Fresh off his angelic Burger King commercial, UFC Middleweight Champ Anderson Silva recently appeared on Brazilian talk show Agora e’ Tarde to sing a duet with comedian and the show’s co-host Danilo Gentili. Apparently after dominating every possible contender in the middleweight division, “The Spider” must have his eyes set on the Grammy’s. Though the performance was less than stellar, the good news is that Anderson can still consult long time hero Steven Seagal for advice in this department as well.
Join us after the jump for a study in Jon Jones’ superhuman abilities and the most unexpected knockout that you may ever see.
Fresh off his angelic Burger King commercial, UFC Middleweight Champ Anderson Silva recently appeared on Brazilian talk show Agora e’ Tarde to sing a duet with comedian/co-host Danilo Gentili. Apparently after dominating every possible contender in the middleweight division, “The Spider” must have his eyes set on the Grammy’s these days. Though the performance was less than stellar, the good news is that Anderson can still consult long time hero Steven Seagal for advice in this department as well.
Join us after the jump for a study in Jon Jones’ superhuman abilities and the most unexpected knockout that you may ever see.
ESPN’s Sports Science recently devoted a segment to current UFC Light Heavyweight Champ Jon Jones and boy, did they pull the rug out from underneath us. Turns out, Jon Jones is a near inhuman force who redefines the term “Superman Punch”. Who would’ve guessed? Host/human porcupine John Brenkus informs us that “Bones” has the wingspan of your average prehistoric bird of prey, and can throw spinning elbows strikes at faster speeds than an Apache helicopter can spin its blades. But if The A-Team taught us anything, it’s that Rampage Jackson is more than versed in helicopter warfare.
Props to our buddies over at IronForgesIron for our last video, which features 44 year old BJJ ace Jorg “Marshmallow” Lothmann making his MMA debut against 11-1 Jeffrey Waltmanns. A video that truly shows you cannot judge a book by its cover, the much older Lothmann delivers a beautiful placed kick to end his opponents night early, despite having the physique of Fedor Emelianenko if he was trapped in an ice cream factory for the 11 month span that is Russia’s winter. Are we witnessing the next Randy Couture?
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones may be the future of MMA, but he could be in for a rude awakening when he meets Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 135.Jackson, a former UFC champion, has gone to great lengths in his preparation to defeat Jones a…
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones may be the future of MMA, but he could be in for a rude awakening when he meets Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 135.
Jackson, a former UFC champion, has gone to great lengths in his preparation to defeat Jones and recapture the world title.
Since entering the UFC, Jones’ path of destruction is well-documented. He has throttled opponents in every aspect conceivable without experiencing even a lick of danger.
At UFC 128, Jones became world champion after decimating top light heavyweight Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, who is widely considered as one of MMA’s all-time greats.
Now, he faces another legend in Jackson, the first man to unify the UFC and Pride titles.
While Rua is the more efficient Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai practitioner, Jackson’s game is more boxing and wrestling oriented. Jones has never faced a boxer with the stand-up prowess and devastating power of Jackson, who has put the lights out on a multitude of world-class names throughout his career.
As intriguing as the stand-up battle is, the most interesting aspect of this fight will be the wrestling.
Jones is likely the better grappler, but Jackson has proven to have the wrestling chops to outperform some of the best grapplers in the world. Takedowns can’t be telegraphed or rehearsed for Jones, who could eat a fight-ending uppercut or find his shot stuffed when he changes levels.
The factors that many people haven’t stopped to consider are the relative unknowns about Jones’ overall game. Can his cardio hold up for a five round fight? How good is his chin? How well does he deal with adversity?
Jackson is a tough and gritty veteran that can possibly bring out the answers to these questions.
We’ve seen Jackson go the distance on multiple occasions, including a couple of five-round championship bouts. Jones’ ability to work at a fierce pace for extended periods of time will be tested by the ever-aggressive Jackson.
The ability to take a punch can make or break an entire career. If you are skeptical, you can go ask Andrei Arlovski. From a technical perspective, Arlovski remains one of the best heavyweights in the world, but his inability to absorb punishment has put a damper on his career.
Jones’ tremendous boxing defense typically keeps him out of danger from full-on punches, but if given a chance on the feet, Jackson will eventually land. It’s going to tell a lot about Jones after seeing how he reacts to that first big shot.
Will he panic and get overzealous in working for a takedown? Would he struggle to recover if he gets dropped?
These are all legitimate questions heading into Saturday night’s bout.
We have never seen Jones have to deal with adversity in a fight. Every fight won’t resemble his championship bout with Rua. There will be times when Jones gets tired, hurt and things in general won’t go his way.
How is he going to react to these situations?
Despite being a world champion, Jones is still 24 years of age with only 14 fights to his name, which is a far cry from Jackson’s 40 bouts.
“Bones” will enter UFC 135 as the rightful favorite, but it would be ignorant to discount Jackson’s chances. It only takes one punch to change the course of a fight, and Jackson certainly has the power to deliver.
Win or lose, Jackson will be Jones’ toughest test at UFC 135.
Filed under: UFCAs pre-fight verbal battles go, the one between UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and challenger Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is starting to get a little bit meta. During Monday’s UFC 135 media call, it was less about what’s being s…
As pre-fight verbal battles go, the one between UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and challenger Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is starting to get a little bit meta. During Monday’s UFC 135 media call, it was less about what’s being said than what was said, and who said it first.
Not surprisingly, the two could not reach a consensus on the topic.
According to Jackson, it was Jones who kicked things off by acting “real cocky” at the first press conference to hype their main event title fight. Jones, who claimed he was “waiting for an example or a quote” to illustrate Jackson’s point, said he’s doing his best not to get caught up in the pre-fight talk — though, by the way, it’s all Jackson’s doing.
“My job is not to out-talk him,” Jones said on Monday. “You’re talking about an opponent who threatens and harasses literally every opponent in his career’s history, and I’m very aware of this. So I’ll let him talk and have fun and make me look like the scared one, but when I’m in the Octagon on the 24th, that’s when I’ll demand more respect.”
Jackson, of course, bristled at the suggestion that he’s a habitual trash-talker.
“If you go back and look at my interviews [before fights with] Marvin Eastman and Chuck Liddell and Dan Henderson and other guys, I react the way the guys act towards me,” he countered, adding that Jones had set him off with his disrespectful, “cocky” attitude at the initial Denver presser.
“The guy has never walked the way I’ve walked in this sport, and basically the guy just said the wrong [expletive] and I treat him the way I treat him because I got no respect for him,” Jackson said.
Jones seemed flustered by the topic, and said on Monday that what he’s really confused about is how fans could believe he’d actually go to the lengths that Jackson had alleged, all just to get inside information from his opponent’s training camp.
“The only thing that bothered me initially was the spygate situation,” Jones said. “And it wasn’t the situation necessarily, it was the fact that fans actually considered the fact that I would pay someone to…first of all, find someone to go to his camp and then pay someone and try to get Rampage to trust them, and all this ludicrousness, I thought that was pretty interesting that the fans would think I would do something like that.”
While Jones drew contrasts between his bout with former Pride champ “Shogun” Rua and this fight with another Pride veteran in Jackson, he added that it was still “a huge honor” to fight an experienced mainstay of the sport like “Rampage.”
Jackson, too, acknowledged that Jones “has skills,” and said he plans to do his part to help him advance those skills after Saturday night.
“After I relieve him of his first loss, I think Jon will go on to be a better fighter because he won’t have all that pressure of being undefeated,” Jackson said. “…I’m just the person to give him that first [expletive]-whooping so he can go on and be a great fighter that I know he can be.”
If you’re looking for these two to find something nice to say about one another, that might be as close as you’re going to get.
Only a fool would ever count Quintin “Rampage” Jackson out of a fight…but the question as to whether he is being underestimated or not is entirely different than counting him out. So is Jackson being underestimated in this fight? Simply p…
Only a fool would ever count Quintin “Rampage” Jackson out of a fight…but the question as to whether he is being underestimated or not is entirely different than counting him out.
So is Jackson being underestimated in this fight? Simply put, no.
Jackson is a boxer, and saying that he only has a puncher’s chance would be an insult to his great career. Jackson is a great athlete, but this just isn’t his fight.
At a glance, Jackson’s record is very impressive at 32-8, but a closer look reveals that when Jackson has gone up against top-tier strikers he hasn’t done well.
The two most notable wins on his record are against Chuck Liddell, who he has fought twice, and beat both times. Yet when Jackson has faced talented strikers, the likes of Wanderlei Silva or Mauricio Rua, he hasn’t fared well.
Jon Jones is a very unorthodox striker with an incredible reach advantage over Jackson. It isn’t impossible for Jackson to close the distance between him and Jones, but it isn’t extremely likely either.
Jackson’s wheel house just isn’t compatible with elaborate strikers. His boxing is superb, but trying to close the distance, and looking to land one big punch, just doesn’t work for him when he comes up against fighters that are faster, which Jones is.
The reality of this fight, despite the incredible power that Jackson has in his fists, is that he is going to be picked apart by Jones while trying to land one big punch. He hasn’t shown us a desire to do anything else, to expand into any other areas, and Jon Jones isn’t going to have much trouble tearing him down.
The sad truth of this whole thing is that Jackson really could be a contender against Jones, if only he’d expand on his range of skills as a fighter. With the power he has, Jackson could put many more fighters away if he’d move out of boxing and into some other forms of combat.
The best shot Jackson has at this point is to get inside of Jones’ range early, and try to do some damage. Once Jones has Jackson’s timing figured out, it’ll only be a matter of time until “Rampage” loses. Jackson is just too one dimensional to face a fighter with skills like Jon Jones.
So yes, the smart money is on Jones to win this fight. And no, Jackson is not being underestimated. But if you want to take a risk and have a decent chance at coming out with some real cash, place a bet with “Rampage” Jackson, he’s surprised us all before.
The UFC light heavyweight championship was long been considered the organization’s most prestigious title and its corresponding division has always been the most heavily promoted. Thus, each fighter who captures the title is practically advertised as a…
The UFC light heavyweight championship was long been considered the organization’s most prestigious title and its corresponding division has always been the most heavily promoted. Thus, each fighter who captures the title is practically advertised as a living god.
But even amongst “immortals” there is inequality. Of all the light heavyweight champions in UFC history, some were far more accomplished than others.
Who were the most accomplished of all the UFC’s “legendary” (in quotes because the term is used far too loosely by the UFC and fans alike) light heavyweight champions? Read and find out! But be warned that the No. 1 pick may surprise you.
In less than one week’s time, Jon “Bones” Jones will defend his UFC light heavyweight championship belt against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in Denver, Colo.The aging Rampage will look to defeat the young phenom in Jones at UFC 135. Considering the age of…
In less than one week’s time, Jon “Bones” Jones will defend his UFC light heavyweight championship belt against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in Denver, Colo.
The aging Rampage will look to defeat the young phenom in Jones at UFC 135. Considering the age of Jackson and the abilities of Jones, one may wonder if the current champ is looking past Rampage.
Jones was thrust into the limelight and bestowed mega-star success in just seven UFC fights. Transforming into more of a fable than an actual fighter, the accolades and admiration provided to the young “Bones” is typically warranted for those with more experience and Octagon dominance.
Rampage Jackson is no stranger to the big stage. Battling for years within the Pride Fighting Championships and now in the UFC, Jackson has engaged in memorable fights with Wanderlei Silva, Chuck Liddell, Rashad Evans, Dan Henderson and Mauricio Rua, just to name a few.
Considering that Rampage has been fighting since 1999, Jones and his camp may fall into the trap of looking past Jackson as a worthy adversary come this Saturday.
That point could not be further from the truth.
Quinton Jackson is known for two things within the fighting industry. First, his in-cage abilities are exceptional. Possessing raw power and a very gifted skill-set that has made him relevant for more than a decade, Rampage is still very lethal inside the Octagon.
Jackson is also known for his self-promotion, entertaining interview decorum and verbal attacks of his opponents outside of the Octagon.
In a story that broke on August 30 on MMAJunkie.com, Jackson planted a seed of contempt in the mind of Jones claiming that “Bones” planted a spy in his training camp.
A brilliant tactic by the veteran, Jones was rendered to defend himself of these allegations, distracting him from his overall goal of preserving his championship.
Firing back in a story provided by MMAFighting, Jones responded by saying, “Just so you know, I’m not a person who looks for shortcuts in life. Unlike you, MMA is not something I do because of money. It’s a way of life for me and I would never disrespect the integrity of that.”
Further adding fuel to the fire, Jackson retorted to Jones’s statement with a Tweet of his own.
“Yeah I keep it real, I fight 4 $ cause I hate training, but I love giving ass whoopins, and ill b giving 1 on the 24th, btw grow up!,” Rampage posted.
Most recently, the feud between the two light heavyweights continued during their interview with Joe Rogan at UFC Live 25.
Firing the first shot, Jackson stated, “On the 24th, he’s [Jon Jones] going to be watching the lights from on his back.”
Attempting to remain out of the verbal bashing, Jones did slip in his own zing or two against Jackson during the interview.
“While he’s playing video games, I’m watching him,” Jones said to Rogan regarding continued allegations of a spy in Jackson’s camp.
As this verbal war outside of the Octagon ensues, do I believe that Jon Jones is looking past Quinton Jackson?
Absolutely not. How could he? Jackson does not provide Jones with a moment of peace during the pre-fight interviews and publicity leading up to this main event.
In retrospect, I can only assume that Jones is not looking past Jackson and is in fact more motivated than ever to shut Rampage up with a beating inside the Octagon.
Whether or not Rampage can back up his words is left to be seen.
And whether or not Jones can successfully defend his championship against Jackson will be determined that Saturday at UFC 135.
What is certain, however, is that the press conferences involving these two competitors will be full of sound bytes and entertaining material for the media.
I welcome your comments.
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UFC light heavyweight champion
As pre-fight verbal battles go, the one between