Tag: Rashad Evans

Rashad Evans Says Jon Jones “Insecure”

Cue Van Halen’s “Where Have all the Good Times Gone?”
For a few weeks now it’s been looking like training partners Jon Jones and Rashad Evans have finally been warming to the idea that they might have to fight, provided “Bones” takes the light-heavyweight strap from “Shogun” Rua this weekend. It’s been a stark reversal from […]

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Cue Van Halen’s “Where Have all the Good Times Gone?”

For a few weeks now it’s been looking like training partners Jon Jones and Rashad Evans have finally been warming to the idea that they might have to fight, provided “Bones” takes the light-heavyweight strap from “Shogun” Rua this weekend. It’s been a stark reversal from the previous rhetoric streaming out of Greg Jackson camp that teammates wouldn’t throw down against each other, no matter what was on the line.

So, fans have been happy, Dana White has been damn happy, let’s wait and see what happens on Saturday right? Well, it looks as though things between Jones and Evans may be shifting from ‘it’s unfortunate but…’ to ‘he f—king said that?’ According to a report from Bloody Elbow, Evans didn’t apparently care so much for what Jones said about possibly fighting him on a recent media call. The quotes are taken from an interview Evans gave on Pro MMA Radio last night.

“It sounds like he wants to fight, huh? Those sound like fighting words. I don’t know how to judge the kid. It’s kind of messed up, to be honest. I can’t control what anyone else says and it sounds to me like he’s a little bit insecure about the whole thing. Sometimes when you open your mouth you show what you’re afraid of more than anything. I don’t know why he has such an adverse response like that to me. I’ve never challenged him or made him feel like he should do that sort of thing. It sounds to me — if I was out of the situation — that he was feeling insecure about me. … (It made Jon) sound like a baby”.

This is getting good no? To bet on Shogun vs. Bones head here.

My First Fight: Rashad Evans

Filed under: UFCWhen Rashad Evans showed up to his very first MMA training session, he was pretty sure one of two things was going to happen: either he was going to learn to fight, or he was going to get robbed at gunpoint.

He was really hoping for t…

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When Rashad Evans showed up to his very first MMA training session, he was pretty sure one of two things was going to happen: either he was going to learn to fight, or he was going to get robbed at gunpoint.

He was really hoping for the former, but from the looks of the alleged gym a stranger had just driven him to, the latter seemed more likely.

“It looked like a set-up,” Evans says, looking back. “I looked at the building and was like, this sh-t cannot have a credible gym in there.”

Jon Jones: ‘I Absolutely Hate When People Mention Rashad Evans’

Filed under: UFCA few months ago Jon Jones and Rashad Evans would have both sworn up and down that they’d never fight each other, and that they wanted only the best for one another even as the two teammates both chased UFC light heavyweight gold.

But …

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A few months ago Jon Jones and Rashad Evans would have both sworn up and down that they’d never fight each other, and that they wanted only the best for one another even as the two teammates both chased UFC light heavyweight gold.

But with Jones’ title shot at UFC 128 against champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua just around the corner, those days are now but a distant memory.

While Jones described Evans as a friend on Wednesday’s UFC media call, he also insisted that won’t be thinking at all about his teammate at the Jackson squad when he takes on Rua in Newark, New Jersey next Saturday night. Even if he got the title shot only after an injury knocked Evans out of the main event, Jones was in no mood to discuss the fighter he’s described in previous interviews as a mentor and a big brother.

Jon Jones and Rashad Evans Thawing on Possibility of Fighting Each Other

Filed under: UFC, NewsWith the growing number of MMA super camps, it seems to be just a matter of time before major teammate vs. teammate matchups become more common. Until now, many fighters have resisted the prospect of facing a friend who shares the…

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With the growing number of MMA super camps, it seems to be just a matter of time before major teammate vs. teammate matchups become more common. Until now, many fighters have resisted the prospect of facing a friend who shares the same camp. Among them was former UFC light-heavyweight champion Rashad Evans, who previously said he’d never fight Keith Jardine, and more recently, added Jon Jones to the do-not-fight list.

With Jones one win away from holding the UFC light heavyweight championship — he’ll try to wrest the belt from champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua on March 19 — that’s a pretty big statement from Evans, but it appears it’s not exactly written in stone.

Over the last few days, Evans and Jones — both members of Team Greg Jackson — have given interviews indicating that they might be more open to the possibility than they originally stated.

Despite Recent Injury, Rashad Evans Doesn’t Regret Waiting for Title Shot

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse ExclusiveIt would be easy for Rashad Evans to sit around and second-guess himself these days. It would be easy to dwell on the what-ifs, or to wallow in the bitterness of recent events.

He waited the better part of a year fo…

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It would be easy for Rashad Evans to sit around and second-guess himself these days. It would be easy to dwell on the what-ifs, or to wallow in the bitterness of recent events.

He waited the better part of a year for his title shot, forsaking other opportunities to fight and risking the ire of UFC president Dana White. With the fight less than two months away, a freak accident in training injured his knee and forced him out of the UFC 128 main event. Now the UFC has shuffled Jon Jones – Evans’ own teammate – into the title fight in his place, leaving Evans’ future as uncertain as ever.

“It’s hard,” said Evans. “Of course it’s hard. I can’t lie and say it’s not hard or that I don’t think sometimes, I wish it was me. I’d be lying if I said that. But I believe that everything happens for a reason.”

MMA Top 10 Light Heavyweights: Jon Jones Moves to No. 2

Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, Light HeavyweightsThe last time I ranked the Top 10 light heavyweights in mixed martial arts, I wrestled with the question of who’s the No. 2 fighter in the weight class: Lyoto Machida, Rampage Jackson or Rashad Evans?

N…

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Jon JonesThe last time I ranked the Top 10 light heavyweights in mixed martial arts, I wrestled with the question of who’s the No. 2 fighter in the weight class: Lyoto Machida, Rampage Jackson or Rashad Evans?

Now I have the answer: None of the above.

Jon Jones put on his fourth consecutive spectacular performance in beating Ryan Bader at UFC 126, and I can no longer put Jones below anyone other than champion Shogun Rua. With just about any other fighter of Jones’ age and experience I’d say the UFC is rushing him into a title shot in this situation, but with Jones I can’t argue: He has proven that he deserves to be considered the second-best light heavyweight in the sport.

So I’ve got Shogun and Jones, who will meet in the main event at UFC 128, at 1-2 in our light heavyweight rankings. Find out where the rest of the division stacks up below.