Gegard Mousasi Talks Keith Jardine, Strikeforce Belt and Jon “Bones” Jones

We were looking forward to the Gegard Mousasi, Mike Kyle tilt at this Saturday’s Strikeforce, but when Kyle went down with an injury and Keith Jardine was named as the replacement, cheers abounded throughout the Fix office (ok, maybe not exactly). After all, despite Jardine’s struggles over the last couple of years, we are talking […]

Gegard Mousasi

We were looking forward to the Gegard Mousasi, Mike Kyle tilt at this Saturday’s Strikeforce, but when Kyle went down with an injury and Keith Jardine was named as the replacement, cheers abounded throughout the Fix office (ok, maybe not exactly). After all, despite Jardine’s struggles over the last couple of years, we are talking about a dude that took out Forrest Griffin, Chuck Liddell and Brandon Vera.

Now it wasn’t long ago that many people were calling Mousasi the next big thing, until he was tossed around by “King Mo” Lawal last April and lost his Strikeforce belt. Despite the fact it was his first defeat in 15 fights and that the 25 year-old has won two more times since then, it’s been kind of quiet on the “Gegard’s the man’ front. Of course, all is far from lost for Mousasi and he knows it. While speaking to MMA Weekly, Mousasi talked about getting a win over Jardine, getting back the Strikeforce belt, and then, just maybe, taking on a certain Jon “Bones” Jones.

“Right now Jon Jones is considered the best, and if I win my fights, maybe it could build up a good match against him,” stated Mousasi. “I think it would be such a great fight, so I would like to test myself against him….“I need to win my fights first in Strikeforce, and then there’s a possibility to fight in the UFC or have the Strikeforce champion versus the UFC champion. But I’ve got to win my fights before thinking about that possibility.”

Mousasi vs. Jones huh? We’d watch. To bet on Mousasi and Jardine, or any of the other bouts scheduled for Saturday, head here.

Nick Diaz Says Fighting Friends “Disgusting Thought”

For some time now, it appeared as though the chances of two noteworthy teammates fighting was about as likely as Strikeforce being bought by the UFC…, and then, well, the friendship between training partners Rashad Evans and Jon Jones went right down the commode after the two agreed to fight.  Nick “Don’t be Scared Homie” […]

Nick Diaz

For some time now, it appeared as though the chances of two noteworthy teammates fighting was about as likely as Strikeforce being bought by the UFC…, and then, well, the friendship between training partners Rashad Evans and Jon Jones went right down the commode after the two agreed to fight.  Nick “Don’t be Scared Homie” Diaz was recently asked about the teammates fighting issue on a Strikeforce teleconference call, and the welterweight champ didn’t mince even one word, when Jones vs. Evans was raised as an example. (Thanks to MMA Weekly for the quotes)

“That’s what they’ve got them doing and they’re not focused on what’s important to them in life. I’ve got what works, and I’ve got what’s got me there and that’s my team. That’s a disgusting thought to have to fight my brother. I don’t even appreciate being asked about that,” Diaz said.

“They’re not real training partners though,” Diaz said about Jones and Evans. “You don’t understand, they’re like 10 years apart for one and they didn’t grow up training together…”

Now that Mr. Diaz is back in the Zuffa fold, Dana White and crew are no doubt looking forward to more ‘straight shooting’ from the Cesar Gracie star… In the meantime, if you’re not excited about Diaz facing Paul Daley next Saturday, you best keep that to yourself. To bet on the fight head here.

Rich Franklin Concedes He’s Curious About Fighting Jon Jones

For a lot of ‘I’m the biggest’ UFC fans, the closest thing they’ll experience to MMA combat is opening an anonymous Twitter account (with a contrived yet snarky name of course), so that they can hurl some slur at a fighter from thousands of miles away. Pretty badass….For other, more grounded and evolved humans, they […]

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For a lot of ‘I’m the biggest’ UFC fans, the closest thing they’ll experience to MMA combat is opening an anonymous Twitter account (with a contrived yet snarky name of course), so that they can hurl some slur at a fighter from thousands of miles away. Pretty badass….For other, more grounded and evolved humans, they understand that it takes serious balls to even step in the Octagon, much less win a fight, and thus, have a ton of respect for anyone that throws down in the cage or ring.

Why the lecture? Well, Rich Franklin recently did an interview with the Springfield News-Sun, where the former middleweight champ served up a little reminder about the kind of fighting spirit many fighters have. At a time when Jon Jones is dismantling everyone who is put in front of him, including a certain legend named “Shogun” Rua, Franklin has apparently been wondering how he might do against the emerging superstar. (Thanks to MMA Mania for the heads up)

“You see guys like that, and you’re like, ‘They’re bigger than me, and they’re stronger than me,’ but I’m a fighter, and there’s a part of me that still wants to fight them and see how I’d do,”

Wow; now that’s an effin fighter (to steal Dana White’s thunder). Not sure if at this point in Franklin’s storied career that would be such a good idea, but hell, ya never know right? Franklin also stated in the interview that he knew Jones was going to “be a stud” after the first time he saw him fight, adding “He’s got an 84-inch reach, and he’s 6-foot-4. It’s just crazy.” Yeah, we’re with you on this one champ.

Greg Jackson’s Fellow Coach Thinks Hey Greg, You Were Fired by Rashad. Why Wouldn’t You Train Jon? WTF…

Fellow Greg Jackson trainer at Jackson’s Submission Fighting, Mike Winkeljohn gave an interview to MMAFighting.com saying essentially what we’re all thinking… Rashad Evans is being a f*cking baby. He’s too old and experienced to get his feelings hurt by the younger Jon Jones. He voluntarily walked away from Jackson’s gym. Now get off your ass, […]

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Fellow Greg Jackson trainer at Jackson’s Submission Fighting, Mike Winkeljohn gave an interview to MMAFighting.com saying essentially what we’re all thinking… Rashad Evans is being a f*cking baby. He’s too old and experienced to get his feelings hurt by the younger Jon Jones. He voluntarily walked away from Jackson’s gym. Now get off your ass, Greg and go train Jones to defend his title like any f*cking coach would do for their fighter. Okay, well maybe that’s just what I’m thinking. And maybe he didn’t put it quite in those words, but he did say this:

I wasn’t discouraged, and hey, I like the guy [Rashad Evans]. But Jon Jones has wanted to work with me and his stand-up has come a long way. He’s looking tremendous. But in my mind, if I was fired by Rashad, I don’t think I should take myself out of another job just because I used to work with the guy that fired me.

It looks like in this big mess of teammates feuding and firing longtime coaches and “brotherhood” members, that Winkeljohn is keeping a clear and rational head… which is what we’re used to seeing from Greg Jackson. Thus, Winkeljohn is confident, Jackson will come around to training Jones.

Greg, I think, will step out of it. That’s his philosophy, and bless his heart. But the sides were chosen a ways back. I feel bad saying that, but I don’t want to look like a bad guy and I don’t want [the Greg Jackson team] to look like a bad guy. Rashad lost to Machida, and he basically left. I know he left me, so that’s how I feel. Choosing sides? I don’t know if that’s the term for it, but he made that choice. I didn’t make that choice.

Hopefully a date for this fight is set soon enough and everyone can focus on getting into their chosen training camps to settle all this b*llshit, where it can properly be feuded out… in the Octagon.

Keith Jardine Points to Jon Jones for Rift at Jackson’s

The process of mining anyone who’s been a training partner of Jon Jones and Rashad Evans for their opinion on the former teammates budding feud, has begun full swing. It’s a ‘hot button issue’ right now, and of course, we’re totally on board (until extremely odd Youtube videos surface from either dude, or they begin […]

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The process of mining anyone who’s been a training partner of Jon Jones and Rashad Evans for their opinion on the former teammates budding feud, has begun full swing. It’s a ‘hot button issue’ right now, and of course, we’re totally on board (until extremely odd Youtube videos surface from either dude, or they begin using a catchword like ‘winning’, which quickly saturates every medium known to man).

One of the pivotal players in the Jackson Team’s success has been Keith Jardine, who long before Jones became a member, was working his way up the UFC rankings alongside Evans. In fact, Jardine and Evans were two of the first notable competitors to annoy Dana White by saying they wouldn’t fight each other. Well, in an interview with ESPN, Jardine was quick to compliment Rashad for what he did for the Jackson Team, and pointed to that now ‘infamous’ interview Jones had with Ariel Helwani, for the sh-tstorm that is now unfolding.

“It all started from that interview that Jon did, talking about the possibility of fighting with Rashad [with Ariel Helwani on Versus],” Jardine said. “That’s just something that doesn’t need to be said. Of course they could have been made to fight, and they both knew it. But for Jon to go out and say that made Rashad look like a punk, and that’s kind of what happened to start it all. It was already sensitive, so it blew up after that.”

Jardine qualified that comment by saying “Jon’s just a kid,” and that the new champ probably “regretted” what he had said to Helwani afterwards. Perhaps…perhaps not (cue sinister music). Plenty more to come on this no doubt.

Rashad Evans Blasts Jon Jones, Feels Disrespected

After Jon Jones finished rag dolling “Shogun” Rua Saturday night, his former training partner Rashad Evans came into the Octagon to confirm they would be fighting next. It was a wee bit awkward, yes, but nothing too heated went down. In fact, if you were hoping for some ‘why you doing this to us man?’ type […]

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After Jon Jones finished rag dolling “Shogun” Rua Saturday night, his former training partner Rashad Evans came into the Octagon to confirm they would be fighting next. It was a wee bit awkward, yes, but nothing too heated went down. In fact, if you were hoping for some ‘why you doing this to us man?’ type drama, the whole bit kind of fell flat. Well, the next time Mr. Jones and Mr. Evans meet, things might not be so ‘civil.’

Bloody Elbow has posted an interview today with Evans,  where the former champ didn’t exactly hold anything back, while discussing his now former coach Greg Jackson and of course Jones. In addition to voicing his displeasure with his long time mentor Jackson, for letting things get to this point, here is just some of what Evans had to say about his next opponent.

I feel disrespected by Jon because when I think about when we trained or when we were chilling, was the s**t even real? Or was he just trying to be a master manipulator and try to manipulate the situation so he could get what he wanted out of it? I don’t know and that is a question that I have in my mind but when I get down to it…that doesn’t even matter because we are going to get in there and we are going to fight. People want to say “oh my God Jon is this and that” but Jon Jones is Jon Jones to me. He’s another fighter I have to face.

Yup, sh-t’s getting real son. The whole interview, references to Judas and all, is definitely worth a read.