Tag: NYC

Jon Jones Issues Statement On Latest UFC Comeback

Jon Jones is eligible to return next month. And now it’s time Jones issues his first statement on that pending return. The sport of MMA is on fire with the deluge of news surrounding Jones’ pending comeback after he was given a 15-month USADA suspension. The MMA world offered their mixed reactions online. One popular UFC […]

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Jon Jones is eligible to return next month. And now it’s time Jones issues his first statement on that pending return.

The sport of MMA is on fire with the deluge of news surrounding Jones’ pending comeback after he was given a 15-month USADA suspension. The MMA world offered their mixed reactions online. One popular UFC champion ripped USADA for their call on Jones’ behalf.

Daniel Cormier offered his own seething assessment of the scenario, taking USADA to task for his own history of being clean.

It’s time to hear from the man himself. Jones issued his own statement on Instagram. He was understandably emotional before saying “comeback season” was underway. Check it out here:

“It’s difficult to express myself at this moment but I can definitely say my heart is filled with gratitude and appreciation. I want to thank all of you who have stood by me during the toughest stretch of my life. It has meant the world to me and always will. But now is the time to shift the focus front and center to the road ahead. Greatness is what I’m chasing and the path to reclaiming my throne is now officially open. Comeback Season begins now.”

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Daniel Cormier Reacts To Jon Jones’ Pending Return

It didn’t take long for Daniel Cormier to react to Jon Jones’ pending return. News broke tonight that Jones had been given a 15-month suspension for his positive drug test last year. He is now eligible to return on October 28, 2018. The date was curiously close to November 3’s UFC 230 from New York […]

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It didn’t take long for Daniel Cormier to react to Jon Jones’ pending return.

News broke tonight that Jones had been given a 15-month suspension for his positive drug test last year. He is now eligible to return on October 28, 2018. The date was curiously close to November 3’s UFC 230 from New York City, New York.

Jones’ punishment elicited a wide range of reactions from the mixed martial arts universe because of a polarizing nature. Lightweight ruler Khabib Nurmagomedov ripped USADA due to having “too much politics.” Khabib’s American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) teammate Cormier offered his own position as a co-host of tonight’s ‘UFC Tonight.’

A fired-up Cormier claimed he only talked about Jones because he had to. Cormier reiterated he’s the double-champ. He’s moved past Jones – or so he says:

“I’m the UFC double champion,” Cormier said. “I have bosses in the back and I’m talking about this guy because I have too. I’ve moved past that guy. I went about my business. I went and won another title. Now this guy’s suspension is up, so we’ll see what happens.”

Cormier then posed the question of why he should fight Jones a third time. He’s headed for a title defense versus Brock Lesnar early next year. Cormier believes he should stay focused on that, but many would argue he still has to defeat Jones to legitimize his 205-pound throne:

“I think people get excited, people get excited about the prospect of us fighting again, but I’ve got a fight with Brock Lesnar. Why would I look back? Why would I look back to Jones now when I’ve got a fight? Obviously as a competitor I want to fight the guy whose beat me twice, but I’ve got a fight. Why go back? I’ve got a bigger fight with Brock Lesnar, why should I go back?”

The UFC two-division champ then went off on USADA like Nurmagomedov. He cited his shining record with drug testing and then blasted USADA for him even having to discuss this circumstance:

“Here’s the deal: When it comes to USADA, they can’t come to my house anymore at 6 a.m,” Cormier said. “What’s the point? They’ve been to my house 15 times. USADA, don’t come to my house anymore. You don’t need too. You don’t need to come. I’m not going to fail a test, I’m not going to make any mistakes,

“I’m not going to have to sit up there and go, ‘I’m serious this time, guys. I promise I wasn’t really trying to cheat.’ It’s never going to happen with me. 70 times. 70 times since I started wrestling internationally and I’ve never made a mistake. It’s not that hard. So even to be sitting here and doing this again shows – guys are ridiculous.”

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Khabib Nurmagomedov Rips Jon Jones’ USADA Suspension

The MMA world is spinning. Earlier tonight news of Jon Jones’ USADA suspension broke, giving ‘Bones’ a rather rapid return date. The somewhat shocking news resulted in Twitter reacting with a mixed bag of responses. Some fighters criticized USADA for taking it too easy on the oft-troubled former champion. One of those fighters is UFC lightweight […]

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The MMA world is spinning. Earlier tonight news of Jon Jones’ USADA suspension broke, giving ‘Bones’ a rather rapid return date.

The somewhat shocking news resulted in Twitter reacting with a mixed bag of responses. Some fighters criticized USADA for taking it too easy on the oft-troubled former champion.

One of those fighters is UFC lightweight champion Nurmagomedov “The Eagle” isn’t a fan of Jones’ USADA suspension due to the supposed politics involved. He hopped on social media to criticize the decision:

Nurmagomedov will defend his 155-pound title against Conor McGregor in the main event of UFC 229.

Jones, meanwhile, could headline his own massive card in New York City. UFC 230 will go down on November 3. Jones has been rumored for a fight with rival Alexander Gustafsson.

The results of his USADA suspension are sure to rate as MMA’s hottest topic for days to come. There’s the school of thought he was let off easy. On the other hand, there are those who want to see him fight due to his historic talent.

Khabib believes that USADA simply has too much politics involved. What do you think?

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Twitter Reacts To Jon Jones’ USADA Suspension & Return

Jon Jones’ USADA suspension make it seem like he got off easy. Today Jones was given a 15-month suspension for his second USADA violation. Jones was suspended when he tested positive for anabolic steroid Turinabol. He knocked ‘DC’ out to regain his long-held light heavyweight belt in a thought-to-be historic scene. The knockout then became a […]

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Jon Jones’ USADA suspension make it seem like he got off easy.

Today Jones was given a 15-month suspension for his second USADA violation. Jones was suspended when he tested positive for anabolic steroid Turinabol. He knocked ‘DC’ out to regain his long-held light heavyweight belt in a thought-to-be historic scene. The knockout then became a no contest.

The troubled-but-historic great had been on the sidelines awaiting his punishment ever since. Jones has teased a return to action on social media. That seemed like a longshot considering he was facing a potential four-year suspension. Today, we just found out the opposite is true.

Jones will be eligible to return on October 28, putting his return at November 3’s UFC 230 as a distinct possibility. The MMA world was understandably abuzz with the news. Find out how MMA Twitter reacted to the news here:

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McGregor’s Coach: Khabib Is ‘The Boogeyman’ At All Divisions

John Kavanagh is doing everything in his power to make sure Conor McGregor shows up to UFC 229 rust-free.

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It’s been almost two years since Conor McGregor has fought inside the UFC’s Octagon.

Back in November 2016, McGregor defeated Eddie Alvarez for the 155-pound championship. That was the last time we saw the Irishman in the cage. The MMA megastar decided to take some time off and participated in a big-money exhibition boxing match against Floyd Mayweather.

Now, with a new champion at lightweight, McGregor is itching to get back to the top of the UFC world. He’ll fight Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC 229 next month in Las Vegas. “The Eagle” is a dominant 155-pound champion that has yet to lose in his fighting career.

It’s quite a difficult thing for McGregor to return to after two years on the sidelines. In that regard, McGregor’s head coach, John Kavanagh, recently said in an interview with The MacLife that he’s providing a training camp that is attempting to prevent the dreaded “ring rust”:

“I think it’s how you approach training – I think if your gym environment and how you compete in the gym is very separate from how you compete – then for sure there will be ring rust,” Kavanagh said.

“But if you’re regularly putting yourself in stressful types of sparring situation, which is the best we can get in the gym environment, it more resembles competition then. So, Conor – specific for this training camp we have had a lot of very intense training sessions, sparring sessions – and it’s done in the environment he’s going to compete in.

“We have spectators for a lot of the spars – so we’re trying to make the training environment mimic as close to the competition environment so there isn’t as much as a disconnect between the two of them.”

The Undefeated Champion

Kavanagh also talked about the appeal of handing “The Eagle” his first career defeat.

Nurmagomedov is the only undefeated champion in the UFC at the moment. For the McGregor camp to take that away would be a major feather in their cap:

“Absolutely. I think it’s no mystery to say that Khabib is the boogeyman at all divisions at the moment. There isn’t another unbeaten champion that I can think of. And just that constant, aggressive wrestling style – for anyone that’s tough to face. So to actually beat that guy, the guy that everybody is saying is unbeatable, it’d be a huge feather in the cap to do that.”

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World Series Of Fighting Following UFC Into NYC This December

WSOF 36

The World Series of Fighting will follow on the heels of the UFC, bringing MMA to New York City this December.

Announced during Saturday night’s WSOF 32 card on NBC Sports Network, WSOF 36 will take place from Madison Square Garden on New Year’s Eve.

Here is the complete release from the promotion:

On the heels of the historic and long-awaited passage of legislation making professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) bouts legal in New York State, World Series of Fighting (www.WSOF.com) tonight announced that it will bring its star-studded, championship fight series to Madison Square Garden along with a live broadcast of the show on NBC, on Saturday, December 31, pending the approval of the New York State Athletic Commission.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring our exciting, world championship live event series to The Big Apple, where fans have been anxiously waiting for years, for live, professional MMA action to be able to happen in their city,” said World Series of Fighting CEO Carlos Silva tonight, during the live NBCSN telecast of WSOF32: Moraes vs. Hill II.

“We have been working diligently,” continued Silva, “with the staff at the New York State Athletic Commission as well as the executives at Madison Square Garden to complete all of the necessary steps to make this historic and great event happen on New Year’s Eve.”

Participating fighters and featured matchups for the New Year’s Eve extravaganza at Madison Square Garden are being worked on by World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo, and will be announced soon.

The event will mark the second live World Series of Fighting broadcast on NBC, which has also been airing one hour, taped programs featuring a collection of the league’s top fights and highlights, twice annually since 2013. To date, the league has aired 31 live events on NBCSN.

WSOF 36

The World Series of Fighting will follow on the heels of the UFC, bringing MMA to New York City this December.

Announced during Saturday night’s WSOF 32 card on NBC Sports Network, WSOF 36 will take place from Madison Square Garden on New Year’s Eve.

Here is the complete release from the promotion:

On the heels of the historic and long-awaited passage of legislation making professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) bouts legal in New York State, World Series of Fighting (www.WSOF.com) tonight announced that it will bring its star-studded, championship fight series to Madison Square Garden along with a live broadcast of the show on NBC, on Saturday, December 31, pending the approval of the New York State Athletic Commission.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring our exciting, world championship live event series to The Big Apple, where fans have been anxiously waiting for years, for live, professional MMA action to be able to happen in their city,” said World Series of Fighting CEO Carlos Silva tonight, during the live NBCSN telecast of WSOF32: Moraes vs. Hill II.

“We have been working diligently,” continued Silva, “with the staff at the New York State Athletic Commission as well as the executives at Madison Square Garden to complete all of the necessary steps to make this historic and great event happen on New Year’s Eve.”

Participating fighters and featured matchups for the New Year’s Eve extravaganza at Madison Square Garden are being worked on by World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo, and will be announced soon.

The event will mark the second live World Series of Fighting broadcast on NBC, which has also been airing one hour, taped programs featuring a collection of the league’s top fights and highlights, twice annually since 2013. To date, the league has aired 31 live events on NBCSN.