Bleacher Report’s MMA news weekend wrap up:Karo Parisyan talks upcoming fight, his future and his inner demons.Muhammed Lawal calls out Quinton”Rampage” Jackson.Zak Jensen: Former “TUF” contestant talks time on show, upcoming boxing match.Cain Velasque…
Immediately following his destruction of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128, newly crowned UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones stood face-to-face with the man he was set to meet in his first title defense, former friend and training partner Rashad E…
Immediately following his destruction of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128, newly crowned UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones stood face-to-face with the man he was set to meet in his first title defense, former friend and training partner Rashad Evans.
Alas, that fight was scrapped when Jones revealed a hand injury in late April. From Authentic Sports Management press release:
“This is an injury that’s been recurring since I was a college wrestler, it doesn’t affect my punching or grappling, but I am taking the time and the proper measures to correct this now, so that it doesn’t happen again. I look forward to getting back to training and to my first title defense. As for Rashad, let’s see what happens with Phil Davis. I will be watching that fight with great interest.”
Davis was moved in to Jones’ spot and he and Evans will meet at UFC 133, which will take place in Philadelphia on Aug. 6.
Jones had been scheduled to have surgery to correct his hand injury, but after meeting with the surgeon on May 13, Jones’ manager, Malki Kawa, announced via twitter, “We went to meet with the surgeon on wed and after he looked at @Jonnybones he thought that surgery was a bit evasive and bones didn’t have (to have the surgery)”
Jones recently spoke to MMACanada.net about the decision to forgo the surgery, “The way the doctor explained it to me, he would actually be doing me a disservice to cut me open, drills holes in my bones and file my bones down. He said, ‘considering you’re an athlete, surgery may not be the best thing for you.’ He put me through a lot of tests and he thought that I could live without the surgery and let it heal.”
As far as the fight against his former friend and training partner, “For all the people panicking at home, me and Rashad Evans are going to fight,” Jones said. “We both have a lot of fights left on our contracts, be patient guys, be patient.”
Jones is expecting to return to the Octagon in 2011. The champion said that his possible opponents would be the winner of the Evans versus Phil Davis fight, or possibly Lyoto Machida or Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
Filed under: UFCIt’s been a rough week for the UFC and its fighters. On Monday, MMA Fighting broke the news that both Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard were injured, canceling UFC 130’s lightweight championship main event. On Thursday the UFC announced th…
It’s been a rough week for the UFC and its fighters. On Monday, MMA Fighting broke the news that both Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard were injured, canceling UFC 130’s lightweight championship main event. On Thursday the UFC announced that Brock Lesnar had a recurrence of diverticulitis and was forced out of his UFC 131 matchup with Junior dos Santos. And on Friday, it was revealed that light-heavyweight champ Jon Jones would not need surgery on an injured thumb, but was still sidelined from training until mid-June.
While the news was bad enough on its own merits, it came with its own accompanying baggage: backlash. The phenomenon is nothing new, but it remains as puzzling as ever. Do these men and women who get in a cage and fight for a living really have anything to prove about their courage?
On one hand, it’s easy to understand why the sport’s followers would be disappointed when fighters are forced out of action. In the event when an entire match is canceled — as in the instance of Edgar-Maynard — it’s even clearer. We always hope for the best fights, and are disappointed when they don’t happen. But on the other, the accusations that are casually lobbed at fighters afterward are often over the line and border on downright hysteria.
With UFC 129 in the rear-view mirror and no major MMA event for the next two weeks, I thought now would be a good time to look at the MMA pound-for-pound best fighters.Both GSP and Jose Aldo fought hard to make their cases for that No. 1 spot; however,…
With UFC 129 in the rear-view mirror and no major MMA event for the next two weeks, I thought now would be a good time to look at the MMA pound-for-pound best fighters.
Both GSP and Jose Aldo fought hard to make their cases for that No. 1 spot; however, the performances of Jake Shields and Mark Hominick proved tougher than some expected.
With that said, here is my take on the top 10 fighters in Mixed Martial Arts right now.
The UFC has recently run into a string of bad luck, losing their next two pay-per-view card’s main events due to injury and illness.First, Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard were both injured while training for their UFC 130 main event. Neither fighter wil…
The UFC has recently run into a string of bad luck, losing their next two pay-per-view card’s main events due to injury and illness.
First, Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard were both injured while training for their UFC 130 main event. Neither fighter will be able to compete on the May 28 card, as Edgar has back issues while Maynard has sustained a knee injury.
Due to the short notice, the new main event of UFC 130 will be Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Matt Hamill.
On Thursday, the promotion revealed that Brock Lesnar would be forced out of his UFC 131 main event battle with Junior dos Santos due to a recurrence of the diverticulitis that forced him out of action for a year, earlier in his career.
The UFC moved fast, replacing Lesnar with Shane Carwin, who was already scheduled to fight on the June 11 card with his original opponent being Jon Olav Einemo.
Jon Jones is another fighter whose loss will be felt by the UFC in 2011. Jones was set to face his former friend and training partner Rashad Evans when a hand injury forced him out of that fight.
At the time Jones withdrew from the fight, there was no official date or location for the Jones versus Evans match up, but they hype for that fight had been building even before Jones defeated “Shogun” Rua for the UFC light heavyweight championship in March.
Phil Davis has been booked in Jones’ place and he will face Evans at UFC 133, which will take place on Aug. 6.
Bleacher Report takes a look at how the injuries and illness could impact the pay-per-view buys for these upcoming events.
The UFC has recently run into a string of bad luck, losing their next two pay-per-view card’s main events due to injury and illness.First, Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard were both injured while training for their UFC 130 main event. Neither fighter wil…
The UFC has recently run into a string of bad luck, losing their next two pay-per-view card’s main events due to injury and illness.
First, Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard were both injured while training for their UFC 130 main event. Neither fighter will be able to compete on the May 28 card, as Edgar has back issues while Maynard has sustained a knee injury.
Due to the short notice, the new main event of UFC 130 will be Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Matt Hamill.
On Thursday, the promotion revealed that Brock Lesnar would be forced out of his UFC 131 main event battle with Junior dos Santos due to a recurrence of the diverticulitis that forced him out of action for a year, earlier in his career.
The UFC moved fast, replacing Lesnar with Shane Carwin, who was already scheduled to fight on the June 11 card with his original opponent being Jon Olav Einemo.
Jon Jones is another fighter whose loss will be felt by the UFC in 2011. Jones was set to face his former friend and training partner Rashad Evans when a hand injury forced him out of that fight.
At the time Jones withdrew from the fight, there was no official date or location for the Jones versus Evans match up, but they hype for that fight had been building even before Jones defeated “Shogun” Rua for the UFC light heavyweight championship in March.
Phil Davis has been booked in Jones’ place and he will face Evans at UFC 133, which will take place on Aug. 6.
Bleacher Report takes a look at how the injuries and illness could impact the pay-per-view buys for these upcoming events.
Bleacher Report’s MMA news weekend wrap up:
It’s been a rough week for the UFC and its fighters. On Monday,