While Rashad Evans prepares for his bout against Phil Davis, the former UFC light heavyweight champion took time out of his busy schedule to sit down with ESPN.com.It’s certain to say, he had a lot on his mind.Evans, who appeared at the UFC Summit in L…
While Rashad Evans prepares for his bout against Phil Davis, the former UFC light heavyweight champion took time out of his busy schedule to sit down with ESPN.com.
It’s certain to say, he had a lot on his mind.
Evans, who appeared at the UFC Summit in Las Vegas, spoke of his ongoing feud with Jones and it seems as though his animosity has grown towards the 23-year-old in the past few months via Twitter.
“Yeah I was gettin’ into it. I like to talk, and I was gettin’ real excited about it. There were a lot of things that made me mad about the whole situation so…I definitely wanted to address a few things,” Evans said.
The former training partners have suddenly grown apart within the past few months, and their feud escalated further when it was learned that Evans would be facing Jones for the light heavyweight title. It is something Evans has been quite vocal of and as a result, he decided to cut off ties between himself and Greg Jackson’s MMA.
Since departing from his former camp, Evans has traveled elsewhere to train.
“I’ma do a little bit in Florida, I’ma do some in Arizona, and I’ma try to get up to New York City and do some training.”
In the meantime, Evans will have to turn his attention to Phil Davis, who has replaced Jones after a hand injury forced him to withdraw from UFC 133. Evans looked at the contrast between Davis and Jones and said Davis still has some maturing to do as a fighter.
“Jon is more confident. Jon will throw something, and just believe it’s going to hit 100%. Phil is still at the point where he’s unsure,” he said.
UFC 133 is scheduled for August 6 live from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
UFC 131 on June 11 from the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada, will be monumental for MMA because of the emergence of cage-side technology to be used by the commissioned judges.According to Sherdog.com, judges will be able to utilize video monitors thr…
UFC 131 on June 11 from the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada, will be monumental for MMA because of the emergence of cage-side technology to be used by the commissioned judges.
According to Sherdog.com, judges will be able to utilize video monitors throughout the fights.
In an act of precedence, Mark Ratner, UFC vice president of regulatory affairs, told Sherdog, “anything we can do to give the judges another tool is great. We’re very excited about it.”
This historic news for the Canadian venue comes immediately after the request by the UFC to place video monitors cage-side at UFC 130 on May 28.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission has yet to vote on whether or not monitors will be available for the judges at UFC 130.
Headlining the star-studded fight card at UFC 131 in Vancouver will be a heavyweight clash between the former UFC heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar, and his counterpart on The Ultimate Fighter, Junior dos Santos.
Additional fights include the return of former contender Shane Carwin and the debut of Kenny Florian at featherweight as he challenges Diego Nunes.
Will the video monitors be in place prior to May 28? That question is still undetermined.
What is certain, however, is that the UFC is taking steps to ensure the greatest reliability of scored fights and to minimize judges’ errors as they sit cage-side.
UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre defended his title for the sixth consecutive time on April 30 in front of a North American record crowd of 55,000 people. The feat seems even more impressive when a person factors in the eye injury that…
UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre defended his title for the sixth consecutive time on April 30 in front of a North American record crowd of 55,000 people. The feat seems even more impressive when a person factors in the eye injury that he suffered in the first round. Greg Jackson, one of GSP’s trainers, commented after the fight that he was worried about Georges’ eye, and was concerned it could be a future problem.
In a recent interview with ESPN.com, St-Pierre said he expects to make a full recovery. He has admitted he still has blurred vision, but is confident it will only get better with time.
All of the champs’ future plans have been put on hold until he can get his present situation resolved, but St-Pierre is determined to be back in the Octagon soon.
St-Pierre stated, “My medical condition is called Hyphema. My vision is still blurry and my eye sensitive but the blood in my eye has now been absorbed. My retina is fine as well and my vision will come back to 100%.
One thing is certain, MMA is better off with St-Pierre. We can only hope for a speedy recovery.
Brock Lesnar’s meteoric rise to MMA superstardom seems like something that happened overnight. The former WWE superstar transitioned immediately from the entertainment business to professional fighting. After an impressive victory in his MMA debut at D…
Brock Lesnar‘s meteoric rise to MMA superstardom seems like something that happened overnight.
The former WWE superstar transitioned immediately from the entertainment business to professional fighting.
After an impressive victory in his MMA debut at Dynamite!! USA against Min-Soo Kim, Lesnar quickly found himself in a UFC octagon staring across from former heavyweight champion Frank Mir.
The UFC is the pinnacle of MMA. Some fighters amass over 20 fights before ever seeing the big stage. Lesnar didn’t only see the big stage in a short amount of time, but his bout with Mir also served as the co-main event to the interim heavyweight championship bout between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Tim Sylvia.
Mir walked out the fortunate victor in that fight, but two bouts later, Lesnar found himself competing for a world title against UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture.
How does a fighter ascend to the apex of his career in just four bouts?
After defeating Couture for the heavyweight title, Lesnar was successful in his first two defenses against Shane Carwin and Frank Mir, but he was thoroughly handled in October 2010 by undefeated American Kickboxing Academy standout Cain Velasquez.
A month away from his showdown with Junior Dos Santos, it’s interesting to ponder what Lesnar’s MMA career would’ve been like if things were approached differently.
Would we have seen a much better fighter?
Here’s how being fast-tracked to the title hurt Lesnar’s development.
Ross Pointon the fighter—not the character—is back. Despite being finished in two separate weight classes on The Ultimate Fighter season three by eventual winners Kendall Grove and Michael Bisping, Pointon’s Stroke-on-Trent, England &…
Ross Pointon the fighter—not the character—is back.
Despite being finished in two separate weight classes on The Ultimate Fighter season three by eventual winners Kendall Grove and Michael Bisping, Pointon’s Stroke-on-Trent, England “anyone, anytime” attitude (in addition to unprofessional antics like eating an entire pizza after weigh-ins) have made him one of the most memorable personalities during the show’s five-year Spike TV run.
Winless in two Octagon appearances following his reality stint and a sub-.500 record (6-10) in his four years as a professional left a lot to be desired though. So after a three-year break from the sport, “The Gladiator” plans to demonstrate that his skills have matched up with his character upon his return. He steps in the cage versus another TUF alumni, Dean Amasinger, for “Ultimate Challenge 21: Stand Your Ground” on June 25 at the Troxy in London.
“My last opponent Mark Brown never turned up, you know what I mean? That was in Ultimate Challenge. I know Amasinger is going to turn up. He’s training hard,” the British San Shou Champion told Bleacher Report. “He’s a good scalp for a first fight back. I’m gonna train hard. What will happen will happen on the night.”
The 31-year-old last competed in the now-defunct Cage Rage promotion in May 2008 when he rebounded from a gruesome cut stoppage to Marius Zaromskis by ending Ross Mason’s night early with a heel hook. The victory was his second by way of tap out in three contests—surprising for a fighter that called submissions “silly” repeatedly on national TV.
He now calls the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif. home after joining the renowned gym three months ago to ensure his comeback will feature an ever-evolving Ross Pointon.
“When I got on The Ultimate Fighter, it was the wrong time in my career. I was still learning, whereas a lot of those guys came from good, solid camps. I believe now I’ve done the time,” he said. “Like I said, knowledge is power. It’s experience—everything. I’m still learning. I’ve still got loads to learn. My game is getting stronger all the time being at AKA.”
Pointon puts ego aside training alongside his former opponent, DREAM Welterweight Champion Marius Zaromskis, among other top fighters at AKA. It’s so his career can continue down the winning path he left it at before Cage Rage went under.
Posters were made for a world welterweight title bout in the organization versus champion Che Mills, but the bout never materialized. The resulting barren UK MMA landscape and money were reasons why “The Gladiator” walked away from prizefighting.
“Nothing was really going on. I thought I was worth more money than people were offering me. I chose to make money in other avenues, you know what I mean?” said Pointon, who promotes his eight fight card under his Gladiator Promotions UK banner on June 11—just two weeks before his fight. “But now I’m getting back into the fight game. Now I’m getting back to where I need to be, which is the UFC, do you know what I mean?”
Pointon travels from the home he shares with his girlfriend Christine—whom he credits with his increased maturity and focus—in Monterey an hour each way to be at AKA. He hopes his time at AKA bolsters UK MMA since he’ll be sharpening his techniques to represent England in the UFC as best he can and by taking training tips back to the gym he operates in his hometown in England. As a promoter, he provides a platform for young talent to flourish in their national scene before garnering international attention via the UFC like he once did.
Amidst all the changes, Pointon promises the biggest change is he’s not just a brawler anymore—he’s a full mixed martial artist.
Still, some things never change as illustrated by his parting words to Amasinger: “Good luck on June the 25th. Expect a war because I’m coming for a war.”
Danny Acosta is the lead writer at FIGHT! Magazine. Follow him on twitter.com/acostaislegend
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is one of the best fighters at 205 lbs, but his coach Rafael Cordeiro hopes he can recapture his dominance that made him a champion. But since the former UFC light heavyweight champion has reunited with his longtime coach, Co…
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is one of the best fighters at 205 lbs, but his coach Rafael Cordeiro hopes he can recapture his dominance that made him a champion.
But since the former UFC light heavyweight champion has reunited with his longtime coach, Cordeiro said he plans to fix some of his weaknesses that were present in his loss to Jon Jones at UFC 128.
“The training here will make him stronger, but we’re not a miracle house,” Cordeiro told Sherdog.com.
“This is a place where he’ll work hard, a place where he’ll make sure he’ll never again fight like he did against Jones.”
The talks of Rua joining Kings MMA came at the request of Cordeiro, who will help the Brazilian prepare for his upcoming bout against Forrest Griffin at UFC Rio. Rua and Griffin last met in 2007, in a bout that saw Griffin upset his opponent in unpredictable fashion, in which Griffin earned the victory via rear naked choke.
At the time, Rua was making his debut for the UFC and was highly touted as the best light heavyweight in the world.
Cordeiro added that bringing Rua into Kings MMA was discussed prior to his title bout against Jones.
“We talked before the Jon Jones fight, but some family issues prevented him from coming to the U.S.,” Cordeiro said.
“It was easy to convince him because of our friendship and affection.”
And it is because of their friendship that has Cordeiro convinced Rua will evolve and perform better at UFC Rio.
“I was his coach from the time he was a white belt until he was a black belt. No one knows him as I do, and I can say there is a lot we can add here to improve on his game.”
While Rashad Evans prepares for his bout against Phil Davis, the former UFC light heavyweight champion took time out of his busy schedule to sit down with ESPN.com.