Tag: Greg Jackson

Rashad Evans Continues His Anti-Jackson Campaign Heading Into UFC 145


(Alright, Rashad, you know what to do. As soon as he offers to shake your hand, pull away at the last second and then just stroll past him like a boss.) 

The war of words between former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans and current champ Jon Jones has been brewing for what feels like forever, so much so that anyone within arms reach of either man has come under fire in the past few weeks. And at the epicenter of these disputes is none other than Evans’ former coach and Jones’ current one, Greg Jackson. Yes, ever since Rashad left Team Jackson for the greener pastures of Blackzilia, he has been rather candid when discussing what he believes was a betrayal on Jackson’s part.

When we last caught up with these two, Jones attempted to explain his side of the story, basically saying that Jackson has tried on numerous occasions to reconcile with Evans, who has instead opted to bash “the program and the history” of Team Jackson. A history that Evans himself helped build, nonetheless. “Suga,” on the other hand, felt that Jackson simply traded in his Cutlass Classic for a brand new Buick Lacrosse, so to speak. And in a recent interview with MMAWeekly, Evans expanded upon this notion, choosing to use Greg Jackson’s name as much as humanly possible:

Like I told Greg at the time, I told Greg I don’t think it would be a good idea, but Greg did what Greg wanted to do for Greg. That’s why Greg brought him on because Greg wanted to do what he wanted to do for Greg.

That’s the thing about him. Greg talks about ‘for the team, for the team.’ The team consists of ‘I’ which is Greg Jackson. That’s what the team consists of, it’s about Greg Jackson getting the ‘Coach of the Year’ awards. That’s what it consists of.

Though we all know that Greg has always been a man of the people, this seems like an unnecessarily brutal criticism by Evans, does it not?


(Alright, Rashad, you know what to do. As soon as he offers to shake your hand, pull away at the last second and then just stroll past him like a boss.) 

The war of words between former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans and current champ Jon Jones has been brewing for what feels like forever, so much so that anyone within arms reach of either man has come under fire in the past few weeks. And at the epicenter of these disputes is none other than Evans’ former coach and Jones’ current one, Greg Jackson. Yes, ever since Rashad left Team Jackson for the greener pastures of Blackzilia, he has been rather candid when discussing what he believes was a betrayal on Jackson’s part.

When we last caught up with these two, Jones attempted to explain his side of the story, basically saying that Jackson has tried on numerous occasions to reconcile with Evans, who has instead opted to bash “the program and the history” of Team Jackson. A history that Evans himself helped build, nonetheless. “Suga,” on the other hand, felt that Jackson simply traded in his Cutlass Classic for a brand new Buick Lacrosse, so to speak. And in a recent interview with MMAWeekly, Evans expanded upon this notion, choosing to use Greg Jackson’s name as much as humanly possible:

Like I told Greg at the time, I told Greg I don’t think it would be a good idea, but Greg did what Greg wanted to do for Greg. That’s why Greg brought him on because Greg wanted to do what he wanted to do for Greg.

That’s the thing about him. Greg talks about ‘for the team, for the team.’ The team consists of ‘I’ which is Greg Jackson. That’s what the team consists of, it’s about Greg Jackson getting the ‘Coach of the Year’ awards. That’s what it consists of.

Though we all know that Greg has always been a man of the people, this seems like an unnecessarily brutal criticism by Evans, does it not?

Since leaving Team Jackson, Evans has gone into Josh Koscheck mode when questioned on anything semi-related to his former camp, and it’s beginning to come off as bitter more than anything else at this point. Considering that ninety percent of Evans’ success as a fighter came during his time at Team Jackson, his sudden willingness to discredit the same camp that propelled him to a championship seems both counter intuitive to his own success and honestly, rather shallow.

The question you have to ask yourself is this: Did Greg Jackson really do anything wrong by taking Jones under his wing? It’s understandable that Evans would expect a little loyalty, or perhaps preference, over Jones, being that they are in the same weight class, but who is Evans to tell Jackson who he can and cannot train with? From a business standpoint, it simply doesn’t make sense to limit one’s abilities as a coach to a select group of people, especially in an ever-growing sport such as MMA. There’s no reason to believe that these two could not be members of the same gym, even if they would eventually run into one another down the line. Not every team has to be run like AKA, where members of each camp flat out refuse to fight each other. Dana White has even said that teammates should be willing to fight each other simply because it’s what they are paid to do. It doesn’t mean they can’t be friends, it just means that they are both willing to do anything to become the best at what they do. The fact of the matter is, MMA is not a team sport, so to expect complete undying loyalty from one’s team is a bit of a bloated notion. This is why you don’t start a business with friends.

And what Evans doesn’t seem to realize is that, yes, by taking on a phenom like Jon Jones, Greg Jackson was protecting his best interests. As a coach, as a businessman, and as a professional, he saw a talent and wanted to help shape it. For Evans to say otherwise would simply reverse the scenario, in turn choosing to protect his own interests over that of his coach. Evans even went as far as to say that he would never bring someone into his camp with a chance of being a contender after the whole Team Jackson debacle:

I wouldn’t do that; I wouldn’t put myself in the position again. I wouldn’t bring myself with somebody that I knew would be a contender.

Well, all we can say to that kind of mentality is good luck, Mr. Evans. Because, as we all know, the quickest way to elevate your game is to train with people that you are leagues ahead of in terms of skill set and accomplishments. We hope that no one in “Suga’s” team actually becomes a decent fighter, because that will be the quickest way to earn one’s walking papers, it seems.

-J. Jones

[VIDEO] Jon Jones and Rashad Evans Trade Insults on ‘Ultimate Insider’


(So wait, it ISN’T casual Friday?) 

Thank Science, the UFC’s six week drought is finally coming to an end. After Alexander Gustafsson and Thiago Silva throw down at this weekend’s UFC on FUEL event in Sweden, Rashad Evans will finally get the chance to slay the metaphorical white whale, that has long alluded him when he takes on former friend/current foe Jon Jones at UFC 145. These two have been going at it for what seems like years now, and when the pair sat down alongside Jon Anik on a recent episode of Ultimate Insider, things got heated rather quickly.

It all started (at least this time) when Anik brought up Greg Jackson, who will in fact be cornering Jones against Evans come April 21st. Ever since Evans departed from Team Jackson, let’s just say that he and Greg haven’t been on the best of terms. Or even speaking terms, for that matter. Jones, however, feels that the rift between them is mainly due to Evans constant bashing of the very camp he helped build. Here’s what he began to say:

Greg, he said, basically, Rashad is always welcome back. You know, Rashad will always be like a brother to me. You know, he spoke so highly of Rashad. On numerous occasions, he really did everything he could to keep some type of rapport.

Evans quickly chimed in, “He did everything, but he didn’t even give me a call and talk to me. He did everything but couldn’t do the simplest thing.”

Jones brushed off the remark, stating, “On the other hand, you have Rashad, who’s bashing the program and the history -”

It was at this point that Rashad all but flew off the handle, claiming that he was Team Jackson’s history, and that Jones was basically just riding on his coattails. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Anik tried to remain calm while cautiously scanning the Ultimate Insider studio for someone big enough to separate these two if need be, because it sure as shit wasn’t going to be him.

Check out the full video after the jump.


(So wait, it ISN’T casual Friday?) 

Thank Science, the UFC’s six week drought is finally coming to an end. After Alexander Gustafsson and Thiago Silva throw down at this weekend’s UFC on FUEL event in Sweden, Rashad Evans will finally get the chance to slay the metaphorical white whale, that has long alluded him when he takes on former friend/current foe Jon Jones at UFC 145. These two have been going at it for what seems like years now, and when the pair sat down alongside Jon Anik on a recent episode of Ultimate Insider, things got heated rather quickly.

It all started (at least this time) when Anik brought up Greg Jackson, who will in fact be cornering Jones against Evans come April 21st. Ever since Evans departed from Team Jackson, let’s just say that he and Greg haven’t been on the best of terms. Or even speaking terms, for that matter. Jones, however, feels that the rift between them is mainly due to Evans constant bashing of the very camp he helped build. Here’s what he began to say:

Greg, he said, basically, Rashad is always welcome back. You know, Rashad will always be like a brother to me. You know, he spoke so highly of Rashad. On numerous occasions, he really did everything he could to keep some type of rapport.

Evans quickly chimed in, “He did everything, but he didn’t even give me a call and talk to me. He did everything but couldn’t do the simplest thing.”

Jones brushed off the remark, stating, “On the other hand, you have Rashad, who’s bashing the program and the history -”

It was at this point that Rashad all but flew off the handle, claiming that he was Team Jackson’s history, and that Jones was basically just riding on his coattails. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Anik tried to remain calm while cautiously scanning the Ultimate Insider studio for someone big enough to separate these two if need be, because it sure as shit wasn’t going to be him.

“The history?!” Evans interrupted:

I made that history! What are you talking about? I’m the one who helped make that history! You’re the one who came into it. You came into it! Don’t talk about the history, when you have no roots in the history! Don’t talk about — I helped make Greg Jackson! I helped make him the reason why you even wanted to come there and train. So, don’t talk to me about the history of the team, bro! Don’t talk to me about the history of the program because, motherf*cker, I made that program.

Jones kept his cool, firing back that “There’s more to Jackson’s than the four or five or six UFC fighters that’s on the program. It’s the kids who aren’t in the UFC.”

We gotta say, this is perhaps the most fluent and composed we have seen Jones in an interview scenario. Sure, it sounded a little weird when he declared that all of the non-UFC fighters in Team Jackson “loved him” and that “it was his team now,” but he managed to turn nearly all of Evans’ words against him like a seasoned trash-talker.

Take the following verbal exchange for instance, which came after Evans claimed he “already knew” what Team Jackson was going to tell Jones to do in the cage. When Jones replied that the only weapons Evans possessed were his right hand and his wrestling, Evans thought he had the end all response, but was instantly shut down:

Evans – “Jon, you just showed me why exactly you’re going to lose.”
Jones – “Why’s that?”
Evans- “‘Cause you think you know.”
Jones – “And you think you know. You just said that. Yo, you’re weird, bro.”

Point – Jones

The fact is, no matter what Evans claims to have in his arsenal that he hasn’t displayed in some 14 UFC fights, it is undoubtedly true that Jones brings more diversity to the table than he does. And for Evans to state that he knows what someone as inventive as Jones is going to do seems a little ludicrous, especially when Jones was spot on in his analysis of Evans.

To be fair, Evans made some great points when it came to the somewhat questionable loyalty of Greg Jackson’s gym, using Carlos Condit as a prime example:

 That’s why I feel so disrespected. It’s like, ‘So, now Greg, you’re gonna go against me? You’re gonna go against me, right? You gonna go against Georges St. Pierre? Oh, okay. You gonna bring in Carlos Condit? He helped make you too. So where does your loyalty lie?’ So, if you’re gonna go against the people that helped make you, and I was somebody like in Jon’s position, I’d be like, ‘Man, if he’ll go against some people that were with him, to help him get his notoriety, to help him get where he is, then damn, what would he do to me?’

Point – Evans.

We haven’t been treated to a grudge match this intense in quite some time, so if you’re not planning on ordering, stealing, or watching UFC 145 from your neighbor’s apartment via a pair of binoculars, it’s safe to say that you’ll be missing out. We haven’t prodded you on this particular match for at least a week, so who you got for this one?

-J. Jones

Video: ‘UFC Primetime–Jones vs Evans’ Episode 1

Primetime Part I (Video via: YouTube/WeedIsJustAPlanttt)

Despite the brooding drama built into the upcoming Jon Jones-Rashad Evans title fight at UFC 145, the latest installment of the UFC Primetime franchise has a decidedly more mature aura about it. No more fire-alarm monologues, no more interviews with grade school teachers. We’re dealing with big people problems. Rashad Evans has lost just about everything in his life over the past year, and he places a lot of that blame on the shoulders of his former teammates. While other matchups may have produced more vitriol for the cameras, few have the depth behind them as this rivalry.

Come on in for a breakdown of the highlights and Part II of the video.

Primetime Part I  (Video via: YouTube/WeedIsJustAPlanttt)

Despite the brooding drama built into the upcoming Jon Jones-Rashad Evans title fight at UFC 145, the latest installment of the UFC Primetime franchise has a decidedly more mature aura about it. No more fire-alarm monologues, no more interviews with grade school teachers. We’re dealing with big people problems. Rashad Evans has lost just about everything in his life over the past year, and he places a lot of that blame on the shoulders of his former teammates. While other matchups may have produced more vitriol for the cameras, few have the depth behind them as this rivalry.

 

“He has a book of notes that he takes, and it’s like a book of moves, and he reads this book of moves so that way when he fights the moves are fresh in his head. So I go in there in the locker room to wish him luck and I’m giving him daps and hugs and I’m going to warm him up, and I go and sit next to him when he’s looking at the book of notes and he covers it, and he puts it down and he looks at me. I’m like, ‘Damn, bro, it’s like that?’ Like, ‘For real?’ So then I knew at that point that I was next on the menu.” Rashad Evans, on the first time he realized he and Jones were destined to be better enemies than friends.

 

We start off in sunny Florida with an establishing shot of Rashad’s new crib. Over the past 12-months he’s divorced his high school sweetheart, severed ties with his ‘family’ at Jackson’s MMA Academy, and packed his bags for Florida to begin life anew. That’s a hell of an upheaval, and it must be taking an emotional toll on Rash…damn, did you see that ‘lac? Suga’s going to be alright, y’all.

 

“A few years ago Greg Jackson approached me with the idea of having Jon Jones join the camp. And I was like, ‘Man, this kid looks pretty good. He looks like an up and coming guy.’ And I was like, ‘Greg, I don’t really feel comfortable with him coming on the team, being that he’s going to be somebody that I got to compete against.’ And Greg was like, ‘No, no buddy. It’s not going to be like that. We’re family. We’re brothers. We’ll never have to fight each other.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, but still, I just don’t feel comfortable with the idea.’ And Greg was like, ‘Listen, trust me. You will not have to fight him, and if you do have to fight him I’m with you 100%.’ ”  Rashad Evans, doing a pretty good impression of a goofy white dude. No wonder he’s so adept at spotting those ‘fake ass white boys‘.

 

“You know, it made me feel angry at first. I was full of emotions and I was just more like, ‘Man, fuck Greg.’ You tell me that it would never happen, you’re guaranteeing me that I’ll never have to fight somebody, and I go off of your word, and then it turns around and it happens just the way that I thought it would happen? Then you turn around and say, ‘Alright, I’m going to stick with him’? That’s a betrayal.”  Rashad Evans, summing up a year of drama and saving me the need for 100 hyperlinks in a single, tidy quote.

 

“I remember growing up, we really didn’t have anything, but my parents were so loving that we never really realized how poor we were, because we had so much love in our home. And my job as a father is to outdo my father, and to show him that he raised a great man. And I’m out here trying to get it, not really for me at all but for my family and for my family’s future.”  Jon Jones, appreciating his roots. To this day he carries that photo of his father posing on the hood of his busted up El Camino in his back pocket for a little extra motivation.

 

“Rashad Evans realized that I was becoming the best fighter and that I was in line for the title shot, and that’s when he made me seem as if I wanted to challenge him. And I didn’t want to challenge him. The only thing I always wanted to do was to fulfill my dream of being the number one fighter in the world. To this day, I’ve never challenged Rashad at all.”  Jon Jones, who believes that the drama between the two is as one-sided as the fight will be.

 

“Yeah I feel bad for Rashad. You know, I miss the guy. Actually me and Jon were talkingabout how much fun he was and he’d always make us laugh. So there’s no negative animosity on our end. Especially not on my end.”  Greg Jackson, coping with the breakup like a real man, who is naturally sharing a laugh in bed with his hot new girlfriend while the recently-divorced ex-wife is crying alone in her shabby one-bedroom apartment dealing with the four kids and the dog.

 

“Rashad was the one who got bypassed through hard work, and he was the one who needed to find a way to challenge me for the light-heavyweight championship. And that’s why Coach Jackson, Coach Winklejohn and everyone on this team is backing me to the fullest in the is fight. Because I’ve done nothing wrong.”  Jon Jones, giving all credit to hard work when we know full well that God has a history of protecting him while saying ‘to hell’ with everyone else.

 

“Rashad fighting me out of anger, you know it actually excites me because it’s going to deteriorate his game. He’s really going to realize that he’s wasted the last three or four months of his life training for this fight because he’s not going to win.”  Jon Jones, who in his youth doesn’t yet realize that win or lose it’s not a wasted training camp if you share intimate moments with those around you.

 

Primetime Part II  (Video via: YouTube/WeedIsJustAPlanttt)

– Chris Colemon

 

MMA Quoteathon: Stephan Bonnar’s Near Ejection From TUF 1 and Other Poorly Connected Musings

Stephan Bonnar UFC photos pose
(How can you say no to that face?) 

Aside from its placement atop nearly every MMA fan’s “Favorite Fights” list, Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin‘s war at the first TUF Finale is widely considered to be the fight responsible for popularizing MMA into the near mainstream sport it is today. Well, believe it or not, that fight almost didn’t happen on account of Bonnar’s uncontrollable desire for bottom shelf alcohol, specifically, Mad Dog. Although Bonnar has told this story with a slightly different spin before, Dana White recently discussed the craziness that was the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, and how Bonnar almost got himself kicked off the show:

The first season of the ‘Ultimate Fighter’ was the longest season we’ve ever done. It was something like 8 weeks and those guys were losing their (expletive) minds. I almost kicked (Stephan) Bonnar off the show. 

Bonnar turned the shower on, climbed out the window and went to find a liquor store. Remember we took all the liquor out after that big fight? These idiots…we had been driving these guys around for six or seven weeks and the house is in the middle of nowhere. There was no liquor store near there. The guy was walking around for an hour and thirty minutes. So much crazy (expletive) happened that first season. Imagine if I had kicked off him off the show for going to a liquor store? Forrest (Griffin) and Stephan would have never happened. 

No Dana, we would not like to imagine a world in which Griffin/Bonnar never existed. We’d rather imagine one in which Motley Crue serenades our lovemaking sessions with Adriana Lima, thank you very much.

Stephan Bonnar UFC photos pose
(How can you say no to that face?) 

Aside from its placement atop nearly every MMA fan’s “Favorite Fights” list, Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin‘s war at the first TUF Finale is widely considered to be the fight responsible for popularizing MMA into the near mainstream sport it is today. Well, believe it or not, that fight almost didn’t happen on account of Bonnar’s uncontrollable desire for bottom shelf alcohol, specifically, Mad Dog. Although Bonnar has told this story with a slightly different spin before, Dana White recently discussed the craziness that was the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, and how Bonnar almost got himself kicked off the show:

The first season of the ‘Ultimate Fighter’ was the longest season we’ve ever done. It was something like 8 weeks and those guys were losing their (expletive) minds. I almost kicked (Stephan) Bonnar off the show. 

Bonnar turned the shower on, climbed out the window and went to find a liquor store. Remember we took all the liquor out after that big fight? These idiots…we had been driving these guys around for six or seven weeks and the house is in the middle of nowhere. There was no liquor store near there. The guy was walking around for an hour and thirty minutes. So much crazy (expletive) happened that first season. Imagine if I had kicked off him off the show for going to a liquor store? Forrest (Griffin) and Stephan would have never happened. 

No Dana, we would not like to imagine a world in which Griffin/Bonnar never existed. We’d rather imagine one in which Motley Crue serenades our lovemaking sessions with Adriana Lima, thank you very much.

Speaking of the Crue, does anyone get the feeling that Greg Jackson is Afraid to corner Jon Jones for his upcoming title defense against Team Jackson’s Bastard child, Rashad Evans? Because he sure seemed on the fence about it when questioned on the issue during an appearance on The Savage Dog Show:

I’m going back and forth now because I have to think about what it means to be on a team. Are we just a collection of friends that train together? For me, it’s much more than that. It means something to be on this team and it means something to have teammates. Rashad kind of left that. I don’t know, I’m leaning toward cornering Jon right now. Just because, am I selfish, am I going to make this about me? Or am I gonna make this about the team? I can’t be self-centered. Even though it’s something that I don’t want to do, it might end up that way.

I still consider him a friend. Right now he’s really angry, and he’s saying a lot of negative things. I don’t want much to do with that, so I’m just kind of keeping my distance, so that’s where we’re at. 

So what you’re saying is that you didn’t want Evans to Go Away Mad, (but) Just Go Away? And speaking of non sequiturs…

…Eddie Alvarez recently spoke with MMAWeekly and explained why he chose a rematch with Shinya Aoki over the chance to recapture his Bellator lightweight strap by entering the season 6 tournament:

It makes no sense for me to rejoin a tournament and fight three guys that people don’t really care to see me fight rather than fight someone a Shinya Aoki, who is ranked in my weight class. I haven’t fought anyone ranked in my weight class in God knows how long. I’d be stupid not to take this fight. He’s ranked top five in my weight class, I believe, and it’ll get me back into the rankings. I’ll be able to forward positively.

Though it’s hard to blame Alvarez for this revelation, I, for one, would rather he fight for the chance of a possible rematch with Michael Chandler, considering how epic their first encounter was. Then again, watching Aoki butt scoot around Bellator’s rather gigantic cage for 15 minutes could prove to be entertaining in its own right.

An while we’re on the subject of rematches, it seems that one many people out there are already clamoring for is that of Condit/Diaz. And although we’ve said basically all that needs to be said about the fight itself, none other than UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie recently took to Twitter to weigh in on the controversial decision. Go figure, he was in Diaz’s corner:

@nickdiaz209 won that fight in my opinion. He is what every fighter should be a true martial artists who comes to fight. Well prepared and with a gameplan. Not one that [involves] running from a fight. Why come to fight if you gonna run? Hackney was running when we fought and I had to take the fight to him, Shamrock showed up not to lose in our rematch it’s a shame really. I for one am proud of Nick and happy he is part of Grace Jiu-jitsu family.

Well, we can go ahead and discredit anything Gracie says from this day forward, because you would have to be insane to believe that Keith Hackney would run from anybody…ever. He was not running from you, Mr. Gracie, he was simply luring you in using a level of mental warfare that you have not even begun to understand. You think you won that fight, simply because Keith allowed you to put him in an armlock? Please, this man defeated both a serial killer and a killer whale in hand to hand combat, and simply threw the fight for the good of the sport. You should be thanking him.

-J. Jones

Greg Jackson Translates ‘Check On Lyoto, Get Some Fans’ For the Rest of Us


(The faces of pure evil?? / Photo via UFC.com)

If you were looking for a reason — any reason at all — to hate on Jon Jones following his submission victory over Lyoto Machida at UFC 140, that post-fight video which showed trainer Greg Jackson yelling for Jon to “go check on Lyoto, get some fans” probably did the trick. It was a candid moment that called into question Jones and Jackson’s reputations for sportsmanship and Bushido-like respect. Was it all just an act to appear likable? Did they have any genuine concern for Machida’s health whatsoever?

Obviously, Greg Jackson is embarrassed by how he came off, and tried to explain his words in an interview with MMAJunkie:

“I shouldn’t have spoken in that way, but that wasn’t my intention. It sounded bad, but moronic [expletive] comes out of my mouth sometimes. What I was saying was, ‘Go check on Lyoto,’ what I meant was to remember that you’re a public figure. There’s always attention on you and what you’re doing all the time, and there’s cage etiquette. There’s things you’re supposed to do, and going and checking on somebody is what you’re supposed to do. And now because I’m in military mode and in shorthand mode, I say, ‘Jon, go check on Lyoto and go get some fans,’ and what I should have said was, ‘You’re a public figure. There’s a way to conduct yourself.’ But instead, I shorthanded it.”


(The faces of pure evil?? / Photo via UFC.com)

If you were looking for a reason — any reason at all — to hate on Jon Jones following his submission victory over Lyoto Machida at UFC 140, that post-fight video which showed trainer Greg Jackson yelling for Jon to “go check on Lyoto, get some fans” probably did the trick. It was a candid moment that called into question Jones and Jackson’s reputations for sportsmanship and Bushido-like respect. Was it all just an act to appear likable? Did they have any genuine concern for Machida’s health whatsoever?

Obviously, Greg Jackson is embarrassed by how he came off, and tried to explain his words in an interview with MMAJunkie:

“I shouldn’t have spoken in that way, but that wasn’t my intention. It sounded bad, but moronic [expletive] comes out of my mouth sometimes. What I was saying was, ‘Go check on Lyoto,’ what I meant was to remember that you’re a public figure. There’s always attention on you and what you’re doing all the time, and there’s cage etiquette. There’s things you’re supposed to do, and going and checking on somebody is what you’re supposed to do. And now because I’m in military mode and in shorthand mode, I say, ‘Jon, go check on Lyoto and go get some fans,’ and what I should have said was, ‘You’re a public figure. There’s a way to conduct yourself.’ But instead, I shorthanded it.”

Okay. Not sure how “conduct yourself like a public figure” becomes “get some fans” in Jackson’s mental shorthand, but either way it’s good advice, especially when you’re fighting in front of a crowd that seems to hate you. The question is, why would Jones need to be reminded? Jackson has an answer for that too:

“Jon is a really good guy. Everybody is just attacking his character because that’s what you have to attack when you can’t attack somebody’s fighting. It’s not that he was a bad guy. You just literally go crazy. None of these guys outside of the cage could understand that after the fight, you’re in the zone, man. It’s such an intense camp, especially for Jon, month after month, fight after fight.

“Let’s take B.J. Penn for an example. He’s actually a really nice guy; he walks around licking blood off his gloves all the time. Chuck Liddell is one of the sweetest, nicest guys you’ll ever meet, but when he knocks you unconscious, he runs around screaming and pumping his arms. That’s not normal behavior. So my job with Jon is to remind him. When the referee said break, he broke, and then he was still there in that zone. I was like, ‘Now, it’s time to relax and calm down and check on the guy.’ I should have said, ‘Remember you’re a public figure.’ But like I say, ‘Go get some Donald Cerrone,’ I said, ‘Go get some fans.’”

Checking on your fallen opponent is one of the unwritten traditions of MMA, but when you’re in the midst of celebrating a major triumph, it might not always feel natural to get down off the cage, put on a concerned face, and pat the other guy on the shoulder as he’s waking up from his nap. It’s a ritual, and not always a sincere one. And fans don’t like to be reminded of that.

So here’s a hypothetical question. What if Jon Jones and Greg Jackson really didn’t care that Lyoto Machida was sitting on a stool with a deep gash in his forehead, foggy from being choked out, and emotionally devastated from the loss: Does that change the way you already felt about them?

Greg Jackson Calls Comment to Jon Jones ‘a Dumb Thing to Say’

Filed under: ,

After Jon Jones choked out Lyoto Machida at UFC 140, Jones’s coach Greg Jackson stepped into the Octagon and urged Jones to check on Machida and see if he was OK. Jackson’s comment was picked up by microphones and broadcast to fans watching on UFC.tv, and Jackson’s phrasing was interpreted by some fans as an attempt to stage manage Jones and perhaps show a false concern for his fallen opponent.

But on Monday, Jackson said the whole thing was misunderstood.

After the fight, as Machida was on the ground getting medical attention, Jackson shouted to Jones, “Jon! Jon! Go check on him! Go check on Lyoto, get some fans!”

To MMA fans who think Jones comes across as a phony, that “get some fans” line was seen in a negative light, as though Jones and Jackson weren’t really concerned about Machida, but Jackson thought it would be good PR for Jones to pretend to be concerned. But Jackson appeared on The MMA Hour on Monday and said he was kicking himself for the way he phrased his comment to Jones, because he hated the way it was interpreted.

“Fighters get into this place when they’re fighting — Jon choked him out but he was in this zone,” Jackson said. “So I said to Jon, ‘Go check on Machida and get yourself some fans,’ which was a dumb thing to say. What I was trying to convey to him was, You’re a professional athlete and there’s ring decorum, and I should have said ‘Remember the fans’ because everyone is watching what you do. I misspoke.”

Jackson said he wasn’t trying to suggest that Jones should only be concerned about Machida because that might make fans like him. He said he was pointing out that Jones is a role model and that fans would want to see how Jones reacted to choking Machida out.

“‘Go check on him and the fans will appreciate it’ was what I meant, but I’m a bonehead sometimes and it came out wrong, which wasn’t my intention at all,” Jackson said.

Jackson said he’s disappointed that some fans are picking up his comment to Jones and beginning to believe that Jones’s nice-guy image is an act that Jackson is trying to craft.

“I don’t feel it’s fair because it wasn’t my intention,” Jackson said. “I wasn’t trying to manipulate Jon.”

As for the fight itself, Jackson said he thought Machida’s style, as a southpaw with an unusual counter-striking approach, gave Jones some trouble in the early going. But he said he was proud of the way Jones responded.

“Jon took some hard shots and really showed his jaw,” Jackson said. “Machida’s a true warrior, and what a smart guy. I was very impressed.”

 

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After Jon Jones choked out Lyoto Machida at UFC 140, Jones’s coach Greg Jackson stepped into the Octagon and urged Jones to check on Machida and see if he was OK. Jackson’s comment was picked up by microphones and broadcast to fans watching on UFC.tv, and Jackson’s phrasing was interpreted by some fans as an attempt to stage manage Jones and perhaps show a false concern for his fallen opponent.

But on Monday, Jackson said the whole thing was misunderstood.

After the fight, as Machida was on the ground getting medical attention, Jackson shouted to Jones, “Jon! Jon! Go check on him! Go check on Lyoto, get some fans!”

To MMA fans who think Jones comes across as a phony, that “get some fans” line was seen in a negative light, as though Jones and Jackson weren’t really concerned about Machida, but Jackson thought it would be good PR for Jones to pretend to be concerned. But Jackson appeared on The MMA Hour on Monday and said he was kicking himself for the way he phrased his comment to Jones, because he hated the way it was interpreted.

“Fighters get into this place when they’re fighting — Jon choked him out but he was in this zone,” Jackson said. “So I said to Jon, ‘Go check on Machida and get yourself some fans,’ which was a dumb thing to say. What I was trying to convey to him was, You’re a professional athlete and there’s ring decorum, and I should have said ‘Remember the fans’ because everyone is watching what you do. I misspoke.”

Jackson said he wasn’t trying to suggest that Jones should only be concerned about Machida because that might make fans like him. He said he was pointing out that Jones is a role model and that fans would want to see how Jones reacted to choking Machida out.

“‘Go check on him and the fans will appreciate it’ was what I meant, but I’m a bonehead sometimes and it came out wrong, which wasn’t my intention at all,” Jackson said.

Jackson said he’s disappointed that some fans are picking up his comment to Jones and beginning to believe that Jones’s nice-guy image is an act that Jackson is trying to craft.

“I don’t feel it’s fair because it wasn’t my intention,” Jackson said. “I wasn’t trying to manipulate Jon.”

As for the fight itself, Jackson said he thought Machida’s style, as a southpaw with an unusual counter-striking approach, gave Jones some trouble in the early going. But he said he was proud of the way Jones responded.

“Jon took some hard shots and really showed his jaw,” Jackson said. “Machida’s a true warrior, and what a smart guy. I was very impressed.”

 

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