What Jon Jones has been able to accomplish in the past year is remarkable, but at only 24 years old, we may have yet to see Jones at his full potential as a fighter.Having successfully defended the UFC light heavyweight title on two occasions, Jones is…
What Jon Jones has been able to accomplish in the past year is remarkable, but at only 24 years old, we may have yet to see Jones at his full potential as a fighter.
Having successfully defended the UFC light heavyweight title on two occasions, Jones is already on his way to establishing his own legacy. But perhaps the intrigue and aura that surrounds the champion is not who he has defeated, but how effortlessly he has been able to defeat his opposition thus far.
Competing against experienced fighters in Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson was supposed to serve as a test for the 205-pound champion, and he passed it with flying colours.
Victories over Rua, Jackson and Lyoto Machida have led many fans to claim Jones to having one of the single greatest years in mixed martial arts history. While these wins have sparked debate on his placement among the pound-for-pound rankings, it is unquestionable that Jones has earned himself a spot on the list filled with past UFC light heavyweight champions like Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell.
And with such dominant victories over credible contenders like Rua and Machida, it is only a matter of time before Jones takes his rightful place as the greatest UFC light heavyweight champion. He will hope to extend his title reign when he meets another formidable opponent in Rashad Evans this weekend at UFC 145.
But for now, Jones has only begun to scratch the surface at 205 pounds.
Statistically speaking, Jones shouldn’t be ranked any higher than top five, as he has only defended the title twice.
Granted, some of his wins have come against some of the best fighters in the sport, but Jones still has to get past fighters like Evans and Dan Henderson before he gains fan praise and recognition similar to Liddell or Ortiz.
Jones might still be maturing as a fighter, but a possible win over Evans may be the step in the right direction as “Bones” looks to cement his legacy as of the greatest light heavyweight champion in UFC history.
Our friends over at HeavyMMA have posted an excellent three-part documentary called “The Real Jon Jones.” It features a deep look at his childhood and upbringing, along with the early parts of his career in mixed martial arts.Jones faces challenger Ras…
Our friends over at HeavyMMA have posted an excellent three-part documentary called “The Real Jon Jones.” It features a deep look at his childhood and upbringing, along with the early parts of his career in mixed martial arts.
Jones faces challenger Rashad Evans in the main event of UFC 145 on Saturday night. It’s one of the most-anticipated fights in UFC history, featuring a grudge match between two former training partners who are now bitter enemies.
HeavyMMA Fight Day host Dave Farra traveled to Jones’ camp in Albuquerque, New Mexico to sit down with the reigning light heavyweight champion. Farra also talked to Jones’ trainer Greg Jackson and other people in the champ’s support system. It’s a wide-ranging interview, with a look into Jones’ childhood and family that has never truly been seen before, and it gives you better insight into who Jon Jones truly is when he’s outside the cage and the glare of the media spotlight.
There’s also a ton of exclusive photos of Jones as a kid that you absolutely must see, including a look at Jones’ church in New York and his high school wrestling days.
You can watch the first part of the documentary in the video embedded above, and then catch parts two and three over at HeavyMMA.
Remember to stay tuned to Caged In for on-the-ground coverage of UFC 145 from Atlanta.
Jonathan Snowden: It’s not often you get to say “I told you so” in this life. For one thing, it’s tacky and fairly reprehensible behavior. People love to tell you when you are wrong, but no one wants to hear some gasbag bragging about the one time h…
Jonathan Snowden: It’s not often you get to say “I told you so” in this life. For one thing, it’s tacky and fairly reprehensible behavior. People love to tell you when you are wrong, but no one wants to hear some gasbag bragging about the one time he was right. You have to pick your spots—and I’m picking one now.
The time for Jon Jones-Rashad Evans was last year. It was maybe even January, when the two men missed crossing paths by just a little more than a month. It isn’t here and it isn’t now. The magical moment has passed. And I called it last October:
…by the time the fight does take place, it will be a pale shadow of the feud that has captivated UFC fans this year. Evans, despite knowing how to sell a fight like no one else in the modern UFC, is trying to say all the right things. Through a spokesman, he told the press that he doesn’t even care if Jones is his next fight. He’ll fight whoever the UFC wants him to fight, whenever they want him to fight.
…The time to make Jones and Evans is now. Every delay, every interview, every need to let fans in on the behind the scenes machinations, is hurting the fight at the box office. Dana White takes great pride in making the fights fans want to see. This is that fight.
At today’s Press Conference, the two men who once went back and forth with the best of them could barely even pretend there was any animus. It’s been talked to death. If there was any doubt before, the grudge match is now just a match. And that’s too bad.
Jeremy Botter: The UFC often holds their press conferences and other events in easy-to-find locations. That was probably also the case today, but in Atlanta, nothing is easy to find. Not even depending upon my trusty old GPS delivered Jonathan and I to…
Jeremy Botter: The UFC often holds their press conferences and other events in easy-to-find locations. That was probably also the case today, but in Atlanta, nothing is easy to find. Not even depending upon my trusty old GPS delivered Jonathan and I to the destination without a little bit of backtracking and headshaking.
All told, we finally found the Park Tavern, just off a large parcel of land that appears to be a combination golf course and festival ground. I say festival ground because they’re in the process of either setting up or tearing down what appears to be a large carnival. I made a mental note to myself to come back and check it out, even though I despise carnivals for reasons that I won’t get into here.
We walked into the park tavern, where our gracious UFC hosts had a decent lunch spread waiting. I did the only prudent thing, however, and went straight for the chocolate chip cookies. It was a good decision.
I caught up with a few media cohorts that I haven’t seen in awhile, and then set down for the press conference. We’ll expand on the actual press conference itself later today, but needless to say, it was fairly uneventful. Jones and Evans no longer have the fire towards one another that existed even a month ago, and it didn’t make for an interesting event.
As one person close to Evans told me: “He’s tired of it. He just wants to fight.” And I think we all pretty much feel the same way at this point. The trash-talking has been done to death. Now I want to see these two fighters test themselves against each other, and nothing more.
Over the last year, the public’s perception of light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones has changed drastically. He’s widely considered to be one of the best fighters in the world, but many believe that his physical abilities combined with his …
Over the last year, the public’s perception of light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones has changed drastically. He’s widely considered to be one of the best fighters in the world, but many believe that his physical abilities combined with his new-found fame have rapidly inflated his ego.
His fans and outspoken opponents have drawn attention to his self-assuredness, most notably Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans. They don’t hesitate to call him cocky.
I’ve written before about the unpresuming facade that Jones attempts to portray in his interviews and how his upcoming opponents often see right through it. Rashad Evans, the No. 1 light-heavyweight contender and former teammate of Jones, has continually poked the young lion during joint interviews over the last few months, as is evident in the video below.
Evans has continuously made claims of Jones’ conceit and has consistently shared his opinion of Jones, which is that he’s fake. Evans believes that Jones puts up this front to hide his arrogance.
During their interview on SportsNite, Evans described Jones as creative. He said, “He fights with that youth of just not knowing anything can happen. You know that youth when you just go out there and you just think that everything’s going to go the way you planned. Before you know it, it always don’t happen like that.”
This image of Jones portrayed by fans and fighters alike has become so commonplace that at times Jones has relented in his attempts at appearing humble. He’s claimed in the SportsNite and the UFC Ultimate Insider interviews to believe his own hype and to be high on himself. He believes it’s key to his success.
Their lack of respect for one another is evident as they constantly speak over and interrupt each other.
In part two of their interview on UFC Ultimate Insider, Jones explains how Evans has been known as an egotistical fighter since the beginning of his career. He stated, “I remember Rashad started all the way back on The Ultimate Fighter with the gyrating and the dancing and showboating in front of people. Matt Hughes, somebody who’s greatly respected, was one of the first to call it out. ‘Hey this kid’s a little on the cocky side’.”
The 24-year-old champion also explained that Evans’ entire reason for leaving Jackson’s camp was that he needed a training group that would focus on himself. Jones stated that the proof is in Evans’ lifestyle, that he’s loyal only to himself.
Jones clearly believes that Evans fabricated an excuse to leave and create his own camp to spite his former teammate and coaches. After their falling-out, Evans moved to Florida and created his own training team, named “Blackzilians” since the majority of the members were either black or Brazilian.
Jones claimed to have a saying that is “There’s no ‘I’ in ‘team.’ There’s no ‘I’ in ‘Jacksons.’ There’s ‘I’ in ‘Blackzilians.’”
As Jones began to speak about Greg Jackson’s team, Evans abruptly cut in, raised his voice and stated, “Don’t talk about the history of the program because, [expletive] I made that program!” They continued, back and forth, mocking and sarcastically demeaning each other.
Jones then scathingly spoke directly to Evans and said, “I really look at you as fake. I look at you as arrogant. I look at you as selfish. I look at you as self-centered. And I think your biggest thing is to try to reflect it off on me and make me seem like I’m everything that you’re feeling inside your heart.”
Evans simply looked at him with a smile.
At certain points during multiple joint interviews, Jones seemed to become weary of Evans’ taunts and mocking behavior and resorted to breaking down two of their recent opponents that they have in common. He coldly stated how Evans had trouble defeating Rampage Jackson and was knocked out “silly” by Lyoto Machida, while he finished them both.
With finality, Jones stated, “I feel like the champ in every way. And I feel like I’m going to do the same exact thing to you in April.”
While deciphering which of the pair is most cocky is extremely difficult, if not impossible, they contrast each other with one key feature. The difference between them is that Jones makes attempts to be a relaxed and confident fighter while Evans makes no claims of being humble.
Evans doesn’t hesitate to mock his former teammate while Jones always initiates the conversation with a calm and collected demeanor which he attempts to use to methodically disarm his sarcastic rival. Unfortunately for the champion, his contender knows him too well and says exactly what is needed to rile him up.
The main event at UFC 145 will feature a true grudge match as light heavyweight champion Jon Jones defends his title against his his former friend and teammate Rashad Evans. Given Jones’ dominance in the cage against other top opponents in recent …
The main event at UFC 145 will feature a true grudge match as light heavyweight champion Jon Jones defends his title against his his former friend and teammate Rashad Evans.
Given Jones’ dominance in the cage against other top opponents in recent bouts, it should come as no surprise that the champion currently sits as a betting favorite to walk out of Saturday’s fight card with another win on his record and the title secured around his waist. Vegas odds-makers are playing it safe by picking Jones to win, but the disrespect they are showing to Rashad Evans is shocking.
BetOnFighting.com first opened the betting lines in late January at minus-600 in favor of Jon Jones.
For those who are unaware of how betting lines work, this would mean that for someone to win $100 by betting on Jon Jones, they would need to wager $600. In other words, Jones was a six-to-one favorite.
The odds have since leveled out some, but with just days remaining before these two battle in the center of the cage, Jones is still listed at as much as a five-to-one (-500) favorite on sites such as BetUS.
As great as Jon Jones is, this number is completely outlandish.
The truth is that Jones is as good as it gets in the sport today. His incredible combination of power, technique and innovative striking make him a nearly impossible opponent to prepare for. But if there is someone who has a chance of beating Jones, it has to be Rashad Evans.
Evans’ history of training with Jones gives him the kind of insight that no other opponent has had against him. The innovative striking and long limbs that Jones possesses are something that Evans has firsthand experience working against.
And it’s not just that he has trained against Jones—Rashad Evans is also the most skilled fighter that Jones has ever battled.
Since winning the heavyweight division on The Ultimate Fighter in Season 2, Evans has put together an absolutely amazing resume of wins in the 205-pound division.
Victories over the likes of Michael Bisping, Stephan Bonnar, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Forrest Griffin, Thiago Silva, Rampage Jackson and most recently Phil Davis prove that not only is Evans’ 17-1-1 career record impressive on its surface, but it has been accumulated against a who’s-who at light heavyweight.
Had it not been for his one career loss, a brutal second-round knockout to Lyoto Machida at UFC 98 in his first and only UFC title defense, Evans would very likely be considered one of, if not the greatest 205-pound fighter in the history of the sport.
So when odds-makers such as SportsBetting opt to make him as high as a plus-415 underdog, those who are placing money on the fight should take notice of the opportunity.
This isn’t the first time that Evans will come into a fight as the underdog, and it likely won’t be the last. But those who are willing to put $500 on Jon Jones for the measly payoff of $100 are certifiably insane.
Meanwhile, a small investment in Evans as the underdog could yield huge profits for someone willing to take a chance on a guy who has only ever lost one fight in his entire career.
Over the last year, the public’s perception of light-heavyweight champion