Filed under: UFCAll the fighters at UFC 135 will first step on the scale at the UFC 135 weigh-ins on Friday evening, and we’ll have the live video right here at MMAFighting.com.
In the main event, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and challenge…
All the fighters at UFC 135 will first step on the scale at the UFC 135 weigh-ins on Friday evening, and we’ll have the live video right here at MMAFighting.com.
In the main event, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and challenger Rampage Jackson will both have to make the limit of 205 pounds — a limit that has, at times, been tough for Rampage to make. Also worth watching at the weigh-in are lightweight Nate Diaz (who’s fighting Takanori Gomi) and lightweight Tony Ferguson (who’s fighting Aaron Riley). Both Diaz and Ferguson are moving back down to 155 pounds after fighting most recently at welterweight.
The UFC 135 weigh-in begins at 6 p.m. ET and the video is below.
(Simon Cowell said they sucked. L.A. Reid said they sucked. Nicole Scherzinger said they sucked. Paula Abdul said they should keep practicing and never give up their dreams. / Props: jessektabor2)
UFC 135 goes down tomorrow night in Denver, and as always, it’s incredibly important that you hear our opinions about it. Fresh off his controversial split-decision victory over Seth Falvo, CagePotato staff writer Jared Jones returns for another head-to-head column against founding editor Ben Goldstein. Can Rampage pull off an upset? Is Matt Hughes on his way to retirement? Whose new screen-name will be more humiliating? Read on and get yourself educated…
Is there a part of you that wants to see Rampage get his belt back? How likely is that to happen?
JJ: There will always be a small part of me that wants to see Page with a belt again, if only so I never have to watch that same clip of Rampage exclaiming just how much he wants it back in every pre-fight commercial he’s been in since losing it. On the other hand, I fear for the lives of Southern California if he does win the belt and then loses it again.
As far as the likelihood of Page being the champ again, I’d say it’s better than those bookies would have you believe, but not much. Let’s face it, Rampage earned this title shot with a razor thin decision over Lyoto Machida and an unimpressive decision over a now retired Matt Hamill. Yes, he seems incredibly focused and in shape and yes, Bones’ chin has yet to be tested, but Jones is simply too quick, diverse, and smart to get caught by a straight boxer like Rampage.
BG: First off, no, I don’t want to see Rampage get his belt back. Not even a little. Dude gives me a headache sometimes. Like Nick Diaz, he’s a paranoid weirdo with a persecution complex — everybody’s cocky, everybody’s fake. Look, if you’re one of the hordes of eCritics that have emerged since Jones beat up Shogun, I’m sure you have your reasons. But to me, Jon Jones represents the latest step in MMA’s evolution, and it would feel like a regression if he were unseated by a guy who pretty much just throws hands these days.
The odds on this fight are so inflated because as loud as Rampage’s supporters can be sometimes, nobody’s actually betting money on him. Why would they? Jones has an 11.5-inch reach advantage, he’s far more athletic, and he’s unpredictable. Bones might beat up Rampage standing just to prove a point. After Saturday, we can stop calling Jones the “future of MMA.” He’ll officially be the present — a defending champion. Now what will that make Rampage?
(Simon Cowell said they sucked. L.A. Reid said they sucked. Nicole Scherzinger said they sucked. Paula Abdul said they should keep practicing and never give up their dreams. / Props: jessektabor2)
UFC 135 goes down tomorrow night in Denver, and as always, it’s incredibly important that you hear our opinions about it. Fresh off his controversial split-decision victory over Seth Falvo, CagePotato staff writer Jared Jones returns for another head-to-head column against founding editor Ben Goldstein. Can Rampage pull off an upset? Is Matt Hughes on his way to retirement? Whose new screen-name will be more humiliating? Read on and get yourself educated…
Is there a part of you that wants to see Rampage get his belt back? How likely is that to happen?
JJ: There will always be a small part of me that wants to see Page with a belt again, if only so I never have to watch that same clip of Rampage exclaiming just how much he wants it back in every pre-fight commercial he’s been in since losing it. On the other hand, I fear for the lives of Southern California if he does win the belt and then loses it again.
As far as the likelihood of Page being the champ again, I’d say it’s better than those bookies would have you believe, but not much. Let’s face it, Rampage earned this title shot with a razor thin decision over Lyoto Machida and an unimpressive decision over a now retired Matt Hamill. Yes, he seems incredibly focused and in shape and yes, Bones’ chin has yet to be tested, but Jones is simply too quick, diverse, and smart to get caught by a straight boxer like Rampage.
BG: First off, no, I don’t want to see Rampage get his belt back. Not even a little. Dude gives me a headache sometimes. Like Nick Diaz, he’s a paranoid weirdo with a persecution complex — everybody’s cocky, everybody’s fake. Look, if you’re one of the hordes of eCritics that have emerged since Jones beat up Shogun, I’m sure you have your reasons. But to me, Jon Jones represents the latest step in MMA’s evolution, and it would feel like a regression if he were unseated by a guy who pretty much just throws hands these days.
The odds on this fight are so inflated because as loud as Rampage’s supporters can be sometimes, nobody’s actually betting money on him. Why would they? Jones has an 11.5-inch reach advantage, he’s far more athletic, and he’s unpredictable. Bones might beat up Rampage standing just to prove a point. After Saturday, we can stop calling Jones the “future of MMA.” He’ll officially be the present — a defending champion. Now what will that make Rampage?
Josh Koscheck is going to kick Matt Hughes’s ass, right? I mean, that’s not really a question, so…how do you feel about the fact that Josh Koscheck is going to kick Matt Hughes’s ass?
BG: I mean, I don’t feel sad about it if that’s what you’re asking. Between his two welterweight title reigns and induction into the UFC Hall of Fame, Hughes has accomplished all there is to accomplish in this sport. I don’t think another championship belt is in his future, and I don’t really need to see him spend a couple more years knocking around against other contenders. His wife is ready for him to come home. Come home, Matt.
As for tomorrow’s fight, Koscheck has the striking advantage and Hughes won’t be able to put him on his back with any consistency. Kos by late TKO, followed by an emotional in-cage retirement from Hughes, as the crowd solemnly sings “A Country Boy Can Survive” in unison.
JJ: Ben, you ignorant slut. Weren’t we all saying the same thing about Ricardo Almeida just a little while ago? Matt Hughes may be coming off one of the most embarrassing (not to mention fastest) losses of his career, but this ain’t gunna be no walk in the park for Fraggle Rock. Koscheck’s striking has been overrated praised ever since his brutal finish of Yoshiyuki Yoshida, but was all but useless against GSP. Is Hughes as good on the feet as GSP? Hell no, but his wrestling is better than Koschecks, and if, no, WHEN he eeks out a boring decision over Koscheck, I’ll be dancing my cares away with all that extra bread.
Does the loser of Nate Diaz vs. Takanori Gomi deserve to keep their spot in the UFC?
JJ: If this was a just world, I would say no. But Michael Bay still finds work, so it clearly isn’t, and as long as these guys WAR!!! then who the hell knows what’s going to happen. Diaz has only won three of his past eight fights, his wrestling sucks, and he isn’t anywhere near anyone’s top 10, or 20 for that matter. If Gomi loses, it’ll probably be by submission, and as much as it pains me to see him off, he would need a few wins elsewhere and an improved ground game if he wants back in the UFC. But I am really hoping he is able to turn Diaz’s lights out, if only to know that is possible for Christ’s sake.
BG: I agree that the loser should have to get a couple tune-up wins outside of the UFC, but I’ll put it like this — Gomi’s job is safe and Nate’s isn’t. Even if Gomi gets boxed up and gogo’d in the first round, the UFC will still keep him around for their upcoming Japan show, guaranteed. As for Diaz? He got bounced out of the lightweight division, then bounced out of the welterweight division, and now he’s back at lightweight. Another bad loss, and it would be clear that there’s really no place for him. Plus, don’t you think Dana wants to stick it to the Diaz family after that shit Nick pulled? King Pinkberry never forgets.
JJ:First, hand me that old bucket filled with bum sperm!! Seriously though, I would say the easiest way would be to bet it all on Page or Hughes, who are the most attractive underdogs, but I’m a man of variety. Despite getting swarmbashed (new term, called it) by a fever ridden Kyle Kingsbury recently, Ricardo Romero looks decent at +140 against the submission susceptible James Te Huna, and if “Big” Ben Rothwell decides to trade strikes with Hunt, then it could be an early night for him…
Screw it, I’m gunna go ahead and drop half of that C-note on a Boetsch-Ferguson-Romero parlay and the other half on a Hughes-Page-Rothwell parlay. Let’s just hope my bookie is more forgiving than last time.
BG: Wow, Hughes and Jackson in the same parlay? How much is Bodog paying you to write this garbage? Learn from my mistakes, Jared — doubling up on parlays is the quickest way to heartbreak. During my years of giving terrible gambling advice, I think I’ve matured enough to learn a valuable lesson: There are some events where you simply can’t make a huge profit, so don’t even try. And let’s face it, these UFC 135 odds are a total nightmare, filled with blowouts where you can’t justify putting money on the favorite or the underdog. But if I have to, I’ll put $30 on Jon Jones, $30 on Travis Browne, $30 on Tony Ferguson, and $10 on Gomi for the upset. According to BetUS, that would give me a potential profit of $42.02. Yuck. Moving on…
Screen-name bet time: Make one specific prediction for a fight at UFC 135. The person who makes the more accurate prediction gets to change the other person’s commenter name to something embarrassing for a week.
JJ: Nate Diaz will give the old “Stockton Heybuddy” about a minute before finishing Takanori Gomi with a guillotine. Is that too obvious? Either way, enjoy being Bisping’sgaysecret for a week.
BG: Jon Jones TKO’s Quinton Jackson via ground-and-pound (elbows), midway through round 2. Enjoy it, AmberFromTeenMom.
This weekend is stuffed to the gill with decent fights. So many, in fact, that it’s going to be difficult to rank all of them.So, in the spirit of picking the best fights, Strikeforce challengers has been eliminated.Strikeforce challengers has never ha…
This weekend is stuffed to the gill with decent fights. So many, in fact, that it’s going to be difficult to rank all of them.
So, in the spirit of picking the best fights, Strikeforce challengers has been eliminated.
Strikeforce challengers has never had the most competitive matchups, and there are plenty of other interesting options.
With that said, let’s get to the breakdown:
One star = Only use this as an aide to cure insomnia. Or a method of torture.
Two stars = Drink enough alcohol and this fight might entertain you.
Three stars = Decent fight. Just like most matinee movies, you won’t remember it three hours after it happened, but you’ll enjoy yourself while you’re watching it.
Four stars = A good fight. Something that will keep you on your toes every once in a while, and you’ll have a smile on your face the next morning as you remember it.
Five stars = Are you glad you saw this fight? It had a little bit of everything, and it will get you through Monday at work when you wonder why you need your paycheck. It might even be something you brag about watching.
Six stars = They don’t get much better than this. Your voice is a little hoarse from all the yelling, but it was worth it. It’ll be hard getting to sleep, and by tomorrow you will have read every scrap of post-fight news you can find on the web.
Seven stars = They don’t get any better than this! Ever! Forget sleep, as you won’t be getting much—if you get any at all. You will be refreshing news pages for new articles and breaking information and, by Friday, your voice still won’t sound normal.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson looks to add the final touches to the preparation for his title bout against Jon Jones this Saturday night at UFC 135. Jackson, who previously held the light heavyweight title in 2007, is motivated to reclaim the belt and…
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson looks to add the final touches to the preparation for his title bout against Jon Jones this Saturday night at UFC 135.
Jackson, who previously held the light heavyweight title in 2007, is motivated to reclaim the belt and has rededicated himself to training and the grueling schedule that comes along with the sport—something he has voiced his displeasure at in the past.
MMA Heat was given exclusive access to one of Jackson’s training sessions at the MusclePharm facility in Denver, where he has relocated his training camp for the last 12 weeks. He participated in a couple of exercises and looks to be in great physical condition heading into his bout with Jones.
Jackson captured the light heavyweight title after defeating Chuck Liddell in 2007, and then went on to unify the UFC and PRIDE light heavyweight crown against Dan Henderson that same year.
Jackson would lose the belt the following year to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86. Since then, Jackson has gone 4-1 in his last five bouts, with his only loss coming to Rashad Evans at UFC 114.
UFC 135 is live this weekend, from the Pepsi Center in Denver.
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones and challenger Quinton “Rampage” Jackson have done a good job of getting under each other’s skin heading into to their fight at UFC 135, but it appears that, despite their differences, Rampage’s charm is…
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones and challenger Quinton “Rampage” Jackson have done a good job of getting under each other’s skin heading into to their fight at UFC 135, but it appears that, despite their differences, Rampage’s charm isn’t completely lost on Jones.
When asked about how his opinion of Rampage might have changed over the past few months, Jones responses were surprisingly complimentary.
“I’ve gotten to know him a lot better. I think he’s actually a pretty cool guy,” Jones said.
Jones attitude towards Rampage is somewhat surprising given the noticeable tension between the two fighters, fueled by Rampage’s claims that Jones has been spying on him.
Although he harbors no ill will towards Jackson, Jones intends to pull no punches in the actual fight and knows that, once that cage door closes, it’s all business.
“I’ve still got to do my job,” Jones said, indicating that his fondness for Rampage won’t stop him from doing everything that he can to retain his UFC championship.
In a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel, the UFC light heavyweight champion referred to Rampage as Frankenstein. Jones took a few moments to elaborate on that thought.
“He [Rampage] is Frankenstein for a reason; he’s a legend. I respect him a lot.”
Jones is the youngest champion in UFC history. While constantly being referred to as a young kid might frustrate some athletes, Jones seems to enjoy it.
“Well, I am a young kid. I’m 24, so I’m actually a man too. I’m a father. I’m a house owner and a tax payer. But being young is good. Everybody nowadays is doing things trying to be young. My youth helps me train. My youth bring me joy. It’s all good.”
Will Jones’ reign as the youngest-ever UFC champion be short? Or will he defeat Rampage Jackson and continue his ascent into greatness?
Tune in UFC 135 this weekend and find out.
Andrew Barr is a Featured Columnist for Bleacherreport.com. For updates on what’s happening in the world of MMA, follow him on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/AndrewBarr8
Filed under: UFC, MMA Fighting ExclusiveFor the last four and a half years, the UFC light-heayvweight title has been a hot potato. Since that time, six different men have held it, and only two have managed to successfully defend it a single time before…
For the last four and a half years, the UFC light-heayvweight title has been a hot potato. Since that time, six different men have held it, and only two have managed to successfully defend it a single time before losing.
One of those two is Saturday night’s challenger, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, who dethroned Chuck Liddell after a two-year reign at the top. At the time, Liddell was seemingly at the height of his powers. Though 37 years old then, he had finished seven straight opponents, and was installed as a massive favorite against Jackson.
Of course, Jackson went on to upset him in a first-round knockout before successfully defending the belt against Dan Henderson, then lost it in a close split-decision to Forrest Griffin.
At UFC 135, Jackson is back in the same role, a challenger facing long odds.
The current lines have champion Jon Jones as much as a 7-to-1 favorite. That’s a shocking number considering Jackson’s pedigree and history of success. The belief in Jones as a lock to win stems from his dominant performances so far, the excitement that has crested during his quick rise to the top, and his perceived matchup advantages against Jackson.
Chief among them is his reach. Jones will have nearly a one-foot reach advantage against Jackson, 84.5 inches to 73 inches. Given Jackson’s tendencies to be a counter-fighter, he is bound to face some difficulties getting inside, where his hooks become his most dangerous weapons.
Jones has the size and length to stand on the outside and batter away at Jackson’s legs the same way Griffin did when he beat Jackson in 2008. Because Jackson rarely checks kicks, and seldom fires back kicks of his own (only 12.5 percent of his standing strikes are kicks, according to Compustrike), that’s an area of major concern. By comparison, kicks account for 39 percent of Jones’ standup strikes.
Jones is also excellent at varying his areas of attack. He doesn’t get caught up in head-hunting, as evidenced by his fight against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, during which he softened up the then-champ with body shots throughout. That unpredictability is a key element of his success, but it also leaves openings.
That’s where Jackson hopes to make his stand. Jackson has always been a patient fighter, waiting for his opponent to commit to him before firing back. As proof, it’s telling that during his UFC career, he’s gone 7-2 despite the fact that his opponents have thrown 170 more combined strikes than him. That’s fairly rare for a winning fighter, let alone a former champion.
Being a counter-fighter causes you to pick your spots wisely, but it also leaves little room for error. Jackson is good at his style because he lands when he throws, connecting on 53 percent of standing strikes, an excellent ratio. But he’s never faced anyone with Jones’ reach, leaving questions about how effective his style can be here.
If things aren’t going well for Jackson, he might have to wade inside, where Jones has shown a strong clinch game, alternately using it to deliver punishment or score takedowns. He’s manhandled most of his opponents from in tight, and Jackson has had issues there in the past, making it murky waters to navigate.
All that leaves us with the same conclusion that everyone’s had from the moment this fight was announced: Jackson’s best chance of winning is hurting Jones with a hook. The odds suggest it is nearly impossible, but we must note that Jones has never faced anyone who fights like Jackson. Rua is the most similar opponent he’s fought in terms of experience and power, but his style is quite different. Rua likes to come forward and be the aggressor, his standup is a Muay Thai blend, and he aggressively hunts the takedown. Jackson is none of those things. He’s going to dare you to come to him, he values his hands above all his weapons, and he avoids the ground at all costs.
Despite the fact that Jackson hasn’t had a knockout in his last four fights, he’s dropped three of the four with punches, so to suggest his power isn’t there is misleading. If Jones comes in with his chin untucked, or if Jackson finds the money spot, he’s still capable of a finish. Jones has never really been in any kind of trouble, and he’s never really been hit square. That is due to his own defensive abilities, but the fact remains that we can’t be certain about how he’ll take a big punch.
The biggest area of concern for Jackson is on the ground. Jackson has very good submission defense, but he never threatens from the bottom and struggles to return to his feet. Meanwhile, Jones has become a killer on top, utilizing his length and leverage to generate some of the most brutal elbow strikes in the game. If Jones can continually put Jackson on his back, Jackson has big trouble.
Jackson doesn’t have the multi-pronged offensive approach that can shake a still young fighter. Once Jones gets his timing down, as his comfort level in evading Jackson’s counterpunches grows, the odds will grow longer for Jackson. To say he has virtually no shot as the current odds indicate is untrue. His punching power is still there, his hands are still relatively quick, his punches are tight, and he’s got experience on his side. But a lot of what he does should play right into Jones’ hands. He’s going to let Jones throw first, which is bad. He might counterstrike his way into Jones’ clinch, which is bad. And any attempt to get inside might lead to a clinch and/or takedown, both of which are bad.
Jones has many more ways to win, and I think he wears down the challenger over time with leg kicks, body shots and ground work. Jackson has always been a durable fighter, and that will be put to the test here, because there will be plenty of stuff coming at him. Jones via fourth-round TKO.
All the fighters at UFC 135 will first step on the scale at the UFC 135 weigh-ins on Friday evening, and we’ll have the live video right here at MMAFighting.com.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson looks to add the final touches to the preparation for his title bout against Jon Jones this Saturday night at 
For the last four and a half years, the