When you look at the current champions in the UFC, one can’t help but wonder who will be the next man to challenge.Now, the majority of the champs already have their next fight booked, but if you’re like me, you’re always looking one step further.So, w…
When you look at the current champions in the UFC, one can’t help but wonder who will be the next man to challenge.
Now, the majority of the champs already have their next fight booked, but if you’re like me, you’re always looking one step further.
So, we already know that Cain Velasquez, Vitor Belfort, Lyoto Machida, Carlos Condit, Johny Hendricks, Martin Kampmann, Nate Diaz and Erik Koch are all in the title picture.
But who will be next?
Here are eight fighters that you may be surprised to know are just one win away from a title shot.
To say the last four days in the world of mixed martial arts has been chaotic is an understatement. We have never seen events transpire this way. As of last Thursday morning, UFC 151 was supposed to take place this Saturday with Jon Jones def…
To say the last four days in the world of mixed martial arts has been chaotic is an understatement. We have never seen events transpire this way. As of last Thursday morning, UFC 151 was supposed to take place this Saturday with Jon Jones defending his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship against Dan Henderson.
On Wednesday night, rumors started to swirl that Henderson had suffered an injury in training. On Thursday morning, the UFC sent out a press release to the media stating that Dana White would be holding a conference call at 2 p.m. ET to discuss 151.
The call took place with White saying that Henderson suffered a partially torn MCL and was out of the fight. Then, what White said after that was a shocker. The fight was offered to former two-time middleweight challenger Chael Sonnen, and he accepted the fight. But when the fight was offered to Jones, he turned it down.
After that, White announced UFC 151 was cancelled due to these circumstances.
There has been a lot of controversy as to whether Jones should have or shouldn’t have accepted the fight. We caught up with Sonnen’s head trainer Scott McQuary, who breaks everything down for us on the Sonnen side.
“I got a text from Chael on Wednesday at about 6:30 Pacific saying we are going to have an emergency meeting and to call all the coaches into my office,” McQuary stated to Bleacher Report. “We met up and we all sat down. Chael said flatly, ‘You can’t watch the Dan Henderson/Jon Jones fight next weekend.’
“We were all kind of surprised. He goes, ‘Because you are going to cornering me against Jones.’
“Just about everybody’s jaws dropped. None of us really had any idea this was coming. Obviously we were all very excited looking at the prospect of it. There were a lot of different things to think about. Eight days isn’t a lot of time. Chael hadn’t really been in the gym a lot in the last couple months. He always takes some time off like most guys do after the fight.
“But he was down for it and we were down for it. We started making arrangements right there and then. Within five minutes, we were in the ring and training. It wasn’t until later that night, I get a text from him (Sonnen) at about 11:30 p.m. Pacific that Jones said no (to taking the fight).”
McQuary didn’t mince his words to Sonnen about why Jones didn’t take the fight.
“I said he (Jones) was a chicken,” McQuary stated. “I said he’s not taking this because he could lose. It’s stating the obvious. Anybody can lose, but I think he felt he had a pretty good chance to lose.”
Even after Sonnen found out, the Sonnen camp was still holding out hope all the way until Dana White announced the card was cancelled.
“If you look at Chael’s Twitter account, where he was tweeting to Jones and asking him, ‘Hey you got 30 minutes before Dana’s conference call to be a champion or a coward.’
“Obviously he was trying to bring him on to take the fight, poking away at him to get him to do it and even offered his purse as well. I don’t know what else Chael could have done. We held out hope for a last-second Hail Mary that Jones would have some cojones and step up to the plate. When Dana made the announcement, that sealed it for us.”
White stated in the conference call that Jones had talked to his head trainer Greg Jackson, who advised Jones to not take the fight due to having only three days to prepare for the fight.
Jackson also said to MMA Weekly in an interview that Sonnen had been training with Dan Henderson to prepare for Jones and felt Sonnen would have an advantage in the fact they had been working together. McQuary states that is the furthest thing from the truth.
“Chael was not training with Dan Henderson,” McQuary stated. “he had spoken on the phone with Dan a little bit, but no training whatsoever. Chael took some time off after the Anderson (Silva) fight to mentally and physically recover. It’s exhausting going through a camp like that. I can tell you completely that Chael hadn’t stepped into the gym until two weeks ago. He did three training sessions in those two weeks, and they were pretty light for him or anybody. He barely broke a sweat.”
A lot of people have been critical of Jackson giving that advice to Jones. McQuary feels that some trainers have more influence over fighters than others, and it makes Jackson look bad in this situation.
“It depends on the fighter,” McQuary stated. “In this case I think everybody has an influence. Trainers have more influence than others. Those guys (fighters) have a mind of their own. They have the right to free choice. If you give that power over like Jon Jones did to Greg Jackson, whether he was advocating responsibility or passing it off. I don’t know if that’s a completely smart decision. I think Greg Jackson is coming across as an extremely cautious coach that fights not to lose where Chael fights to win.”
It has been a criticism in the past of Jackson and his style of how he prepares his fighters. McQuary says just look at the fights.
“I think it plays a very protective way of winning and keeping a good record,” McQuary stated. “Greg has been criticized by other people in the past for doing just that. Having his fighters not necessarily going after the finish and utilize the other tools they have and taking risks. This is just another example to me of him trying to keep his fighters from taking any risks and protecting what they have.”
“Unfortunately you’re not going to be known as a legend that way,” McQuary stated. “You have to put it out there and you have to remember where you came from. A lot of these guys got their start or are getting into the UFC by taking a short-notice fight against somebody who was skilled and ready.”
People have wondered what Sonnen would have done if he was in the position that Jones was in. McQuary feels there would be no doubt at all.
“Absolutely without a doubt, in a heartbeat,” McQuary stated. “I wouldn’t even have to say anything. Chael steps up to the plate every time. He would have no doubt in his mind about the fight. Chael backs up what he says and follows it through with action.”
Title implications in the light heavyweight division will be felt at the next UFC on Fox, when former champion Mauricio Rua meets up with hot, up-and-coming Swede Alexander Gustafsson on the main card.Each man has a chance to be in the title picture. R…
Title implications in the light heavyweight division will be felt at the next UFC on Fox, when former champion Mauricio Rua meets up with hot, up-and-coming Swede Alexander Gustafsson on the main card.
Each man has a chance to be in the title picture. Rua, who won his last fight in the last UFC on Fox headliner against Brandon Vera, is one of the top fighters at 205 pounds and has a chance to get the title shot with a win.
Gustafsson, who has looked stellar as of late, is on a solid winning streak as of right now. He may be a win or two away from a title shot.
Here is a head-to-toe breakdown of this important matchup.
The forthcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter promises to be the most intriguing series in years. It will pit one of the UFC’s most-hated fighters, Roy “Big Country” Nelson, against the former interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwi…
The forthcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter promises to be the most intriguing series in years. It will pit one of the UFC’s most-hated fighters, Roy “Big Country” Nelson, against the former interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin.
The two heavyweights have had a personal rivalry percolating over the past year, but they may not be the only source of fireworks. Dana White himself has made no secret of his distaste for Nelson and early indications show that he’s already set to snap on the Nevada native.
“The first day, as soon as we start filming, he starts shooting his mouth off and saying dumb [expletive],” White said.
White has been butting heads with “Big Country” since way back in 2009 when Nelson, much to the UFC president’s annoyance, won the TUF Heavyweights season. Back then White said:
“Roy Nelson is a moron. Interview him sometime, you’ll find out. Roy Nelson is an idiot, he’s a complete [expletive].”
And the invectives didn’t stop despite Nelson making a successful UFC debut against Stefan Struve. After losing to Frank Mir in 2011, White said of “Big Country”:
“People talk about him making 205—listen, that would be a huge life change and a tough thing for him to do, how about 240? Let’s make 240, Roy. The fat thing was funny for a while, it’s not funny anymore. It’s not funny when you’re the co-main event in a big fight like that and the fight looks the way that it did tonight.”
Clearly one of White’s biggest problems is that Nelson is difficult for the promotion to market, and the fighter isn’t afraid of rubbing that fact in his bosses’ face. Since graduating from TUF, “Big Country” has gone on to style his hair into a mullet and often appears at fight night with a grotesque beard.
Considering this history between White and Nelson, it’s not hard to imagine that tensions would appear between the two from the first day of filming.
But the question is who hates Nelson more, the UFC president, or his opposite number on TUF 16, Shane Carwin?
“Why wait tell December we can see if we can get on (UFC 151). Is this enough time to cycle off?” said Nelson – referring to the time it takes to test clean after a steroid cycle.
However, Nelson’s actions in the run-up to the show must have incensed both White and Carwin in equal measure.
His early choices for assistant coaches included Kurt Angle (another man linked to the same steroid bust as Carwin), former Strikeforce champ Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (who tested positive for steroids earlier in the year), and convicted steroid dealer turned anti-steroid advocate Victor Conte.
None of these men will be allowed to appear on TV.
“The Juice is good @Danawhite says so as long as you don’t over do it Retweet @ufc . Now I know why Overeem is OK NOW! I feel like some OJ.”
It’s clear that “Big Country” has a big mouth and he’s not afraid to be vocal on the most controversial topics. He’s made it his mission to rub both White and Carwin up the wrong way and it’s likely that both will snap on him by the time the season is over.
As the UFC has continued to grow and put on more shows in more countries, we have seen a predictable increase of fights and fight cards that require reassembly, often times at the last minute. More shows beget more fighters training which begets more f…
As the UFC has continued to grow and put on more shows in more countries, we have seen a predictable increase of fights and fight cards that require reassembly, often times at the last minute.
More shows beget more fighters training which begets more fighters injured and so on, until you have men put into positions where they must make quick choices near the final hour.
And those decisions seem to be based on personal desire rather than the realities and immediacy of the situation.
Jon Jones will not fight Chael Sonnen on short notice and Lyoto Machida won’t fight Jones on short notice. Mauricio Shogun Rua won’t fight Jones on short notice, and he’s got what seems to him to be good reasons for not wanting to fight Glover Teixeira.
In short, there are a whole lot of fighters that feel that they must be their own best, fiercest advocates in the face of conditions that are less than ideal. They want to maximize their chances for victory and often times that does not go hand-in-hand with making quick decisions or taking risks with their current ranking.
Considering how quickly the sport is growing, one would be hard to argue with the philosophy that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Even the slightest misstep can see a fighter slip in the rankings and from there, a title shot can go from being but a step away to a question to be answered sometime in the coming year…or the next.
Just ask Anthony Pettis, who was been waiting a long time for a title shot that keeps being handed to everyone but him, and Pettis holds a victory over the current champion thanks to one of the greatest kicks in MMA history.
But a close decision loss to clay Guida has placed him in a kind of Limbo that has him never very far from any title conversation, yet never confirmed as the next in line.
Such are the numerous hazards a fighter needs to navigate in order to keep his head above water and his face fresh in the public’s mind. But amid all the pondering, the conferring with coaches and managers and the calculating of risk versus reward, the only fight that’s really being fought is in favor of caution in the face of uncertainty.
All the while, the true fights, the ones that matter, are being lost in the minutia of last minute negotiations that seem to be put into motion toward the end of disarming bombs that must go off sooner or later.
In other words, a fighter has to be ready to fight any and all opponents sooner or later, so why not sooner?
It is, of course, natural for a fighter and his camp to want the ideal conditions and situation for each and every fight they choose to engage in. They are risking much in the way of stature and standing every time they step into the cage.
But isn’t that what it’s all about?
Aren’t the combative sports about men being so skilled and capable that they can impose a kind of order out of the chaos of combat, and in doing so establish themselves as the best? Isn’t each fight a story about two men having such faith in their skills and abilities that they freely embrace the risk of bodily harm and loss of divisional standing for the greater reward of advancement and eventually a title?
If that is indeed what it is about, then no fighter should pick and choose who he fights, lest an entire sport see the beginnings of a decline where fighters declare their greatness with one breath while refusing to fight those who pose a threat to their claims with the other.
This is the current state of affairs in boxing: fighters declaring how great they are and padding their records with the sole aim of making enough noise that they get a mega-payday fight with the best of their division or the sport. It seems less and less about who’s the greatest and more about who can gather unto themselves the greatest amount of money.
And all the while, many of the boxing matches fans want to see never come to light, because as Sugar Ray Leonard so aptly said, today’s fighters aren’t interested in bragging rights anymore. This is what happens when fighters picking their own fights becomes the norm instead of the exception.
These days in the MMA, there are no straight lines to the title. Unless you are incredibly marketable and possess the skills and power that put you so far above your closest peers that you look like an astronaut to their ant, odds are you are going to have to fight just about any fight that comes your way, just so you can keep your name in every current divisional conversation, and so you can stay sharp.
But in the end, the philosophy needed to become a champion need not be as complicated as the recent Jon Jones fiasco makes it seem.
Once a fighter becomes champion, in essence the decision making process that goes into deciding who you fight and who you don’t ceases to exist: you are the champion, and thus you fight anyone they put in front of you, at any time, bar none.
Simple and easy.
So, how does that philosophy—one a champion should constantly employ—help one become the champ in the first place?
Because anyone who fights for a living should love it more than anything else, and if you love what you do, then you want to do it all the time, circumstances be damned. People love watching anyone do what they love, because they do it with inspiration.
Fighters have a lot of decisions to make, but the one decision they shouldn’t be burdened with is who they should fight next. The UFC has Joe Silva and the fans who decide that, and that is how it should be.
The men who compete in the UFC are professional combatants, blessed with the ability to get to do what they love for a living. They control how hard they train and who they train with, and the rest is a great deal of faith: faith in their trainers and camps and faith that they really are as good as they think they are.
As a rule of thumb, most fighters think they can beat anyone on any given day, because of their faith in themselves and those who train them. If that really is the case—and God knows it should be, because there are much easier ways to make a living than getting punched in the face—then fighting isn’t a matter of negotiation or risk vs. reward, it’s more an affirmative statement of faith.
And nothing shows you have faith in yourself more than fighting anyone placed in front of you, at any time.
Jon Jones is one of the fastest-rising stars and arguably the top pound-for-pound fighter in MMA. The 25-year-old is the current UFC Light Heavyweight champion and has had little difficulty running through one of the toughest divisions in the sport. La…
Jon Jones is one of the fastest-rising stars and arguably the top pound-for-pound fighter in MMA. The 25-year-old is the current UFC Light Heavyweight champion and has had little difficulty running through one of the toughest divisions in the sport. Last year, Jones won four fights all by stoppage and three came against former UFC champions (Rua, Jackson and Machida).
Despite his success and entertaining virtuoso style, Jones has not been a favorite among fans. Some view him as two-faced and smug, a guy that says all the right things in front of the camera but is really a phony.
Others question his tenacity. Jones is not a “macho” man and refuses to engage in trading pre-fight barbs with opponents. Instead he has always been quick to heap praise on each and every adversary he faces. Even when Jones found himself in the middle of a nasty feud with former sparring partner Rashad Evans he most often took the high road.
However, it was Jones’ recent decision that didn’t jibe well with an ever-distant MMA fan base. He was scheduled to defend his title against Dan Henderson at UFC 151 but Henderson was forced to pull out of the fight with a knee injury.
Jones was offered to fight Chael Sonnen on short notice but declined and thus the entire card was scrapped. Since the decision was announced to remove UFC 151 from the fight calendar, fighters, fans and UFC President Dana White have sounded off and blamed Jones and his Team Jackson coach, Greg Jackson for the event cancellation.
While most people are angry at Jon Jones for not fighting, here are five reasons he was wise not to fight at UFC 151.
To say the last four days in the world of mixed martial arts has been chaotic is an understatement. We have never seen events transpire this way. As of last Thursday morning, 
The forthcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter promises to be the most intriguing series in years. It will pit one of the UFC’s most-hated fighters, Roy “Big Country” Nelson, against the former interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin.