While making promotional appearances at the MMA Expo and MMA Live show in London, Ontario, UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon ‘Bones’ Jones took the time for an interview. [Ed. note: We’ll be posting the video later.] Speaking on a number of subjects, off-camera, the question of the authenticity of a recent racially-charged insult from Rashad Evans came up.
I took this photo of Jones’s smartphone (blacking out Evans’s number), which contradicts Rashad Evans’ earlier denial where he wrote, “Let me just state 4 the record I never made a racist statement 2 Jones. Jones creditability [sic] is gone with his fake surgery.”
Currently, Rashad Evans is expected to face Phil Davis at UFC 133; original opponent Jon Jones pulled out of the bout, citing a hand injury. Jones’s next opponent is undetermined.
UPDATE: Yes, this is real. I texted the number in the photo, asking for an interview with Rashad Evans, and Evans texted me back the info for his publicist, Jennifer Wenk. Evans is busy training, but Wenk mentioned that he would tell the entire story on ‘Inside MMA’ Friday evening. [Ed. note: Evans discussed his recent nightclub encounter with Jones, but we’re not sure if he talked about the text message. Anybody DVR the episode?] Jones also confirmed himself that the image was taken from his phone.
By Brian J. D’Souza
While making promotional appearances at the MMA Expo and MMA Live show in London, Ontario, UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon ‘Bones’ Jones took the time for an interview. [Ed. note: We’ll be posting the video later.] Speaking on a number of subjects, off-camera, the question of the authenticity of a recent racially-charged insult from Rashad Evans came up.
I took this photo of Jones’s smartphone (blacking out Evans’s number), which contradicts Rashad Evans’ earlier denial where he wrote, “Let me just state 4 the record I never made a racist statement 2 Jones. Jones creditability [sic] is gone with his fake surgery.”
Currently, Rashad Evans is expected to face Phil Davis at UFC 133; original opponent Jon Jones pulled out of the bout, citing a hand injury. Jones’s next opponent is undetermined.
UPDATE: Yes, this is real. I texted the number in the photo, asking for an interview with Rashad Evans, and Evans texted me back the info for his publicist, Jennifer Wenk. Evans is busy training, but Wenk mentioned that he would tell the entire story on ‘Inside MMA’ Friday evening. [Ed. note: Evans discussed his recent nightclub encounter with Jones, but we’re not sure if he talked about the text message. Anybody DVR the episode?] Jones also confirmed himself that the image was taken from his phone.
Bleacher Report’s Weekly MMA Link Club:Antonio Rogerio Nogueira on UFC 133 Fight With Rich Franklin. (The Fight Nerd)Fight Night: Ward vs. Abraham Ring Girls (LowKick)Rashad Evans explains his nightclub altercation with Jon Jones; insists ‘Bones’ ducke…
Bleacher Report’s Weekly MMA Link Club:
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira on UFC 133 Fight With Rich Franklin. (The Fight Nerd)
Fight Night: Ward vs. Abraham Ring Girls (LowKick)
Rashad Evans explains his nightclub altercation with Jon Jones; insists ‘Bones’ ducked him (MMA Mania)
The Forging of an Unusual MMA Management Team (MMAFighting)
Judgment Day: 7 MMA Fighters Who Will Benefit From the End of the World (Cage Potato)
Jon Jones and Rashad Evans have been exchanging verbal blows for months now. The trash talk started when Jones beat “Shogun” Rua to become the UFC light heavyweight champion in March and they have not simmered down one bit.Sugar and Bones b…
Jon Jones and Rashad Evans have been exchanging verbal blows for months now. The trash talk started when Jones beat “Shogun” Rua to become the UFC light heavyweight champion in March and they have not simmered down one bit.
Sugar and Bones both used to train at Greg Jackson’s MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Rashad had been a part of the Jackson team for years and, after it was made known that he would face Jones next, Evans decided to leave the gym.
Rashad seemed to be dealing with the fact that the coaches had taken a great liking to Jon and he seemed to grow jealous to the point of being downright obsessed with it.
A subsequent match was set for the fall, but it fell apart when Jones said that he had to pull out of the fight due to a torn ligament in his hand. Rashad then came up with the theory that Jones was ducking him. The verbal battles continued in interviews, on twitter and online.
Rashad’s theory seemed to be a bit far-fetched. That was, until recently. He signed to fight Phil Davis at UFC 133 in Philadelphia and it was mere days later that Jon Jones revealed that he would forgo surgery and that he intends to fight this fall despite the injury. Evans is now even more convinced that Jones is avoiding fighting him for some reason. So, I ask you—is Jon Jones ducking Rashad Evans?
The undisputed champ of the mixed martial arts world these days, Jon “Bones” Jones was in my neighbourhood yesterday appearing at the MMA Expo Show as part of MMA Live 1 London. Bones talked to all his fans, signed every autograph and posed for every p…
The undisputed champ of the mixed martial arts world these days, Jon “Bones” Jones was in my neighbourhood yesterday appearing at the MMA Expo Show as part of MMA Live 1 London. Bones talked to all his fans, signed every autograph and posed for every photo request made, in a pure display of how star athletes should treat the fans that come out to see them.
As I stood there and waited for a word with the champ, he spoke pleasantly to everyone that came up to him. The MMA Expo was holding a jiu jitsu competition in the main bowl and I could hear Jones ask each little guy that came up to him if they were competing today, because he was excited to catch some of the action.
Imagine how jacked up these kids were to know that Jon Jones was interested in watching them grapple. After his appearance session was done, Bones was kind enough to speak with me on one condition.
“Can we go out there and do this because I want to watch some jiu jitsu?” he asked. Well who am I to argue with the champ?
Right before we went out, his manager had already told me, “Sure, you can have a minute, but no Rashad questions, and no injury questions.” I soldiered on.
DW: So Jon, with the new announcement involving Twitter bonuses, and as a martial artist, do you see that Twitter is a good thing?
JJ: Absolutely, it gives the fighter a real opportunity to connect with and also reward fans through Twitter.
DW: And for you, you know, going from a hero recently and now you seem to be taking some heat on the airwaves and twitter heat, how are you doing there? Are you ok dealing with that?
JJ: Oh for sureman. You know, I look at those people and I feel that they are upset or talking about Bones you know, the character, they aren’t talking about me the person. My friends and family all know me and that’s the important thing.
DW: Speaking of that, who would win a fight in your family? Your family dinners?
With that question I got a chuckle out of Jon’s manager and a weird look and smile from Bones but also a quick and honest answer.
JJ: Arthur. Yeah, I would say he would probably still be the man. He’s big man, he still wrestles. He’s a tough guy I would say. He’s strong and could hold me down.
DW: But you have the strikes though right?
JJ: Yeah, I have the strikes for sure.
I was expecting Bones to say he himself is the toughest and would win, but his brother Arthur is a defensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens, as well as an accomplished wrestler. Now I know Jones can be beaten, and I know the man he thinks can do it.
DW: So Machida or Rampage? What do you think?
JJ: It doesn’t matter to me at all, they are both tough fighters and I’m here to fight the best.
DW: And you were just here for UFC 129 as well, did you enjoy the week?
JJ: I had a great time man, I love Canada and all the fans.
DW: Will you please push to be a headliner up here so we can see it live?
JJ: I’ll fight anywhere man. Wherever they want me to go I go.
Jon Jones is a champion who clearly knows how to be a champion. He was a pleasure to talk to, even though he is an absolute nightmare to fight.
I want Jones vs. Machida soon, and I’m greedy—I want the fight in Canada so I can try to see it live.
Dwight Wakabayashi is a Correspondent for Bleacher Report. (Also a Correspondent for MMACanada.net.) All quotes were obtained first-hand.
The rift between Jon Jones and Rashad Evans has been ugly. The former friends and training partners had a falling out that began when Jones stepped into to replace an injured Evans at UFC 128. Jones replaced Evans in a title fight against light heavywe…
The rift between Jon Jones and Rashad Evans has been ugly. The former friends and training partners had a falling out that began when Jones stepped into to replace an injured Evans at UFC 128. Jones replaced Evans in a title fight against light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
Jones positively destroyed Rua in that bout, earning the TKO victory at the 2:37 mark of round three on his way to becoming the youngest (non tournament) champion in UFC history.
Before Jones captured the title, both Jones and Evans stated that they would not fight each other. The tunes of the fighters had begun to change as UFC 128 approached. Evans was then brought into the Octagon moments after the UFC belt was clasped around Jones’ waist and he was announced as the first fighter that Jones would defend his title against.
“Well, I guess you should never say never, right?” Evans told Joe Rogan inside the Octagon. “We train together, but he’s got that strap, and I have to go after it.”
Since then Evans has split with Greg Jackson’s training camp where he had worked with Jones. He has also had some harsh words for his former friend, most recently claiming, in an interview with Pro MMA Radio, “There’s no doubt in my mind Jon ducked me in this fight. Jon knows it and I know it.”
The ducking claims revolve around a hand injury that forced Jones out of the fight with Evans. Phil Davis was then moved in to replace Evans and the two are scheduled to meet at UFC 133 in Philadelphia, PA on August 4.
Jones’ manager Malki Kawa disputes Evans’ claim, telling MMAJunkie.com that there is a fight on the table if Evans is willing to accept it, “The champ will be ready in September or October. That’s only a month or two after Rashad’s fight with Phil Davis. But don’t tell me that the champ doesn’t want to fight you. The champ wants to fight you. Jon hasn’t done anything to duck this fight. The only reason people think that is because Rashad said so. Jon’s not ducking anybody.”
If Evans emerges from the Davis fight relatively unscathed, an October fight with Jones is not out of the question. For reference Jones defeated Ryan Bader on February 5 of this year and then went on to defeat Rua on March 19.
Jones’ camp have taken their shot, a return volley from Evans will most likely be coming.
Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford scored a huge victory for his career tonight as he stopped veteran fighter Karo Parisyan with a vicious knee to the head that cut Parisyan deeply, causing the ringside doctor to put an end to the bout.
The fight was a rea…
Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford scored a huge victory for his career tonight as he stopped veteran fighter Karo Parisyan with a vicious knee to the head that cut Parisyan deeply, causing the ringside doctor to put an end to the bout.
The fight was a real battle of strength between the two fighters with some on hand calling it the “Fight of The Year” in Canada so far for 2011. While I would still tip my hat to Aldo-Hominick from UFC 129 for that crown, this was a fight with two tough and hungry men both going for broke for two solid rounds.
Parisyan showed up, folks, and he brought his judo arsenal with him, throwing Ford around a few times with his textbook technique and strength. Ford countered with a huge slam in the second round, and the two were in close quarters all night.
Parisyan held most of the advantage in the clinch and gained dominant position on Ford for most of the second round and I had him winning the fight before the explosive knee put a sudden halt to the affair.
“My game plan was to you know stand up and knock him out but well you know me I’m kinda stubborn,” Ford said, smiling.
“I got in there, you know, I got dumped a few times but I knew that was gonna happen, I just wanted to see what it was like because I know I’m gonna be stepping up and facing some tougher guys and some guys with the same judo skills as Karo.”
He did agree when asked if it was the biggest win of his career. “Yeah you know I would say so,” he said. “It’s Karo Parisyan, right, tough guy, fought the who’s who, and I beat him.”
Ford did beat him. He got the win and it was a very solid fight.
As for Parisyan, he came ready. He fought for the fans and gave a beautiful display of how judo can be implemented in a fight to gain a victory. He was winning the fight. It says here that he would have won had the doctor not stopped it, but the doctor did stop it and it was a justified stop due to a horrible gash.
Parisyan brought his game and some class with him to the John Labatt Center, as he stood in the ring and spoke to the fans after all the while with a towel pressuring the cut.
“I wanted to come here and prove to myself that I could still get in here and fight and I did that,” he said, and I would agree. “I was winning the fight and he caught me with a good knee, I wanted to continue fighting but the doctor stopped the fight because the cut is too deep.” He went on to show some great class, and gave a sign that he is a bit of a changed man.
“I’m taking nothing away from Ryan Ford. He won and hey Canada, I want to say thank you to all of you for coming out, and I want to thank you all for supporting this sport.”
I want to say thanks to Parisyan for coming in and putting on a great performance.
The biggest buzz in the building and the loudest roar of the night came at the intermission when UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones made a special appearance in the octagon (see video).
Jones was also on hand all day at the MMA Expo and was signing autographs, posing for pictures and being extremely pleasant and accessible to fans young and old.
In the co-main event of the evening, veteran Brazilian fighter Marcus Aurelio pulled out a lightning fast arm bar submission after being slammed heavily by a game late replacement Matt McGrath of P.E.I. He won at 1:29 of the first round.
The rest of the results from the show:
Lyndon Whitlock defeated Daniel Longbeen via triangle choke first round.
Bo Harris defeated Brent Franczuz by unanimous decision.
Allan Wilson defeated Theo Toney via rear naked choke second round.
Chuck Mady defeated James Haourt via arm bar 2:22 first round.
Jason Saggo defeated Derek Boyle via rear naked choke 2:18 third round.
Dwight Wakabayashi is a Correspondent for Bleacher Report. (Also a Correspondent for MMACanada.net) All quotes were obtained first-hand.
