Tag: Mike Winkeljohn

Coach Wink: Jon Jones Would Dominate Stipe Miocic

He may be awaiting a NSAC hearing for his disappointing USADA-imposed suspension following a positive test for two banned substances before his scheduled main event with arch rival Daniel Cormier at July 9’s UFC 200 from Las Vegas, but that didn’t stop Jon Jones from recently calling out UFC heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic. Interim light heavyweight champ

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He may be awaiting a NSAC hearing for his disappointing USADA-imposed suspension following a positive test for two banned substances before his scheduled main event with arch rival Daniel Cormier at July 9’s UFC 200 from Las Vegas, but that didn’t stop Jon Jones from recently calling out UFC heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic.

Interim light heavyweight champ Jones has fought only one time since he outlasted Cormier in their first bout and could be suspended soon, yet the long-held talk of him moving p to heavyweight may never have been as realistic as it is today. Indeed, the Cleveland-based Miocic responded to “Bones’” callout, and now Jones’ longtime striking coach Mike Winkeljohn fueled that fire in the media.

In a recent appearance with Submission Radio, Winkeljohn gave the not-so-surprising opinion that he believes all-time great Jones would ‘dominate’ Miocic if only he could avoid a huge fight-changing shot:

“I’m a big believer in what Jon Jones can do. I told everybody a long time ago, nobody beats Jon Jones but himself, that’s what I said. Nobody studies as hard as Jon Jones, looking at tape. He knows what his fighter’s going to do before he does it and Jon can beat anybody out there. I think he’s going to just continue to dominate the light heavyweight division if he wants. If he wants to step up for Stipe, we just can’t get hit by those big punches. Other than that, I think Jon could dominate that fight. But like everything, Heavyweights, one punch makes a difference. So I would think that I would like to see Jon just dominate the light heavyweight division first and then try to move to heavyweight down the road.”

Winkeljohn continued on to give a ton of credit to the heavyweight champ, who has finished Andrei Arlovski, Fabricio Werdum, and Alistair Overeem throughout a truly historic year:

“(Stipe would be) the scariest fight to date because it’s the one-punch power and then it’s a strength of someone that can be on top of you. And Stipe is very, very strong and because of that one-punch power; it’s scary. It makes people second-guess what they’re doing. So for that reason it’s kind of the scariest fight in that way, but it’s kind of like fighting (Anthony) Johnson or anyone else like that – if you can avoid the big punches, then Jon Jones can dominate.”

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Holly Holm Likely Sidelined For Most Of 2016 After Thumb Surgery

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Former UFC bantamweight champion Holly Holm recently underwent surgery to repair damage done to her left thumb in a loss to Valentina Shevchenko earlier this year.

Holm, who has now dropped each of her last two fights, is expected to be sidelined for the majority of 2016 that remains, according to her coach, Mike Winkeljohn.

“It will be towards the end of the year,” Winkeljohn told Submission Radio recently. “It will at least take that long. We haven’t even thought about it at this point or what’s next and we’ll see what unfolds.

“I’d like to see Holly get back to get a couple of wins and get a shot back at getting toward the biggest women in the division.”

Winkeljohn also discussed the chances of Holm facing Cris “Cyborg” Justino, a bout that was reported for Justino’s UFC debut earlier this year.

“It does not make sense at all this time. You know what, first off, they wanted Cyborg to fight in Brazil against Holly Holm and it doesn’t make sense right now to fight a bigger girl, out of your own weight division, in her home town, when you’re not known for knocking people out. So that’s not logical for starters, but does it not make sense at the moment. Holly would take the damn if I let her, cause she’ll fight anybody, but right now we just gotta get through fixing her thumb and let Cyborg come down to 135 and fight all these girls,” he said. “Oh at some point, yeah (they’ll fight). There’s no doubt about it. Cause Holly’s a fighter, that’s what she does. Cyborg’s got a lot of holes. She just hits really hard and she’s just bigger than the girls she fights. So it’s one of those things that, come down in weight and Holly’s got no problem fighting her.”

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Former UFC bantamweight champion Holly Holm recently underwent surgery to repair damage done to her left thumb in a loss to Valentina Shevchenko earlier this year.

Holm, who has now dropped each of her last two fights, is expected to be sidelined for the majority of 2016 that remains, according to her coach, Mike Winkeljohn.

“It will be towards the end of the year,” Winkeljohn told Submission Radio recently. “It will at least take that long. We haven’t even thought about it at this point or what’s next and we’ll see what unfolds.

“I’d like to see Holly get back to get a couple of wins and get a shot back at getting toward the biggest women in the division.”

Winkeljohn also discussed the chances of Holm facing Cris “Cyborg” Justino, a bout that was reported for Justino’s UFC debut earlier this year.

“It does not make sense at all this time. You know what, first off, they wanted Cyborg to fight in Brazil against Holly Holm and it doesn’t make sense right now to fight a bigger girl, out of your own weight division, in her home town, when you’re not known for knocking people out. So that’s not logical for starters, but does it not make sense at the moment. Holly would take the damn if I let her, cause she’ll fight anybody, but right now we just gotta get through fixing her thumb and let Cyborg come down to 135 and fight all these girls,” he said. “Oh at some point, yeah (they’ll fight). There’s no doubt about it. Cause Holly’s a fighter, that’s what she does. Cyborg’s got a lot of holes. She just hits really hard and she’s just bigger than the girls she fights. So it’s one of those things that, come down in weight and Holly’s got no problem fighting her.”

Jon Jones’ Coach: “No One Beats Jon Jones But Himself”

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Mike Winkeljohn doesn’t get as much publicity as his co-partner in New Mexico, Greg Jackson, but he is equally as important.

And Winkeljohn isn’t afraid to speak his mind, either.

Appearing on a recent edition of “Submission Radio,” the coach discussed his reaction to Jon Jones and the UFC 200 ordeal.

“Oh I was pissed off at that situation in that he’s gotta be careful. We’ve gotta be careful. Everyone’s gotta be careful,” he said. “Everything you put in your body, no matter who gives it to you, you can’t just take whatever, because you never know what’s in there, what it’s tainted with, what’s going to come up on a drug test. And I don’t think he would have done anything out of the ordinary to try to do a performance enhancer type situation, but what’s going on is apparently something’s tainted and hopefully that’s what’s going to come out here soon and then hopefully all this bad talk about Jon Jones will start going away and we’ll get him back to fighting.”

While Jones faces the prospect of a two-year suspension, Winkeljohn still believes we can see the best “Bones” yet.

“Oh no. You know what, assuming he doesn’t get distracted on time off – and what we’re talking about is just hypothetical. I don’t know how much time off, so I’m not sure if I should even worry about that at the moment,” he said. “I’ve always said no one beats Jon Jones but himself. That’s it. And he’s got many, many years to keep going and figure this out if he’s got the opportunity to and if it turns out that he’s able to.”

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Mike Winkeljohn doesn’t get as much publicity as his co-partner in New Mexico, Greg Jackson, but he is equally as important.

And Winkeljohn isn’t afraid to speak his mind, either.

Appearing on a recent edition of “Submission Radio,” the coach discussed his reaction to Jon Jones and the UFC 200 ordeal.

“Oh I was pissed off at that situation in that he’s gotta be careful. We’ve gotta be careful. Everyone’s gotta be careful,” he said. “Everything you put in your body, no matter who gives it to you, you can’t just take whatever, because you never know what’s in there, what it’s tainted with, what’s going to come up on a drug test. And I don’t think he would have done anything out of the ordinary to try to do a performance enhancer type situation, but what’s going on is apparently something’s tainted and hopefully that’s what’s going to come out here soon and then hopefully all this bad talk about Jon Jones will start going away and we’ll get him back to fighting.”

While Jones faces the prospect of a two-year suspension, Winkeljohn still believes we can see the best “Bones” yet.

“Oh no. You know what, assuming he doesn’t get distracted on time off – and what we’re talking about is just hypothetical. I don’t know how much time off, so I’m not sure if I should even worry about that at the moment,” he said. “I’ve always said no one beats Jon Jones but himself. That’s it. And he’s got many, many years to keep going and figure this out if he’s got the opportunity to and if it turns out that he’s able to.”

Coach: For Jones, Cormier Will Be Easier Fight Than St. Preux

Taking a fight on short notice is never an easy thing to do, even if you are the consensus best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. So now that Jon “Bones” Jones and his coaches can rest assured they know who will be staring back across at him from the other side of the Octagon, “Team Bones”

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Taking a fight on short notice is never an easy thing to do, even if you are the consensus best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. So now that Jon “Bones” Jones and his coaches can rest assured they know who will be staring back across at him from the other side of the Octagon, “Team Bones” can enter into this championship bout, slated for UFC 200 on July 9, 2016, with the poise and confidence we’ve all become accustomed to seeing.

According to Mike Winkeljohn, Jones’ head coach at the renowned Jackson-Wink fight team, this familiar feeling of sufficient preparation is certainly going to make “Bones’” rematch with his increasingly bitter rival a much easier path to walk.

“We’ve already got the game plan put together – now it’s almost easier in some ways, because we continue working it.”

It’s hard to argue with that sentiment, seeing that Jones was still able to dominate the awkward and the oft difficult-to-prepare-for Ovince St. Preux on short notice after his original opponent, current UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, pulled out of their scheduled UFC 197 fight due to a leg injury.

“Bones” admitted that his coaches had advised against taking the bout on such short notice, and Winkeljohn in particular said “OSP” would pose some issues with his physical stature and awkward stand-up style, but that didn’t appear to be much of a problem, as Jones handled the tough, athletic former University of Tennessee Volunteers football standout with relative ease.

However, now that Jones and company can get back to their usual routine and preparation, especially for an opponent against whom “Bones” has already competed and soundly beaten, Coach “Wink” has a sneaking suspicion that this trip to the Octagon is going to be a different story than was the ill-prepared scrap with “OSP” (even if Cormier himself may not think so).

“We’ve been training for it for a while, so I think it’s going to be an easier fight [than OSP was] for Jon…Jon is going to hit him with some really, really, really hard elbows.”

Somewhere in the United States, Brandon Vera is shuddering to himself, still haunted by the devastating elbow delivered by a 22 year old soon-to-be champion that nearly cracked the entire right side of his skull.

So if “DC” has learned anything from his previous meeting with Jones, and the rest of the bodies that “Bones’” has left in his wake, he’ll spend his night inside that Octagon on July 9 with his hands up, his chin down and his head and neck as far away as humanly possible from Jones’ terrifying clinch.

But no matter what, barring any injuries or visits to the Albuquerque police station, it’s safe to say that this much anticipated rematch between the consensus top two light heavyweights in the world will not disappoint.

 

 

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Arlovski: Overeem Put Jackson & Winkeljohn On The Spot

The UFC is set to make its debut in the Netherlands this weekend, as UFC Fight Night 87 will take place on Sunday, May 8, 2016 from Rotterdam. Fittingly, the main event will feature an intriguing heavyweight tilt between legendary Dutch kickboxer Alistair “The Reem” Overeem and former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei “Pitbull” Arlovski. Overeem

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The UFC is set to make its debut in the Netherlands this weekend, as UFC Fight Night 87 will take place on Sunday, May 8, 2016 from Rotterdam.

Fittingly, the main event will feature an intriguing heavyweight tilt between legendary Dutch kickboxer Alistair “The Reem” Overeem and former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei “Pitbull” Arlovski.

Overeem has looked rejuvenated as of late, winning three consecutive bouts with two of those victories coming by way of stoppage. Arlovski, however, is coming off of a brutal knockout loss to current title challenger Stipe Miocic last January.

This weekend’s headliner undoubtedly presents an interesting stylistic matchup, but the contest also possesses a note-worthy backstory.

As it turns out, the two men are actually ‘teammates’ so to say as both fighters train at the famed Jackson-Winkeljohn Academy in New Mexico, although they have both previously indicated that they aren’t necessarily friends.

Despite not being too close, Arlovski isn’t too pleased that “The Reem” asked for this bout, saying that Overeem put coaches Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn in an awkward situation:

“The most important thing right now is to face and beat Alistair Overeem … because from what I know, he asked this for this fight,” Arlovski told MMAJunkie. “He kind of put on the spot Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn.”

As far as his latest performance goes, the “Pitbull” admits that he made some ‘stupid’ mistakes against Miocic, but also claimed that he’s well prepared to take on and beat Overeem this weekend:

“I did some stupid, dumb things and mistakes when I fought Stipe Miocic, and he knocked me out really quick,” Arlovski said. “I was one step away from a title shot, but now I have to start from the beginning, and I think it’s a good match for me.

“I had a great training camp, great sparring partners and great coaches.”

Does the former UFC champ have what it takes to derail the surging Overeem?

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Arlovski: Overeem Put Jackson & Winkeljohn On The Spot

The UFC is set to make its debut in the Netherlands this weekend, as UFC Fight Night 87 will take place on Sunday, May 8, 2016 from Rotterdam. Fittingly, the main event will feature an intriguing heavyweight tilt between legendary Dutch kickboxer Alistair “The Reem” Overeem and former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei “Pitbull” Arlovski. Overeem

The post Arlovski: Overeem Put Jackson & Winkeljohn On The Spot appeared first on LowKick MMA.

The UFC is set to make its debut in the Netherlands this weekend, as UFC Fight Night 87 will take place on Sunday, May 8, 2016 from Rotterdam.

Fittingly, the main event will feature an intriguing heavyweight tilt between legendary Dutch kickboxer Alistair “The Reem” Overeem and former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei “Pitbull” Arlovski.

Overeem has looked rejuvenated as of late, winning three consecutive bouts with two of those victories coming by way of stoppage. Arlovski, however, is coming off of a brutal knockout loss to current title challenger Stipe Miocic last January.

This weekend’s headliner undoubtedly presents an interesting stylistic matchup, but the contest also possesses a note-worthy backstory.

As it turns out, the two men are actually ‘teammates’ so to say as both fighters train at the famed Jackson-Winkeljohn Academy in New Mexico, although they have both previously indicated that they aren’t necessarily friends.

Despite not being too close, Arlovski isn’t too pleased that “The Reem” asked for this bout, saying that Overeem put coaches Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn in an awkward situation:

“The most important thing right now is to face and beat Alistair Overeem … because from what I know, he asked this for this fight,” Arlovski told MMAJunkie. “He kind of put on the spot Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn.”

As far as his latest performance goes, the “Pitbull” admits that he made some ‘stupid’ mistakes against Miocic, but also claimed that he’s well prepared to take on and beat Overeem this weekend:

“I did some stupid, dumb things and mistakes when I fought Stipe Miocic, and he knocked me out really quick,” Arlovski said. “I was one step away from a title shot, but now I have to start from the beginning, and I think it’s a good match for me.

“I had a great training camp, great sparring partners and great coaches.”

Does the former UFC champ have what it takes to derail the surging Overeem?

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