

But since the former UFC light heavyweight champion has reunited with his longtime coach, Cordeiro said he plans to fix some of his weaknesses that were present in his loss to Jon Jones at UFC 128. 

“The training here will make him stronger, but we’re not a miracle house,” Cordeiro told Sherdog.com. 

“This is a place where he’ll work hard, a place where he’ll make sure he’ll never again fight like he did against Jones.”

The talks of Rua joining Kings MMA came at the request of Cordeiro, who will help the Brazilian prepare for his upcoming bout against Forrest Griffin at UFC Rio. Rua and Griffin last met in 2007, in a bout that saw Griffin upset his opponent in unpredictable fashion, in which Griffin earned the victory via rear naked choke. 

At the time, Rua was making his debut for the UFC and was highly touted as the best light heavyweight in the world. 

Cordeiro added that bringing Rua into Kings MMA was discussed prior to his title bout against Jones.

“We talked before the Jon Jones fight, but some family issues prevented him from coming to the U.S.,” Cordeiro said.

“It was easy to convince him because of our friendship and affection.”  

And it is because of their friendship that has Cordeiro convinced Rua will evolve and perform better at UFC Rio. 

“I was his coach from the time he was a white belt until he was a black belt. No one knows him as I do, and I can say there is a lot we can add here to improve on his game.” 

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