UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is hitting back at his next opponent, Rampage Jackson, after Jackson accused Jones of sending a spy into Jackson’s training camp.
Addressing Jackson directly via Twitter, Jones said he would never cheat because he has too much respect for mixed martial arts — and Jones suggested that makes himself different from Jackson.
“Just so you know, I’m not a person who looks for shortcuts in life. Unlike you, MMA is not something I do because of money,” Jones wrote. “It’s a way of life for me and I would never disrespect the integrity of that.”
Jones saying that Jackson is only in MMA for the money is a reaction to comments Jackson has made in the past about how he would quit MMA for acting if acting paid him better. Jackson briefly retired from MMA when he was given a role in The A-Team, but he returned to the sport when he found that there weren’t any more lucrative acting assignments coming his way.
“One of my friends was talking to Jon Jones’ manager recently, and Jon Jones’ manager was saying that he knows everything that is going on in our camp,” Jackson said. “He said he had spies in our camp and he knew everything that was going on. That got me thinking.”
Jones’ manager Malki Kawa says Jackson’s accusations are ridiculous.
“I promise to God, I have no spy in that camp,” Kawa told Yahoo. “It’s completely and totally untrue. There is nothing to it at all. It’s funny he said that, though, because we’ve heard he has had old training partners of Jon coming in to work with him. We don’t care and it’s kind of hilarious he’s doing this.”
For his part, Jones says that now that he’s responded to Jackson’s accusation, he’s not going to give it another thought. And he told Jackson on Twitter that he looks forward to meeting him in the Octagon.
“Believe me or not, I’ve said my part,” Jones said. “Hoping you have a safe and healthy finish to your camp.”
Jones and Jackson will fight for the light heavyweight title on Sept. 24.
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is hitting back at his next opponent, Rampage Jackson, after Jackson accused Jones of sending a spy into Jackson’s training camp.
Addressing Jackson directly via Twitter, Jones said he would never cheat because he has too much respect for mixed martial arts — and Jones suggested that makes himself different from Jackson.
“Just so you know, I’m not a person who looks for shortcuts in life. Unlike you, MMA is not something I do because of money,” Jones wrote. “It’s a way of life for me and I would never disrespect the integrity of that.”
Jones saying that Jackson is only in MMA for the money is a reaction to comments Jackson has made in the past about how he would quit MMA for acting if acting paid him better. Jackson briefly retired from MMA when he was given a role in The A-Team, but he returned to the sport when he found that there weren’t any more lucrative acting assignments coming his way.
“One of my friends was talking to Jon Jones’ manager recently, and Jon Jones’ manager was saying that he knows everything that is going on in our camp,” Jackson said. “He said he had spies in our camp and he knew everything that was going on. That got me thinking.”
Jones’ manager Malki Kawa says Jackson’s accusations are ridiculous.
“I promise to God, I have no spy in that camp,” Kawa told Yahoo. “It’s completely and totally untrue. There is nothing to it at all. It’s funny he said that, though, because we’ve heard he has had old training partners of Jon coming in to work with him. We don’t care and it’s kind of hilarious he’s doing this.”
For his part, Jones says that now that he’s responded to Jackson’s accusation, he’s not going to give it another thought. And he told Jackson on Twitter that he looks forward to meeting him in the Octagon.
“Believe me or not, I’ve said my part,” Jones said. “Hoping you have a safe and healthy finish to your camp.”
Jones and Jackson will fight for the light heavyweight title on Sept. 24.
Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, Rankings, Light HeavyweightsJon Jones is the undisputed champion of the light heavyweight division, but figuring out who deserves to be No. 2 at 205 pounds is tough.
Is it Rampage Jackson, who gets the next crack at Jone…
Jon Jones is the undisputed champion of the light heavyweight division, but figuring out who deserves to be No. 2 at 205 pounds is tough.
Is it Rampage Jackson, who gets the next crack at Jones’ title? Is it Shogun Rua, the previous champion? Is it Rashad Evans, who beat Jackson? Is it Lyoto Machida, who beat Evans? Is it Dan Henderson, who ran through the Strikeforce light heavyweight division and then beat an opponent who outweighed him by 16 pounds in Fedor Emelianenko?
Good arguments can be made for any of them. So who do I have at No. 2? Find out below.
1. Jon Jones (1): Jones was in Denver on July 19, his 24th birthday, for a press conference promoting his upcoming fight with Rampage Jackson. Jones said several times that now that he’s 24 he doesn’t think anyone should call him young anymore, but the reality is that Jones is both the best fighter in the division and the youngest in the Top 10. His age is an important part of why people are so excited about what he can do: He could be a long-reigning champion in a division that has seen a great deal of turnover at the top.
2. Rashad Evans (4): Evans’ impressive victory over Tito Ortiz at UFC 133 moves him back up to No. 2 in my book. Evans looked as good as he’s ever looked, and it was especially noteworthy that he looked physically stronger than he ever had before. The way he picked Ortiz up and slammed him down with a minute left in the first round was particularly impressive. Whether Jones or Jackson is the light heavyweight champion after their UFC 135 fight, Evans will be a very worthy opponent.
3. Shogun Rua (2): We’ll learn a lot about Shogun when he takes on Forrest Griffin at UFC 134. If Rua can avenge the loss to Griffin from four years ago and come out of the fight healthy, he’ll be in the mix (as Dana White likes to say) for a shot at the light heavyweight title some time in 2012. But Rua’s knees have given him so many problems that it’s hard not to wonder, even though he’s only 29, if he’s on the down side of his career.
4. Lyoto Machida (3): Machida’s decision to turn down a fight with Evans was a surprise, because Machida thoroughly whipped Evans when they fought two years ago. If Machida had accepted that fight and won, he’d probably be next in line for a title shot. Now he may be sidelined for an extended period of time, as most of the other top light heavyweights already have fights lined up.
5. Rampage Jackson (5): Jackson looked sluggish in his UFC 130 victory over Matt Hamill, and at age 33 he doesn’t seem to have the punching power he once had: In the last four years, Rampage has fought 23 rounds inside the Octagon, and other than his knockout of Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92, he’s never been particularly close to finishing anybody. If we’re going to see an upset of Jon Jones at UFC 135, we’re going to have to see a much better Rampage than we’ve seen recently.
6. Dan Henderson (6): Henderson is the Strikeforce light heavyweight champion, but his impressive win over Fedor Emelianenko was probably his last fight in Strikeforce: His return to the Octagon is likely coming soon. Machida would be a good opponent for him in his UFC return.
7. Forrest Griffin (7): Griffin will have a great chance to move up in the rankings when he takes on Shogun Rua at UFC 134. A win over Rua, whom Griffin has already beaten once, would vault Griffin into the Top 5 and probably put him only another win away from another shot at the light heavyweight title.
8. Phil Davis (8): A knee injury forced the 9-0 Davis to pull out of his scheduled UFC 133 fight with Evans, and there’s no word yet on when he’ll return to the Octagon. With five UFC wins in less than 14 months from February of 2010 to March of 2011, Davis had been building up a lot of momentum that this injury slowed down. But he’ll be back and quite likely fighting for the light heavyweight title by the end of 2012.
9. Thiago Silva (9): Silva is currently serving a one-year suspension for using a banned substance and cheating on his UFC 125 drug test. Some will drop him from the rankings for that, but Silva’s record (14-2 with 11 wins by knockout, two wins by submission and losses only to Evans and Machida) is strong enough that I don’t think you can put together a list of the Top 10 light heavyweights without him.
10. Rafael Cavalcante (10): The former Strikeforce champion, Feijao will face a largely untested opponent, the 4-0 Olympic wrestling silver medalist Yoel Romero, in his return to the cage on September 10.
(We know one thing: some female Japanese reporters are getting dry-humped by Rampage come February 26.)
When Zuffa effectively killed PRIDE soon after purchasing the Japanese promotion back in 2007 for a reported $64-million US, when UFC president Dana White stated it was just impossible to deal with the Yakuza, it seemed unlikely that we would ever see the Octagon in the Land of the Rising Sun again.
Well, it looks like dealing with the Yakuza in 2011 is a lot easier than it was four years ago.
According to MMAWeekly, the UFC is close to finalizing a date and location for its first Japanese show since 2000, and the first under the Zuffa banner since Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta purchased the company from SEG in January 2001. The date for the planned show would be February 26 and the planned venue is the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama — the arena that housed 24 of PRIDE’s 68 events.
(We know one thing: some female Japanese reporters are getting dry-humped by Rampage come February 26.)
When Zuffa effectively killed PRIDE soon after purchasing the Japanese promotion back in 2007 for a reported $64-million US, when UFC president Dana White stated it was just impossible to deal with the Yakuza, it seemed unlikely that we would ever see the Octagon in the Land of the Rising Sun again.
Well, it looks like dealing with the Yakuza in 2011 is a lot easier than it was four years ago.
According to MMAWeekly, the UFC is close to finalizing a date and location for its first Japanese show since 2000, and the first under the Zuffa banner since Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta purchased the company from SEG in January 2001. The date for the planned show would be February 26 and the planned venue is the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama — the arena that housed 24 of PRIDE’s 68 events.
The venue has been booked by agencies working with Zuffa in Japan, which doesn’t necessarily mean the locale is final (the UFC has booked both Rogers Centre in Toronto and Bell Centre in Montreal for this December), it’s the company’s number one choice.
During last week’s pre-fight press conference for UFC 132, White hinted that the move into Japan would be happening soon.
“The rumor is true, we’re going to come to Japan and probably very soon,” White told reporters.
The report goes on to state that the UFC’s executive vice president Mark Fischer, who was hired in 2010 to champion Zuffa’s Asian resurgence, is currently working to finalize a date and venue for the planned event in Japan and he has spoken with a number of Japanese promoters to solicit their advice on putting on shows there. It’s unclear, although unlikely given the UFC’s stance on co-promotion, whether or not Zuffa plans to work with another promoter on the show.
Although no names have been mentioned for the card since it’s more than seven months away, it’s likely that we’ll see a number of former PRIDE stars like Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and the Nogueira brothers on the card alongside Japanese standouts like Yushin Okami and Yoshihiro Akiyama. We may even see the UFC pick up Shinya Aoki by then to round out its lightweight roster.
Well, we can add Tito Ortiz’s name to the growing list of UFC fighters who have accused MMA Fighting reporter Ariel Helwani of starting shit in recent months.
During today’s UFC 132 press conference, Helwani asked Tito’s upcoming opponent Ryan Bader what he thought about Ortiz saying he had weak wrestling and before he had a chance to answer, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” interrupted to inform Ariel that he said no such thing.
In the interview we posted earlier today on the site, Ariel asked Tito if he saw any holes in Bader’s game that he was looking to exploit Saturday night, to which he replied, “His takedowns and his takedown defense,” before describing how he saw some holes in both areas that could leave openings for him to capitalize. He didn’t actually use the term “weak wrestling,” but he did point out that certain aspects of Bader’s wrestling game were lacking in his opinion.
“I never said he had weak wrestling. What are you starting shit for, dude? I never said that. I never said he had weak wrestling. I said I seen holes in his game, but I never said he had weak wrestling. Don’t be putting words in my mouth, dog.”
(Video courtesy of YouTube/IronForgesIron)
Well, we can add Tito Ortiz’s name to the growing list of UFC fighters who have accused MMA Fighting reporter Ariel Helwani of starting shit in recent months.
During today’s UFC 132 press conference, Helwani asked Tito’s upcoming opponent Ryan Bader what he thought about Ortiz saying he had weak wrestling and before he had a chance to answer, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” interrupted to inform Ariel that he said no such thing.
In the interview we posted earlier today on the site, Ariel asked Tito if he saw any holes in Bader’s game that he was looking to exploit Saturday night, to which he replied, “His takedowns and his takedown defense,” before describing how he saw some holes in both areas that could leave openings for him to capitalize. He didn’t actually use the term “weak wrestling,” but he did point out that certain aspects of Bader’s wrestling game were lacking in his opinion.
“I never said he had weak wrestling. What are you starting shit for, dude? I never said that. I never said he had weak wrestling. I said I seen holes in his game, but I never said he had weak wrestling. Don’t be putting words in my mouth, dog.”
Besides maybe over-generalizing Tito’s statements, Helwani didn’t do anything wrong and I’m sure it wasn’t a malicious or sinister oversight on his part, but it’s interesting to note the latest trend of fighters calling Ariel (who many consider the best interviewer in the business) a shit disturber, including Nick Diaz and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
Filed under: UFC, NewsJon Jones and Quinton Jackson have verbally agreed to square off at UFC 135 in September with Jones’ UFC light-heavyweight championship on the line.
The UFC confirmed that the two stars will meet at the event, which will be held…
Jon Jones and Quinton Jackson have verbally agreed to square off at UFC 135 in September with Jones’ UFC light-heavyweight championship on the line.
The UFC confirmed that the two stars will meet at the event, which will be held at the Pepsi Center in Denver.
Jones had originally been expected to face Rashad Evans in August until deciding against participation after a flareup of a previously existing hand injury. Evans decided not to wait for Jones, instead opting for a fight with Phil Davis at UFC 133.
Later, doctors told Jones that he would not need surgery for the injury, but would need some time off, making him eligible to fight at the Denver card on September 24. Jones won the title in March with a third-round TKO of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
Jackson, meanwhile, punched his ticket to a title match with a three-round unanimous decision win over Matt Hamill in the main event of UFC 130. With the win, Jackson improved to 32-8. He was a onetime light-heavyweight champ, winning the belt in May 2007 with a knockout of Chuck Liddell. He successfully defended it once before losing in a close decision to Forrest Griffin.
Jones is 13-1 with his only loss coming via a controversial disqualification.
(The splash of green on the far right edge of the photo? That’s Susie. Photo courtesy of MMAWeekly)
Editor’s note: Yeah, it’s been over a month since Gary has graced us with his presence; long story, but it’s our fault, not his. Please forgive us for the delay. If you have any burning questions for the next installment of “Ask Gary,” please submit them in the comments section below, and catch up on his past columns here and here.
‘zaman fu’ asks: Please tell us some crazy stories about your sister.
Susie and I have always been really close and most fans would be familiar with seeing her in photos or post-fight ring celebrations. Throughout her life, Susie’s had a number of different boyfriends and, most of them, I didn’t like. The only men who I ever liked have been her husband and the man that she’s with right now. I’m sure there is an entire biography that can be written based solely on crazy stories about my sister Susie. She’s a party animal. Anytime I went to a fight, she would party enough for the both of us. I’d always go back to my hotel room and she’d go out to party with the fighters and fans. Needless to say, she’s got the skinny on everybody.
‘DARKHORSE06’ asks: Dear Gary, How come you never got paid what you deserved? Why were people always ripping you off? And why was it so hard to save? Not to push any buttons.
Hindsight is 20/20. Each one of us has our own life to live. Nobody makes all of the right choices at the right times. I’ve done both good and bad things but when all is said and done, I’m the one living my life. I’ve learned not to spend too much time worrying about how other people think they may have lived my life. Everybody gets ripped off and I’m no different. Old guys like us may have gotten taken advantage of sometimes but it’s nothing to whine about. Hopefully the new fighters can benefit from our experience by learning to watch their back and pay attention to what’s going on. Don’t let people make decisions for you. Make decisions for yourself and be careful who you give your trust to.
‘danomite’ asks: Who, out of all the people you have fought, hit the hardest?
(The splash of green on the far right edge of the photo? That’s Susie. Photo courtesy of MMAWeekly)
Editor’s note: Yeah, it’s been over a month since Gary has graced us with his presence; long story, but it’s our fault, not his. Please forgive us for the delay. If you have any burning questions for the next installment of “Ask Gary,” please submit them in the comments section below, and catch up on his past columns here and here.
‘zaman fu’ asks: Please tell us some crazy stories about your sister.
Susie and I have always been really close and most fans would be familiar with seeing her in photos or post-fight ring celebrations. Throughout her life, Susie’s had a number of different boyfriends and, most of them, I didn’t like. The only men who I ever liked have been her husband and the man that she’s with right now. I’m sure there is an entire biography that can be written based solely on crazy stories about my sister Susie. She’s a party animal. Anytime I went to a fight, she would party enough for the both of us. I’d always go back to my hotel room and she’d go out to party with the fighters and fans. Needless to say, she’s got the skinny on everybody.
‘DARKHORSE06′ asks: Dear Gary, How come you never got paid what you deserved? Why were people always ripping you off? And why was it so hard to save? Not to push any buttons.
Hindsight is 20/20. Each one of us has our own life to live. Nobody makes all of the right choices at the right times. I’ve done both good and bad things but when all is said and done, I’m the one living my life. I’ve learned not to spend too much time worrying about how other people think they may have lived my life. Everybody gets ripped off and I’m no different. Old guys like us may have gotten taken advantage of sometimes but it’s nothing to whine about. Hopefully the new fighters can benefit from our experience by learning to watch their back and pay attention to what’s going on. Don’t let people make decisions for you. Make decisions for yourself and be careful who you give your trust to.
‘danomite’ asks: Who, out of all the people you have fought, hit the hardest?
You never even feel the people who hit the hardest because they just put you to sleep. I’d say that Fedor is one of the hardest hitters because he put me to sleep and I didn’t even feel a thing. Heath Herring also put me on Queer Street; a lot of people don’t give Herring the credit he deserved as a fighter but I’m telling you, he hits very hard. It’s very important for people to understand that just because somebody knocks you out, doesn’t necessarily mean they hit hard. It just means they hit you correctly, meaning you’re not breathing at the proper time or you don’t clinch your jaw at the right time. There’s a lot of guys who can hit hard but to be honest, no one personal really stands out. I was always prepared for the guys who hit hard so nobody ever really caught me off guard. I always did my research on my opponents and would train accordingly.
(Goodridge vs. Herring, Hero’s 4, 3/15/06)
‘danomite’ (again) asks: What do you think about Zuffa being the only big organization left?
Zuffa’s been treating everybody really well but the only problem with only having one player on the block is that it looks like a monopoly. Zuffa is cleaning up and doing what they need to do by taking the market share away from as many competitors as possible. And you know what? Good for them. You cannot blame them for making decisions in the best interest of the company. Now that Zuffa’s number one, other people are out to take a piece of their pie. The industry is starting to learn that if they are going to get any piece of the pie that Zuffa has been baking, they can’t be greedy and try to take more than their share.
‘jimbonics’ asks: How often are you mistaken for Gilbert Yvel? ‘danomite’ (wow) asks: Which black athlete or movie star do you get mistaken for most often? My money is on LT (Ladainian Tomlinson, not the other guy)
I always get mistaken for Rampage. Rampage Jackson and I go back a long way and we’ve had many conversations regarding how often we get mistaken for each other. We’ve hung out a lot together and we always have each other’s back. Rampage married a Japanese woman at the same time that I was thinking about marrying a Japanese woman. Rampage and I both know how to entertain the fans as arena celebrities; however, we are also very personable and approachable to individual fans. Both of us have been fighting our entire lives and have developed strong wills. We’ve always had the same attitude towards the sport and he’s always been my brother in this difficult sport.
‘SnackDaddy’ asks: Tits or ass?
Anybody who knows Big Daddy knows that I’m “Ass all the way, ass all day.” I love big booty.
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is hitting back at his next opponent, Rampage Jackson, after Jackson accused Jones of sending a spy into Jackson’s training camp.
Jon Jones
