Tag: Jon Jones

With Bout Verbally Agreed to, Jon Jones Says He’s ‘Obsessed’ with Ryan Bader

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse ExclusiveUFC light heavyweight contender Jon Jones kept a close eye on the Ryan Bader-Antonio Rogerio Nogueira bout at UFC 119, and with good reason. Rumor had it that the winner would also claim the grand prize in the ‘Jon J…

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UFC light heavyweight contender Jon Jones kept a close eye on the Ryan Bader–Antonio Rogerio Nogueira bout at UFC 119, and with good reason. Rumor had it that the winner would also claim the grand prize in the ‘Jon Jones sweepstakes,’ and after Bader took the unanimous decision victory, that rumor now seems to be crystallizing into fact.

Jones and Bader have both verbally agreed to face each other on Super Bowl weekend, Jones’ agent Malki Kawa tells MMA Fighting.

And now that the match-up is closer to being official, Jones said he’s already turned his attention toward learning everything he can about his next opponent, even if he wasn’t overly impressed with what he saw out of Bader in Indianapolis.

“I thought Bader was exposed,” Jones told MMA Fighting on Monday evening. “At first, Bader had me a believer in his double-legs. I thought with his strength and his power, he could double-leg down anyone. But Nogueira exposed him in the wrestling department, big time. That was interesting to see.”

Jon Jones Is As Tired of Wrestlers As You Are

("…but you know me, I never like to look past my opponents.")
As we mentioned over the weekend, UFC hype-magnet Jon Jones is likely to take on fellow light-heavyweight rising star Ryan Bader early next year. You’d think Bones would b…

Jon Jones Jake O'Brien UFC weigh-in photos
("…but you know me, I never like to look past my opponents.")

As we mentioned over the weekend, UFC hype-magnet Jon Jones is likely to take on fellow light-heavyweight rising star Ryan Bader early next year. You’d think Bones would be psyched to rumble with the undefeated TUF 8 winner, in a fight that could potentially produce a title contender at 205 pounds, or at the very least establish a pecking order in the division. As it turns out, he’s not too impressed with the matchup, telling Inside MMA:

"I’m actually really sick of fighting this type of style. Matt Hamill, Matyushenko, Jake O’Brien…they all have that similar kind of style. Their main focus is that double leg dive and [they have] sub-par boxing…I’m ready to fight some strikers, I’m ready to fight some south paws, I’m ready to really mix it up…I’m trying to secure a respect level with my wrestling. I’m sure Ryan Bader, the advantage he’ll have going in is to be the better wrestler and I’m going to try and prove the UFC wrong again."

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Anticipated Clash Between Jon Jones and Ryan Bader in the Works for 2011

Filed under: UFC, NewsThe collision course between young phenoms Jon Jones and Ryan Bader seems to finally be nearing its point of impact.

According to sources with knowledge of the situation, the blue-chip light-heavyweights will square off in early …

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The collision course between young phenoms Jon Jones and Ryan Bader seems to finally be nearing its point of impact.

According to sources with knowledge of the situation, the blue-chip light-heavyweights will square off in early 2011, with a date still to be assigned to the fight.

The 23-year-old Jones has been one of the most dynamic fighters on the international scene since making his UFC debut in August 2008. At 11-1 overall, Jones is 5-1 in the UFC with his only loss coming via disqualification after landing illegal elbows in a fight he was otherwise dominating against Matt Hamill.

Reminder: UFC 119 Post-Fight Presser Live Right Here

  Just a reminder that the UFC 119 post-fight presser is live and can be watched right here.
Will Mirko retire? Will Dunham swallow the loss to Sherk? Does Bader get to be killed by Jon Jones Next? 
All this an more will be answered. Giddy u…

 
Just a reminder that the UFC 119 post-fight presser is live and can be watched right here.

Will Mirko retire? Will Dunham swallow the loss to Sherk? Does Bader get to be killed by Jon Jones Next? 

All this an more will be answered. Giddy up!

UFC video player is after the jump.

 

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Forrest Griffin Hoping to Fight Before 2010 is Up

You have to admit, if we end up going through 2010 without seeing Forrest Griffin throw down, this year’s MMA campaign will be somewhat incomplete no? After all, whether it’s been through getting his ass handed to him by Anderson Silva, shocking the world by tapping out “Shogun” Rua, or thrilling fans in his classic tilts […]

Forrest-Griffin-1

You have to admit, if we end up going through 2010 without seeing Forrest Griffin throw down, this year’s MMA campaign will be somewhat incomplete no? After all, whether it’s been through getting his ass handed to him by Anderson Silva, shocking the world by tapping out “Shogun” Rua, or thrilling fans in his classic tilts with Stephen Bonnar, Griffin ranks right up there on the ‘got your money’s worth’ index. Plus it doesn’t hurt that the former TUF winner is extremely gifted in the fine art of sarcasm…which is something we’ve always enjoyed (no…seriously).

Of course, Griffin has been on the shelf since earlier this year, due to a shoulder injury which prevented him from fighting Antonio Rogerio Noegueira at UFC 114 on May 29th. With September well underway and no bouts yet announced, the light-heavyweight is running out of time to fight in 2010. Well, speaking on the MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani recently, Griffin confirmed that his shoulder is at “70ish” percent , and that “My goal right now is to win a fight before the end of the year.” So maybe in December then?

When asked about the possibility of facing Jon Jones, a name which has consistently come up in the ‘who’s next for Forrest’ online discussion, Griffin stated:

“That’s a great fight to take a year layoff with injury fighting a guy coming off like a hot three-fight win streak.”

See—there’s that sarcasm—nicely done. It would be a damn entertaining fight, but yeah; Jones is not exactly an ideal opponent to get back into the swing of things with….

Will Tonight’s Co-Main Event Determine Which Old Guy Jon Jones Gets to Beat Up Next?

(“Yeah, I get it, ‘UFC 124: ‘Expendable,’ that’s really funny … no, seriously, I’m laughing on the inside.” PicProps: Sherdog)
Look, I didn’t mean to get you all in a tizzy with that crazy stuff I …


(“Yeah, I get it, ‘UFC 124: ‘Expendable,’ that’s really funny … no, seriously, I’m laughing on the inside.” PicProps: Sherdog)

Look, I didn’t mean to get you all in a tizzy with that crazy stuff I said earlier. Rest assured, gentle reader, odds are very good that Randy Couture applies one of his world-renowned Brazilian Joint Locks to James Toney tonight and takes home an easy victory, probably sometime in the first round. After that, we’ll all have our fun with Toney, figuratively poking him in his airbrushed belly as we ship him off to wherever it is old boxers go to die. We’ll all probably act very smug and superior on our Twitter accounts for a few days, too.

Deep down, though, Couture’s victory will not cure my unease. For some while now, I’ve been wondering if the worst thing that could happen to Randy Couture at this stage in his career would be for him to beat James Toney at UFC 118. This is all just conjecture mind you, but I can’t escape the notion that whoever wins tonight might ride a groundswell of mainstream publicity right into a fight with Jon Jones, probably at the UFC’s end-of-the-year (or maybe Super Bowl weekend) pay-per-view.

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