Tag: Jon Jones

MMA Top 10 Light Heavyweights: Any Stopping Jon Jones?

Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, Rankings, Light HeavyweightsThe Jon Jones Era, as you’ve surely heard, has begun: Jones is the new UFC light heavyweight champion, and everyone who follows MMA agrees that he’s going to be the champion for a long, long ti…

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The Jon Jones Era, as you’ve surely heard, has begun: Jones is the new UFC light heavyweight champion, and everyone who follows MMA agrees that he’s going to be the champion for a long, long time.

However, the light heavyweight division is so talented that it’s been nearly impossible for anyone to hold the belt for long: Chuck Liddell lost it to Rampage Jackson, who lost it to Forrest Griffin, who lost it to Rashad Evans, who lost it to Lyoto Machida, who lost it to Shogun Rua, who lost it to Jones. We’ve had seven different champions in the last four years, so why is everyone so sure that Jones is going to hold onto the belt for so long?

The biggest reason, I think, is Jones’ age. With the exception of Evans losing to Machida, every champion I mentioned above lost the belt to someone younger than him. But there aren’t any contenders on the horizon younger than the 23-year-old Jones. Not only is Jones already the best, but he’s going to keep getting better as the rest of the Top 10 light heavyweights in mixed martial arts get older.

So as I list the Top 10 light heavyweights below, I’ll talk about how I’d like their chances against Jones — even though I expect Jones to reign over all of them for a long time.

Anderson Silva ‘Very Happy’ at 185, Thinks Jon Jones Is ‘Amazing’

Filed under: UFC

It didn’t take long after Jon Jones won the UFC light heavyweight championship for everyone in the MMA world — right up to UFC Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta — to start clamoring for a superfight between Jones and UFC middleweigh…

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It didn’t take long after Jon Jones won the UFC light heavyweight championship for everyone in the MMA world — right up to UFC Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta — to start clamoring for a superfight between Jones and UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

ULTMMA.com asked Silva what he thinks, and the UFC’s oldest champion said he’s in awe of the UFC’s youngest champion. But he didn’t sound all that interested in moving up to light heavyweight.

Phil Davis in No Rush to Make Jon Jones Fight a Reality

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsAt the UFC 126 post-fight press conference, Urijah Faber said he was looking forward to one day seeing Jon Jones fight Phil Davis for the light heavyweight title.

He’s not the only one.

Since Jones won the b…

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At the UFC 126 post-fight press conference, Urijah Faber said he was looking forward to one day seeing Jon Jones fight Phil Davis for the light heavyweight title.

He’s not the only one.

Since Jones won the belt on Saturday, and to a degree even before UFC 128, media, fans, and even fighters have pegged Davis as the man who could give the unstoppable Jones trouble inside the Octagon.

That’s a huge compliment for a 26-year-old who only made his MMA debut in October 2008.

But Davis (8-0), who faces Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in the main event of UFC Fight Night 24 this Saturday, says he isn’t concerning himself with anything other than what’s next.

Greg Jackson Staying Out of It, but Disagrees With Jones-Evans Fight

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse ExclusiveThe way MMA trainer Greg Jackson sees it, it’s sadly ironic that his phone should be ringing off the hook a few days after adding a new UFC champion to his stable of fighters, and yet so few people are interested in …

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The way MMA trainer Greg Jackson sees it, it’s sadly ironic that his phone should be ringing off the hook a few days after adding a new UFC champion to his stable of fighters, and yet so few people are interested in talking about the fight.

Yes, Jon Jones dominated “Shogun” Rua to become light heavyweight champ, and yes, it would be nice if Jackson got a day or two to savor his fighter’s victory. But that’s not how it works this time. Not after Rashad Evans, a former UFC champion from the Jackson team, agreed to fight Jones just before declaring himself “done” with Jackson’s team altogether.

After inter-squad drama like that, all anyone wants to know is what exactly happened between Jackson and Evans to bring them to this point. The trouble is, Jackson isn’t entirely sure.

Jon Jones Is More One-Man Revolution Than MMA Evolution

Filed under: UFCThere is a constant meme that gets passed around regarding how mixed martial arts will look 10 or 20 years from now. In that crystal ball version of the future, all the athletes are bigger, stronger, faster, better. They are more creati…

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There is a constant meme that gets passed around regarding how mixed martial arts will look 10 or 20 years from now. In that crystal ball version of the future, all the athletes are bigger, stronger, faster, better. They are more creative, have better technique and are more thoroughly schooled in the various disciplines utilized in fighting.

It’s mostly BS.

Don’t get me wrong, advances in training and the increased availability of coaching will mean a better crop of aspiring fighters over time, but the difference will be marginal and result in no net change from the parity we see today. And that will mean a freakish athlete with a sharp intellect, confidence and and a fighting heart will always separate himself from the pack.

That brings us to Jon Jones.

Keith Jardine Points to Jon Jones for Rift at Jackson’s

The process of mining anyone who’s been a training partner of Jon Jones and Rashad Evans for their opinion on the former teammates budding feud, has begun full swing. It’s a ‘hot button issue’ right now, and of course, we’re totally on board (until extremely odd Youtube videos surface from either dude, or they begin […]

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The process of mining anyone who’s been a training partner of Jon Jones and Rashad Evans for their opinion on the former teammates budding feud, has begun full swing. It’s a ‘hot button issue’ right now, and of course, we’re totally on board (until extremely odd Youtube videos surface from either dude, or they begin using a catchword like ‘winning’, which quickly saturates every medium known to man).

One of the pivotal players in the Jackson Team’s success has been Keith Jardine, who long before Jones became a member, was working his way up the UFC rankings alongside Evans. In fact, Jardine and Evans were two of the first notable competitors to annoy Dana White by saying they wouldn’t fight each other. Well, in an interview with ESPN, Jardine was quick to compliment Rashad for what he did for the Jackson Team, and pointed to that now ‘infamous’ interview Jones had with Ariel Helwani, for the sh-tstorm that is now unfolding.

“It all started from that interview that Jon did, talking about the possibility of fighting with Rashad [with Ariel Helwani on Versus],” Jardine said. “That’s just something that doesn’t need to be said. Of course they could have been made to fight, and they both knew it. But for Jon to go out and say that made Rashad look like a punk, and that’s kind of what happened to start it all. It was already sensitive, so it blew up after that.”

Jardine qualified that comment by saying “Jon’s just a kid,” and that the new champ probably “regretted” what he had said to Helwani afterwards. Perhaps…perhaps not (cue sinister music). Plenty more to come on this no doubt.