Tag: Jon Jones

What Jeremy Lin Reveals About UFC’s Role in Society

New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin has done more than take the sports world by storm. He has shown MMA fans just how unimportant the sport is in the mainstream. However, this isn’t to the detriment of the UFC. It just shows that the traditiona…

New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin has done more than take the sports world by storm. He has shown MMA fans just how unimportant the sport is in the mainstream. 

However, this isn’t to the detriment of the UFC. It just shows that the traditional ball sports still occupy a significant, crucial and massive role in American society—a role that the UFC is apparently nowhere near reaching, the deal with FOX notwithstanding.

Lin’s success story with the Knicks has swept the nation. If you walk up to a random male and say “Linsanity,” they’ll know what you’re talking about. 

All this fanfare and the guy didn’t even win a title yet. 

If you were to ask the same stranger and who Jon Jones is, you’ll likely be met with an awkward stare, even though Jones, too, is an incredible athlete. 

In fact, Jones has accomplished more in MMA (winning the UFC light heavyweight title and being the youngest UFC champion) than Lin has in basketball. Yet society doesn’t recognize him anywhere near as much. 

Even from New York, Jones doesn’t get the amount of attention that Lin does in the same media market.  

Another example is UFC middleweight standout Chris Weidman. 

Weidman grew up on Long Island, became one of the world’s top wrestlers and submission grapplers and most recently won a fight against Demian Maia on FOX in front of millions. But he doesn’t get acclaim on the level that Lin does.

Even if you combine all of the mainstream media attention ever received by Jones and Weidman it still doesn’t even come close to what Lin receives in a day.

While Jones and Weidman are lucky to get an article tucked away in the Newsday sports section for besting another man in the purest form of competition, Lin gets covers on Time magazine and Sports Illustrated for throwing a ball into a hoop.

Unfortunately, the majority of the population simply doesn’t know or care about what happens in the UFC.

While this will inevitably change, the UFC and MMA still have a long, long way to go until the sport is finally as mainstream as the other major sports. 

Once we see a fast-rising fighter get the same amount of attention that Lin is getting, then we’ll finally know that the UFC has made it. 

Until then, we can only speculate how the UFC will make that happen.

 

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UFC: Greg Jackson Cornering Jon Jones Will Have No Effect on Rashad Evans

Current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones recently announced that Greg Jackson would be cornering him for his title defense against Rashad Evans at UFC 145. The two fighters had a messy falling out after Jones captured UFC gold in March of 2011 …

Current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones recently announced that Greg Jackson would be cornering him for his title defense against Rashad Evans at UFC 145.

The two fighters had a messy falling out after Jones captured UFC gold in March of 2011 and proclaimed that he would have no problem facing Evans, who at the time was his teammate. As a result, Evans chose to leave the New Mexico gym run by Jackson.

Evans would go on to join Imperial Athletics in Florida, while Jones continued to evolve under the tutelage of Jackson. Over the past year, Evans has scored dominant victories over former champion Tito Ortiz and undefeated prospect Phil Davis. Based on his performances inside the Octagon, it does not appear that Evans is missing his former coach.

Certainly Evans was not happy about the split with Jackson’s MMA, as he predicted it would happen when Jones was asked to join the camp. However, Evans has been joined by former Jackson’s wrestling coach Mike Van Arsdale and has not missed a beat.

While Jones is still maturing and coming into his own as a fighter, Evans is entering his seventh year with the promotion. The former Ultimate Fighter winner has been a consensus top-level competitor throughout his time with the UFC and is hungry to recapture UFC gold.

The announcement that Jackson would be in Jones’ corner should not come as a surprise based on the sequence of events over the past year. The public nature of it may very well be an attempt from Jones to throw Evans off his game, but it is unlikely that it will rattle the former champ.

With two impressive wins under his belt since leaving the camp, Evans will look to use his experience to upset the champion on April 21 in Atlanta. After more than a year away, Evans’ performance against Jones is unlikely to be driven by who is cornering his opponent.

 

Rob Tatum is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. You can also find Rob’s work at TheMMACorner.com.  For anything related to MMA, Follow @RobTatumMMA.

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Jon Jones Says Greg Jackson Will Corner Him Against Rashad Evans at UFC 145

After weeks of denying his involvement in the main event at UFC 145 between Jon Jones and Rashad Evans, Greg Jackson will reside with the UFC light heavyweight champion.Jones confirmed the news on his Twitter account, saying Jackson will be his corner …

After weeks of denying his involvement in the main event at UFC 145 between Jon Jones and Rashad Evans, Greg Jackson will reside with the UFC light heavyweight champion.

Jones confirmed the news on his Twitter account, saying Jackson will be his corner on the night of the fight.

“Greg Jackson confirmed today he will be in my corner for UFC 145,” Jones wrote.

The news comes as no surprise, considering Jackson is Jones’ head trainer at Greg Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts in Albuquerque, New Mexico. However, he did state in previous interviews that he would refrain from cornering the 24-year-old champion due to his past relationship with Rashad Evans.

Evans, a longtime member of Team Jackson, left the New Mexico-based camp last year after Jones’ title victory at UFC 128 caused a rift between the two fighters and the rest of the camp. Since then, Evans has been training at Imperial Athletics in Boca Raton, Florida.

Evans has been very vocal of his relationship with both Jones and Jackson since leaving Greg Jackson’s MMA on bad terms.

It will be interesting to see how Evans and his camp respond to Jackson’s decision, as Jones and Jackson will already begin planning a strategy to defeat “Suga.” 

UFC 145 is scheduled for April 21, live from the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

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8 MMA Personalities and Their Rock Star Alter Ego

Believe it or not, music and MMA go hand and hand. While some fighters use music to describe themselves (think Roy Nelson using Weird Al’s “Fat”) to picking music that gets them hyped up for a fight, music says a lot about the fighters. Some&…

Believe it or not, music and MMA go hand and hand. 

While some fighters use music to describe themselves (think Roy Nelson using Weird Al’s “Fat”) to picking music that gets them hyped up for a fight, music says a lot about the fighters. 

Some musicians even have similarities to certain fighters. 

Here’s a look at eight fighters and their musical alter egos.

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Video: Jon Jones and Rashad Evans Trade Verbal Shots on SportsNite

Video: CSS-Sports.com (Part II after the jump)

Their battle has been a long time coming, and with a date finally set the war of words between Rashad Evans and Jon Jones is starting to heat up. Fresh off the heels of their UFC 145 presser, the two sat down with the crew of SportsNite to verbally squab once more.

Jones dutifully stuck to the script, referring to this bout as just another chapter in “his storyline” and flattering himself whenever possible. Rashad seemed content to lay back and paint ‘Bones’ as a fraud and a hypocrite. No one got KTFO, but both men scored with the jab—here’s a quick look at some of the exchanges.

Video: CSS-Sports.com  (Part II after the jump)

Their battle has been a long time coming, and with a date finally set the war of words between Rashad Evans and Jon Jones is starting to heat up. Fresh off the heels of their UFC 145 presser, the two sat down with the crew of SportsNite to verbally squab once more.

Jones dutifully stuck to the script, referring to this bout as just another chapter in “his storyline” and flattering himself whenever possible. Rashad seemed content to lay back and paint ‘Bones’ as a fraud and a hypocrite. No one got KTFO, but both men scored with the jab—here’s a quick look at some of the exchanges.

———————

Jones: “There’s something about being really young and fresh. You know I haven’t seen the world. I don’t have the riches. And I don’t have this, and I don’t have that…”

Evans: “You got a Bentley, don’t you? Or a Rolls Royce?”

Jones: “Yeah, I do have a Bentley. I do have a Bentley. A 2012 Bentley.”

Point: Evans  Jones made over $500k in disclosed purses last year alone (not including sponsorships), routinely travels throughout the US (and abroad), and is no stranger to the talk show circuit. Sure, it’s a relatively new world to him, but at 24-years-old he’s already experienced more fame and fortune than most UFC fighters. Yes, he’s young, but at this point in his career he has little in common with a line cook at Denny’s.

———————

Jones: “I’m extremely confident. I do believe my own hype, and I’m working towards making it true.”

Evans: “But that’s the worst thing you can ever do.”

Jones: “Well, it’s working for me. I’m not saying that it’s an arrogance thing…”

Evans: “It is an arrogance thing.”

Jones: “No, it’s not. I believe that I’m the greatest.”

Point: Evans  There’s nothing wrong with believing you’re the best, especially when so many people agree with you. But it’s difficult to declare yourself someone that “America can learn from” while trying to maintain a humble, down-to-earth demeanor.

———————

Evans: “When you fall, when you will fall…”

Jones: “What a negative energy you’re coming from…”

Evans: “When you fall, ’cause you will fall…”

Jones: “Why are you worried about my fall? You’re not saying you’ll make me fall?”

Evans: “You know what, I hope you never fall, but you will.”

Jones: “You hope I never fall? You’re fighting me in April.”

Point: Jones  Rashad came across much more naturally overall while Jones stumbled with his words from time to time, but this was a nice barb for ‘Bones’.

———————

 

Part II  (Video: CSS-Sports.com)


What do you think of Jones’ uber-confidence? Refreshingly honest or a bit too much?

Anderson Silva vs. Jon Jones: Who Ya Got?

Anderson Silva is still considered by the majority of fans to be the pound-for-pound best fighter in mixed martial arts while Jon Jones is considered to be both the present and future of this sport.So, if they ever fought, who ya got?  The St…

Anderson Silva is still considered by the majority of fans to be the pound-for-pound best fighter in mixed martial arts while Jon Jones is considered to be both the present and future of this sport.

So, if they ever fought, who ya got? 

 

The Stand-Up Game

There is no denying Silva is the most dangerous and versatile striker currently competing inside the cage. If a fight with “The Spider” stays standing, it’s not a matter if if but when he will finish his foe off with lethality. If Silva vs. Jones were to collide in a K-1 fight, where it stays upright, it’s likely most would side with Silva.

That might be selling Jones a bit short, though.

His Muay Thai is actually quite good. From his clinch work to kicks, Jones is dangerous on his feet. He possesses that ridiculous 84-inch reach which puts everyone he faces at a genetic disadvantage. When he starts throwing flying knees, spinning elbows and whatever else he wants…all of it has the potential to deliver tipping point damage. 

But those types of flashy moves could certainly backfire against the pinpoint attack of Silva. Jones would likely be pensive against Silva like he was against Lyoto Machida at UFC 140. Machida was able to tag “Bones” with a solid shot but was ultimately unable to capitalize before getting chocked lifeless in the second round.

In the end, Jones would not want to get into a fire fight with Silva; rather use everything in his stand up arsenal to keep Silva in check and look for his opening to take the fight to ground. 

 

Ground Fight

If Jones got Silva to the ground, and was on top, he would certainly be in his element. If Chael Sonnen was able to take down and lay on top of Silva for four-and-a-half rounds then imagine what Jones could do with a reach which allows him to wing his elbows over and around his opponents with bad intentions (think Brandon Vera’s broken orbital bone).

While Jones is not fully marinated on the ground, it is hard to imagine Silva being able to submit Jones due to Bones’ combination of length and physicality. The most likely scenario would seem to be Silva struggling to keep Jones at bay. Anything is possible, though as Silva is a cagey BJJ black belt. 

 

Intangibles

Jones is young, incredibly athletic and seems to have an air of inevitability about him. He is like Luke Skywalker, or Neo in the Matrix, coming into their own. Silva, on the other hand, is wise beyond his years—a Yoda or Morpheus if you will. Time is not on his side, though and you wonder when his body will finally betray him.

Jones is still progressing, Silva has not visibly started his decline.

 

So How Does It End?

If Silva can keep the fight standing long enough, it certainly favors him ending it by T(KO) and if Jones can keep it on the ground, he likely ends it by T(KO). And, either could in theory end things via submission with Silva pulling it off with some sort of favorable position while Jones doing so based on an opening after accumulated damage.

Unfortunately, this fight is unlikely to happen and fans will be left to pine over what could have been while pundits can only speculate on what the outcome might have been. While it will never satiate us, it will keep our mouths watering for years to come and beyond.

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