(Props: YouTube.com/JonJones. Fight starts at the 13:50 mark, but it’s worth it to watch the entrances, just to see Jackson and Jones walk out to those obviously patched-in nü-metal tracks, I guess because the UFC couldn’t secure replay rights on YouTube for the songs they actually walked out to. It’s hilariously jarring. Couldn’t they find generic rap tracks to include for situations like this?)
After winning the UFC light-heavyweight championship in March 2011 with his demolition of Mauricio Rua, 24-year-old Jon Jones attempted his first title defense in September at UFC 135 in Denver, against former champion Quinton Jackson. And for the second title fight in a row, Jones gave nothing and took everything. Over four rounds, Bones picked his shots and wore Rampage down, confounding Jackson with his unorthodox kicks and elbows, and clowning ‘Page whenever the inspiration struck. (Skip to 31:08 for an all-time classic.)
After winning the first three rounds handily, Jones closed the curtains in the fourth frame, taking Jackson down with ease then finishing him with a rear-naked choke. It was the first time Jackson was ever stopped in the UFC. To put it lightly, aging legends have never really performed well against Jon Jones, and Dan Henderson might not fare any better at UFC 151 — that is, if Hendo actually makes it to the fight. There are some nasty rumors swirling around right now…we’ll update you if they turn out to be legit.
(Props: YouTube.com/JonJones. Fight starts at the 13:50 mark, but it’s worth it to watch the entrances, just to see Jackson and Jones walk out to those obviously patched-in nü-metal tracks, I guess because the UFC couldn’t secure replay rights on YouTube for the songs they actually walked out to. It’s hilariously jarring. Couldn’t they find generic rap tracks to include for situations like this?)
After winning the UFC light-heavyweight championship in March 2011 with his demolition of Mauricio Rua, 24-year-old Jon Jones attempted his first title defense in September at UFC 135 in Denver, against former champion Quinton Jackson. And for the second title fight in a row, Jones gave nothing and took everything. Over four rounds, Bones picked his shots and wore Rampage down, confounding Jackson with his unorthodox kicks and elbows, and clowning ‘Page whenever the inspiration struck. (Skip to 31:08 for an all-time classic.)
After winning the first three rounds handily, Jones closed the curtains in the fourth frame, taking Jackson down with ease then finishing him with a rear-naked choke. It was the first time Jackson was ever stopped in the UFC. To put it lightly, aging legends have never really performed well against Jon Jones, and Dan Henderson might not fare any better at UFC 151 — that is, if Hendo actually makes it to the fight. There are some nasty rumors swirling around right now…we’ll update you if they turn out to be legit.
At this point, everything that Jon Jones has to say about his rivalry with Rashad Evans has been said (and said, and said). But with less than a week remaining until their looooong-awaited showdown, we wanted to get a better sense of Bones’s mindset heading into his third light-heavyweight belt-defense at UFC 145. CagePotato video-correspondent Sal Mora spent a few minutes with the champ at his Jackson’s MMA homebase in Albuquerque for an exclusive fight-week interview that you can watch after the jump. Some highlights…
– On the possibility of a reconciliation with Evans after the fight: “I honestly don’t know what will go on after the fight, but I really don’t have any interest in becoming friends with Rashad again. I’m not here to make friends, I’m here to do a job.”
– On moving to heavyweight: “I did ask Dana White, ‘Can I get a fight at heavyweight at the end of this year?’ and he told me that he didn’t think that was best for me right now. I’m totally okay with where I’m at and competing at the light-heavyweight division. I think there’s a lot of great competition left…I’m sure guys like Lyoto [Machida] are gonna be coming back around for their rematches too, so everything’s going according to plan.”
At this point, everything that Jon Jones has to say about his rivalry with Rashad Evans has been said (and said, and said). But with less than a week remaining until their looooong-awaited showdown, we wanted to get a better sense of Bones’s mindset heading into his third light-heavyweight belt-defense at UFC 145. CagePotato video-correspondent Sal Mora spent a few minutes with the champ at his Jackson’s MMA homebase in Albuquerque for an exclusive fight-week interview that you can watch after the jump. Some highlights…
– On the possibility of a reconciliation with Evans after the fight: ”I honestly don’t know what will go on after the fight, but I really don’t have any interest in becoming friends with Rashad again. I’m not here to make friends, I’m here to do a job.”
– On moving to heavyweight: “I did ask Dana White, ‘Can I get a fight at heavyweight at the end of this year?’ and he told me that he didn’t think that was best for me right now. I’m totally okay with where I’m at and competing at the light-heavyweight division. I think there’s a lot of great competition left…I’m sure guys like Lyoto [Machida] are gonna be coming back around for their rematches too, so everything’s going according to plan.”
– On Alistair Overeem and the performance-enhancing drug crisis in MMA: “I’ve never seen anyone here at Jackson’s MMA participate in any type of steroid use. I don’t know anybody on our team that could possibly be taking steroids. And as far as Alistair Overeem, that’s really his problem. Steroids is unfortunately a part of all sports and he was just the one that got caught…It’s really not my world, I’ll compete against someone on steroids any day. I believe in some cases that people who abuse steroids have weakness in their hearts, you know, they don’t believe in working hard. I’m not against steroids, I think in some cases you need steroids, like if you’re an older gentlemen, or you have some type of illness or something like that, but when an athlete abuses it, I mean that’s their business.”
– On where he’ll be in five years: ”I see myself continuing to work hard, continuing to try to strive to solidify a place in the history books of the sport.”
During halftime of yesterday’s NFC Championship game between the New York Giants and the San Francisco Fail Machines, viewers were treated to a UFC on FOX promo that was…kind of odd, actually. Light-heavyweight champion/part-time modelJon Jones is set up as a relatable nice-guy, then kicks his own child into the stratosphere. Jones catches the falling kid, and two nearby moms express their barely-conceled lust for him. And that’s about it.
General strangeness aside, the commercial doesn’t actually show any UFC footage — more evidence of FOX’s gun-shy attitude toward the sport, maybe? — and doesn’t feature any of the fighters competing in next week’s UFC on FOX: Evans vs Davis event. (Rashad Evans probably punched another hole through his wall after seeing this.) I wonder how many football fans watched the commercial in a loud sports bar and thought, “Hey, there’s a new Old Spice guy. Alright.”
During halftime of yesterday’s NFC Championship game between the New York Giants and the San Francisco Fail Machines, viewers were treated to a UFC on FOX promo that was…kind of odd, actually. Light-heavyweight champion/part-time modelJon Jones is set up as a relatable nice-guy, then kicks his own child into the stratosphere. Jones catches the falling kid, and two nearby moms express their barely-conceled lust for him. And that’s about it.
General strangeness aside, the commercial doesn’t actually show any UFC footage — more evidence of FOX’s gun-shy attitude toward the sport, maybe? — and doesn’t feature any of the fighters competing in next week’s UFC on FOX: Evans vs Davis event. (Rashad Evans probably punched another hole through his wall after seeing this.) I wonder how many football fans watched the commercial in a loud sports bar and thought, “Hey, there’s a new Old Spice guy. Alright.”
Alright, just your average fashion runway show in Brazil, nothing too crazy…hey, that one girl’s ass is kinda ni-OH MY GOD WHAT THE FUCK IS JON JONES DOING THERE, AND DOES RANDY COUTURE KNOW THAT HIS SCARF HIS MISSING? EXPLAIN YOURSELF, BONES.
As if the UFC light-heayweight champion needed another reason to be hated on by keyboard warriors, here he is taking a gig as a South American menswear model over the weekend. Strange? Sure. Could it be worse? Oh, definitely.
Alright, just your average fashion runway show in Brazil, nothing too crazy…hey, that one girl’s ass is kinda ni-OH MY GOD WHAT THE FUCK IS JON JONES DOING THERE, AND DOES RANDY COUTURE KNOW THAT HIS SCARF HIS MISSING? EXPLAIN YOURSELF, BONES.
As if the UFC light-heayweight champion needed another reason to be hated on by keyboard warriors, here he is taking a gig as a South American menswear model over the weekend. Strange? Sure. Could it be worse? Oh, definitely.
Once in a while, a singular talent will arise and utterly dominate this sport. He comes out of nowhere, immediately starts whipping top-ranked fighters with years’ more experience, and leaves both fans and his opponents in awe of his abilities. Jon Jones is that guy right now. And nobody knows how fleeting that moment is better than Lyoto Machida, whose invincible aura (and “era“) went up in smoke as quickly as it arrived.
That’s what gives Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida such a great storyline for their meeting on December 10th in Toronto. Besides Machida’s unorthodox style, which could be an effective counter to Bones’s own funky attacks, the Dragon stands as a living reminder that nobody is invincible — seriously, not even Jon Jones — and defeat is simply a matter of running into the wrong guy on the wrong night.
Once in a while, a singular talent will arise and utterly dominate this sport. He comes out of nowhere, immediately starts whipping top-ranked fighters with years’ more experience, and leaves both fans and his opponents in awe of his abilities. Jon Jones is that guy right now. And nobody knows how fleeting that moment is better than Lyoto Machida, whose invincible aura (and “era“) went up in smoke as quickly as it arrived.
That’s what gives Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida such a great storyline for their meeting on December 10th in Toronto. Besides Machida’s unorthodox style, which could be an effective counter to Bones’s own funky attacks, the Dragon stands as a living reminder that nobody is invincible — seriously, not even Jon Jones — and defeat is simply a matter of running into the wrong guy on the wrong night.
Supporting the light-heavyweight title fight at UFC 140 are two matches featuring former UFC champions from America (Frank Mir and Tito Ortiz) trying to hold the line against a pair of battle-weathered Brazilian twins who made their names halfway around the world. It’ll be the second meeting between Mir and Minotauro, and aside from the struggling Lil’ Nog, the other three fighters have shown brief flashes in recent fights that their glory days might not be over yet. So who will add another highlight to their legendary resumes, and who will continue to fade back into history?
Semi-related, below: Jon Jones gets in some cross-gender sparring with Team Jackson camp-mate Holly Holm, the prettier half of the third toughest couple in MMA.
As promised, here’s Brian J. D’Souza‘s video interview with Jon Jones at the ‘MMA Live 1‘ show last week in London, Ontario. Some highlights:
On his initial decision to train with Greg Jackson: “I was watching his professionalism with Georges St. Pierre and a few other fighters, and I thought ‘man, if I could get all that brilliant energy pointed towards me, they probably could do something really special,’ and that’s what they’ve done I think…who knows what would have happened if I decided to [train] somewhere else, but Jackson’s seemed like the place for me. I remember our first meeting, they were talking about respect, and working hard, and family, and things like that, and that was something that drew me towards them.”
As promised, here’s Brian J. D’Souza‘s video interview with Jon Jones at the ‘MMA Live 1‘ show last week in London, Ontario. Some highlights:
On his initial decision to train with Greg Jackson: “I was watching his professionalism with Georges St. Pierre and a few other fighters, and I thought ‘man, if I could get all that brilliant energy pointed towards me, they probably could do something really special,’ and that’s what they’ve done I think…who knows what would have happened if I decided to [train] somewhere else, but Jackson’s seemed like the place for me. I remember our first meeting, they were talking about respect, and working hard, and family, and things like that, and that was something that drew me towards them.”
On setting an example as a UFC champion: “My only goal is just to represent our sport in the best light, and to treat people with love and respect, and never look past anyone, and respect everyone, pretty much, and let everything else take care of itself.”
On the recent shift in his management team: “My manager’s always been Malki Kawa, despite who partnered up with us. It was always about Malki Kawa. He’s a very close friend to me, and he’s a business partner, so everything’s still smooth sailing. We’ve been doing great by ourselves and we’ll continue to do great.”
