Bleacher Report’s MMA news recap for Wednesday June 8:Martin Kampmann hurt off of Versus Fight Card.Jon Fitch taking advice from Rashad Evans.Gina Carano was cleared to fight,Jon Jones takes shot at Rampage Jackson.Alistair Overeem talks to Bleacher Re…
Bleacher Report’s MMA news recap for Wednesday June 8:
(Legal Disclaimer: Actual Bud Light contest winners will not be nearly as attractive as the people featured in this commercial. Props: officialbudlight)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…
– Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza to Defend Strikeforce Title Against Luke Rockhold (5thRound)
– UFC 131 Tickets ‘Cannibalized’ by Vancouver Canucks NHL Finals Run and More (MMA Mania)
– Shane Carwin on Dos Santos: I’m Going to Knock Him Out or Tap Him Out and Feel No Remorse For It (LowKick)
– Downes, Cope, and Kingsbury Top TUF 13 Finale Medical Suspensions (Five Ounces of Pain)
– Fight Journal: ‘Mayhem’ Miller Edition (MMA Fighting)
– Now You Can Watch Hector Lombard Give Joe Doerksen a Harry Potter Scar (MiddleEasy)
– “Combate Extremo” CEO Michael Shoffner talks about MMA in Mexico (TheFightNerd)
(Legal Disclaimer: Actual Bud Light contest winners will not be nearly as attractive as the people featured in this commercial. Props: officialbudlight)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…
– Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza to Defend Strikeforce Title Against Luke Rockhold (5thRound)
– UFC 131 Tickets ‘Cannibalized’ by Vancouver Canucks NHL Finals Run and More (MMA Mania)
– Shane Carwin on Dos Santos: I’m Going to Knock Him Out or Tap Him Out and Feel No Remorse For It (LowKick)
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon “Bones” Jones took some time out of his busy schedule to deliver the UFC fans some very important information. Specifically, Jones wanted to discuss the suddenly controversial “motorboating&rdquo…
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon “Bones” Jones took some time out of his busy schedule to deliver the UFC fans some very important information. Specifically, Jones wanted to discuss the suddenly controversial “motorboating” phenomenon sparked by Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s post-UFC 130 interview with MMA Heat’s Karyn Bryant.
Jackson is known for his often inappropriate and sometimes borderline offensive interactions with reporters, but he took it in a direction that was weird even for him that night when he tried to replicate a Vince Vaughn line from the movie Wedding Crashers.
Various members of the media have called for Jackson to be suspended, fined or even released by the UFC, but that has not happened, nor is it likely to happen.
For those wondering, Karyn Bryant, the woman on the receiving end of the controversial video, expressed that she thought it was funny and that she was not offended.
But the freshly crowned UFC light heavyweight champion was not so quick to let his potential next opponent off the hook. Jones responded to the Jackson video with this video of his own, where he explains the intricacies of the motorboat: where it is appropriate, where it is not and where exactly it was that Rampage went wrong.
“Come on, son,” Jones repeated twice in the video.
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones has been on a tear since his debut, and he hasn’t missed a step since. The 23-year-old phenom stormed onto the scene collecting his first three wins in dominating fashion, and despite losing to Matt Hamill via d…
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones has been on a tear since his debut, and he hasn’t missed a step since. The 23-year-old phenom stormed onto the scene collecting his first three wins in dominating fashion, and despite losing to Matt Hamill via disqualification, many fans and pundits would agree he technically won that bout as well.
However, it was his win over light heavyweight Brandon Vera that intrigued and fascinated fans, generating a lot of support as he began to challenge for the light heavyweight title. A couple more wins would follow, and Jones was granted the opportunity to challenge for the title and he was successful.
Now at the young age of 23, Jones sits atop of the light heavyweight division, and it appears that he will reign for quite some time. After disposing such skilled fighters as Ryan Bader, Stephan Bonnar and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, one begs the question if anyone is superior to Jones.
In this slideshow, we’ll take a look at the potential fighters who pose a threat to the champion and could potentially defeat him.
While Rashad Evans rolls the dice with his title ambitions at UFC 133, the Grispi Effect lurks in the shadows looking to make him pay. What is the Grispi Effect? The Grispi Effect is a phenomenon based off UFC featherweight Josh Grispi, who lost his ti…
While Rashad Evans rolls the dice with his title ambitions at UFC 133, the Grispi Effect lurks in the shadows looking to make him pay.
What is the Grispi Effect?
The Grispi Effect is a phenomenon based off UFC featherweight Josh Grispi, who lost his title shot on January 1.
Grispi was scheduled to challenge featherweight champion Jose Aldo on the UFC 125 card, but Aldo had to withdraw from the bout due to an injury.
Instead of waiting around for his hard-earned title shot, Grispi decided to still compete on the card against Dustin Poirier. Despite his attempts to keep warm, Grispi’s performance was cold as Poirier picked up the upset in a lopsided decision.
The woes of the 22-year-old Grispi continued at the Ultimate Fighter Season 13 Finale, where he was stopped in the third round by George Roop.
In a little over five months time, Grispi went from contender to being on the UFC chopping block.
Who else has this affected?
Former WEC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis came to the UFC as the top contender for Frankie Edgar’s lightweight title, but the original plans were scrapped when Edgar’s title bout against Gray Maynard ended in a draw at UFC 125.
With no clear timeline for a future title shot, Pettis and the UFC agreed upon a bout against Clay Guida to keep the Taekwondo black belt busy.
UFC President Dana White assured fans that Pettis was the top contender for the UFC title despite a multitude of other candidates. All Pettis had to do was beat Guida at the TUF Season 13 Finale.
It was by no means an easy task, but Guida seemed to always come up short in big moments. Unfortunately for Pettis, that version of Clay Guida is dead and gone. There was nothing flashy about his performance, but Guida was consistent with his takedowns and picked up a workmanlike unanimous decision.
Being slapped with a double dose of reality, Pettis was forced to come to the realization that he needs to work on his takedown defense, and he was no longer the top contender for the lightweight title.
Now, Evans is on deck to face rising star Phil Davis in a bout to decide the next light heavyweight title contender.
A bout between Evans and light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was set for UFC 133, but Jones pulled out of the fight with a hand injury. It was initially thought that Jones would need to undergo surgery to repair the injury, and Evans took a fight with Davis to avoid extending his already long hiatus.
Not long after the Evans and Davis bout was announced, Jones found out that he wouldn’t need surgery to repair his hand, and he would be ready to fight again by October. With Evans already locked into a bout with Davis, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson was promoted as the next title contender.
Davis is a really dangerous opponent for Evans. It’s incredibly hard to gage where Davis is at in his young career. He continues to improve with every fight, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to decipher his everlasting potential.
After it became known that Jones wouldn’t need surgery, would it have been smarter for the UFC to continue with its original plans of Evans versus Jones and match Davis with Jackson instead?
A bout between Evans and Jones could be deemed a superfight. The amount of drama surrounding this newfound rivalry of former teammates could serve as a perennial slot on daytime television.
Why not strike while the iron is hot? What if Jackson or Davis picks up an upset?
There is never a sure thing in MMA, and if either Jones or Evans incur losses, it would take a lot of steam out of the anticipated grudge match.
For now, fans are forced to wait and see how the altered scenario unfolds.
The Grispi Effect claimed Anthony Pettis. Is Rashad Evans next?
The light heavyweight division in mixed-martial arts has long been considered by pundits or hardcore fans its premiere weight class.And now, as MMA evolves from its nascent beginnings, Jon Jones has emerged as undoubtedly the most talented and dangerou…
The light heavyweight division in mixed-martial arts has long been considered by pundits or hardcore fans its premiere weight class.
And now, as MMA evolves from its nascent beginnings, Jon Jones has emerged as undoubtedly the most talented and dangerous fighter among the 205 pound ranks.
In truth, any currently known light heavyweight faces a hopelessly daunting task would they hope to dethrone the young American.
While Jones’ status as the division’s best is certain, the order of the nine Zuffa combatants under him in a top ten power ranking can still be debated.
But only if you’re really quite bored. And I hope you are!
The proceeding rankings are judged with more weight given to a fighter’s ability than his accomplishments—anyone can use MMA math and connect dots—but here we’ll try and use wisdom as well as knowledge.
Bleacher Report’s MMA news recap for Wednesday June 8: