This weekend’s UFC 145 will feature a clash between top light heavyweights and former teammates Jon Jones and Rashad Evans. The elite 205-pound fighters have been butting heads ever since Jones accepted a title fight as a replacement for…
This weekend’s UFC 145 will feature a clash between top light heavyweights and former teammates Jon Jones and Rashad Evans. The elite 205-pound fighters have been butting heads ever since Jones accepted a title fight as a replacement for an injured Evans, but they may finally settle their differences on Saturday.
The fight card will also feature the return of Rory MacDonald, a young Canadian fighter touted by many as the next Georges St-Pierre. MacDonald will meet a fellow rising star in Che Mills, who picked up a dominant victory over Chris Cope in his UFC debut.
Contenders Brendan Schaub, Mark Hominick, Miguel Torres, Michael McDonald, Travis Browne and plenty of other talented fighters also fill out a night of fights that should be one to remember for quite some time.
Before Saturday’s event, the fighters will hit the scales at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Ga. on Friday at 4 p.m. ET. Video of the weigh-ins will be streamed live on the above video player. After the weigh-ins, stay tuned to Bleacher Report MMA for all the latest on UFC 145 and the rest of your MMA needs.
Sean Smith is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. For the latest insight and updates on everything MMA, Follow Sean Smith on Twitter
As the reigning UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Jon Jones sets his sights on former champion—and former friend—Rashad Evans, but the current 205-pound king has a whole new set of problems to contend with.Since taking the title, Jones has mo…
As the reigning UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Jon Jones sets his sights on former champion—and former friend—Rashad Evans, but the current 205-pound king has a whole new set of problems to contend with.
Since taking the title, Jones has mostly taken on some of the elite strikers of the division. Unlike the champ’s previous opponents, Evans has fantastic wrestling and heavy hands, a deadly combination that Jones has yet to see inside the Octagon.
While both have trained with each other in the past and know each others’ styles, Jones and Evans are vastly different fighters than they were in the past.
If Jones wants to defeat Evans, he will have to make sure he follows the keys to victory broken down in the following slides.
After watching the pre-fight press conference for the main event at UFC 145 it would be hyperbole to label the bout between current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans as a grudge match. The two s…
After watching the pre-fight press conference for the main event at UFC 145 it would be hyperbole to label the bout between current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans as a grudge match. The two seemed tired of rehashing the same old questions over and over and looked like they wanted to be anywhere else but sitting on that stage on Wednesday afternoon in Atlanta.
With that in mind, let’s call this an eagerly anticipated bout. That description seems to fit much better for the fighters as well as for the fans. That eagerly anticipated match up will take place on Saturday, April 21 at Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The Jones versus Evans scrap will headline a 12 fight card that will also see up and coming stars Rory MacDonald and Michael McDonald attempt to continue their climbs up the rankings of their respective divisions.
While Jones and Evans were reserved at the press conference things may heat up when the fighters take to the scales on Friday afternoon for the weigh-ins for Saturday night’s fight card.
The weigh-in will kick of at 4 p.m. ET and Bleacher Report MMA will have results as they happen.
(Don’t worry, we put more effort into this piece than the UFC marketing department did into that poster.)
Rumor has it that on Saturday night, two certain somebodies may or may not partake in a certain fight that you may or may not be able to place a certain wager on, which may or may not be dependent on whether you think or don’t think you know a certain outcome of the fight itself, capiche? In either case, we are going to offer some advice that may or may not help you arrive at that determination. Check out what could hypothetically be the betting lines for UFC 145, courtesy of BestFightOdds, below, and follow us after the jump for what may or may not be our advice on where to place a certain bet that may or may not exist.
(Don’t worry, we put more effort into this piece than the UFC marketing department did into that poster.)
Rumor has it that on Saturday night, two certain somebodies may or may not partake in a certain fight that you may or may not be able to place a certain wager on, which may or may not be dependent on whether you think or don’t think you know a certain outcome of the fight itself, capiche? In either case, we are going to offer some advice that may or may not help you arrive at that determination. Check out what could hypothetically be the betting lines for UFC 145, courtesy of BestFightOdds, below, and join us afterward for what may or may not be our advice on where to place a certain bet that may or may not exist.
The Main Event: Listen, we all know that Jon Jones will likely beat Rashad Evans; he is younger, more athletic, and has absolutely crushed everyone in his path, including the man who nearly turned Evans into a member of the walking dead. But whenever a former champ who is arguably still in his prime is listed as that big of an underdog, especially one with as much power and experience as Evans, you’d be a fool not to place a bet on him. Save Jones for the parlay, and place a decent side wager on Evans; it’s as simple as that.
The Good Dogs: The Michael Mcdonald/Miguel Torres odds are really too close to waste your time on, and we hate to count Che Mills out, but given Rory MacDonald‘s run thus far in the UFC, we’d say he’s pretty close to mincemeat in this one. That brings us to Rothwell/Schaub. Here’s what we know:
1. Ben Rothwell CAN knock a motherfucker out, even if we haven’t see him do so in quite some time.
2. Brendan Schaub is very susceptible to the KO
Now, you might call us crazy to even consider betting on “Big Ben” given his run as of late, and you have every right to. If this fight goes past the first round, Schaub will more than likely take it, but if Rothwell presses the action early, you could be looking at an easy score. Let the public backlash begin.
The other dogs worth your consideration are Matt Brown, Efrain Escudero, and Chad Griggs. Brown’s got the experience edge (UFC-wise, at least) over Thompson, who’s only opponent in UFC competition was basically a sheep being led to the slaughter. Mac Danzig has been a mixed bag ever since winning the TUF 6 plaque, and if Escudero chooses to mix up his strikes with a few takedowns, he could very easily coast his way to a UD victory. Next to Evans, Escudero is your best bet as far as underdog picks go. As for Griggs…well, the dude throws some serious heat, and can take it just as well as he can dish it out. He’s facing a tough test in Browne, but if you’re feeling lucky, a small bet on him wouldn’t be too foolish.
Stay the Hell Away From: Maximo Blanco. It’s odd enough that the UFC signed him following a loss (who does he think he is, Phil Baroni?), and we’re not going to risk him ruining our parlay until he gets at least one UFC bout under his belt. Also, John Alessio. His line may look tempting at +325 considering his experience, but the dude has a track record of buckling under the bright lights. The fact that he’s stepping in as a late replacement against someone whose strengths play right into his weaknesses should be further proof to just steer clear of him.
Official CagePotato Parlay: Jones + Bocek + Clements + Njokuani
Suggested wager for a $50 wager
-$20 on the parlay
-$10 on Evans
-$10 on Escudero
-$5 on Rothwell
-$5 on Brown
Jeremy Botter: Thursday of fight week means that the guys who are competing on Saturday night are starting to, well, get a little bit tired of fight week.They have literally answered every single question the media can throw at them on numerous occasio…
Jeremy Botter: Thursday of fight week means that the guys who are competing on Saturday night are starting to, well, get a little bit tired of fight week.
They have literally answered every single question the media can throw at them on numerous occasions. I have witnessed this first hand. We journalists like to think we have a new spin or a new angle for a story, but most of the time we do not. We’re simply replicating the questions that the guy before us asked, except we think we’re a whole lot smarter than he was. We are not.
You could tell the dreariness of fight week was getting to Matt Brown, who was not in a very good mood during today’s open workout session at Georgia State University. Actually, “not in a very good mood” would probably be an upgrade on the happiness scale for Brown. But can you blame him? He’s suffered through endless media engagements to hype his “war in the south” preliminary bout with Stephan Thompson. I’d be inclined to frown a lot, too.
And then there was Michael MacDonald, who spent as much time as he could telling anyone who would listen about God and his upbringing in church.
They do not give out showmanship awards for these open workouts. But if they did, that award would go to Jon Jones. The light heavyweight champion swept into the room 35 minutes late, walked to one end of the gymnasium and proceeded to take off each individual piece of his new UFC-created line of merchandise, then headed to the mat. The congregated media swarmed around the mat, jostling for photos and videos. It was clear that the real superstar of UFC 145 had arrived.
Jones shadowboxed and hit pads, then strode over to sign autographs for fans. Jones has always been good about spending as much time as possible with the fans, and I’m amazed he did so again today, with the biggest fight of his career looming in two days. Perhaps the UFC is right, then, by anchoring their ship to Jones and pointing him towards mainstream success.
This weekend is UFC 145. The main event pits UFC light heavyweight champion against former-teammate Rashad Evans. It’s a fight that has been slowly building for over a year and one that will decide who is the best fighter in the division.Rashad Evans p…
This weekend is UFC 145. The main event pits UFC light heavyweight champion against former-teammate Rashad Evans. It’s a fight that has been slowly building for over a year and one that will decide who is the best fighter in the division.
Rashad Evans presents some interesting stylistic matchups that Jon Jones hasn’t seen before in his UFC career. Those, added to the fact that they were former training partners, makes this the most intriguing light heavyweight fight of all time.
Because of these factors, I have several questions.
Can Jon Jones handle adversity?
This tends to be a question every time that Jon Jones fights a veteran. It was one that was asked when he fought Shogun and it was asked again for the Machida fight. It’s a valid question though. For all of his talents, Jon Jones is still extremely young and doesn’t have the experience to draw upon should he be put in a bad situation.
It’s easy to overlook because of how physically dominant Jones actually is, but Rashad Evans’ experience and fight IQ may be a difference maker in this fight.
Will his chin hold up?
Again, this is asked whenever Jon Jones has a fight. It’s why the fight with Rampage was interesting on paper. As limited as Rampage Jackson is at this point is his career, he still has the punching power to put someone to sleep.
The same can happen with Rashad Evans. Evans has the same power as Jackson but isn’t as limited in his striking abilities. He’s also made massive adjustments in his technique and arguably has the best footwork and head movement in the light heavyweight division. All of these factors make the fight with Jones an interesting one.
How will Jon Jones do off his back?
In his entire UFC career, Jon Jones has only faced wrestlers in three of his fights. His opponents? Matt Hamill, Jake O’Brien, and Ryan Bader. As good as they are at wrestling in MMA, they aren’t in the same league as Rashad Evans. Evans has firmly established himself as the top wrestler at light heavyweight and has a brutal top game.
It’s easy to overlook this fact as Jones has never had to fight off of his back. But as Mike Tyson once said, “everyone’s got a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
Has the trash talk gotten into his head?
Jon Jones can say that he doesn’t care about what Rashad Evans has said in the media but it’s hard to not let those words get to him. Evans has been incredibly open about Jones and former trainer Greg Jackson. On some level that has to be getting to Jones, who has been very defensive of his trainer. Evans is the first fighter that Jones has faced who has trained with the Jackson camp. It’s very possible that Jones may lose focus because of what Evans has said about him and his coach.
Did the long build burn him out mentally?
Let’s be honest, the press conference was kind of a dud. But that should have been expected. The fight has been built up for over a year and at some point both Jones and Evans had to have burnt out talking about each other. It doesn’t feel like there is any animosity anymore because of how much these two have spoken on record about each other. Media obligations can take focus away from what is important and that may be the biggest issue that Jones has heading into the fight with Evans.
This weekend’s UFC 145 will feature a clash between top light heavyweights and former teammates Jon Jones and Rashad Evans. The elite 205-pound fighters have been butting heads ever since Jones accepted a title fight as a replacement for an injured Evans, but they may finally settle their differences on Saturday.