Through the majority of their parallel UFC careers, Stephan Bonnar has played second-banana to Forrest Griffin. The relationship started with Griffin’s career-launching win over Bonnar in their classic brawl at the first Ultimate Fighter finale in 2005; a rematch the following year resulted in the American Psycho going home with another decision loss and a steroid suspension. While Griffin was winning the UFC light-heavyweight title in 2008, Bonnar was on the sidelines due to injuries, and though Griffin occasionally ate a humiliating loss, Bonnar’s losses were even more embarrassing.
But lately, the two men have begun to shift trajectories. A not-quite-motivated Griffin suffered an ugly knockout against Mauricio Rua in Brazil last year, and is now booked in a relatively needless trilogy fight against Tito Ortiz in July. With Forrest in a holding pattern, Bonnar is now riding a three-fight win streak, with W’s over Krzysztof Soszynski, Igor Pokrajac, and Kyle Kingsbury. In other words, Griffin might be heading down the mountain, while Bonnar is somehow reaching another peak in his career — which makes it an ideal time for the two rivals to meet one last time, perhaps at the end of an Ultimate Fighter gig that would bring their lives full circle. At least, that’s how Bonnar sees it. Here’s what he told MMAJunkie Radio:
(Best frenemies forever.)
Through the majority of their parallel UFC careers, Stephan Bonnar has played second-banana to Forrest Griffin. The relationship started with Griffin’s career-launching win over Bonnar in their classic brawl at the first Ultimate Fighter finale in 2005; a rematch the following year resulted in the American Psycho going home with another decision loss and a steroid suspension. While Griffin was winning the UFC light-heavyweight title in 2008, Bonnar was on the sidelines due to injuries, and though Griffin occasionally ate a humiliating loss, Bonnar’s losses were even more embarrassing.
But lately, the two men have begun to shift trajectories. A not-quite-motivated Griffin suffered an ugly knockout against Mauricio Rua in Brazil last year, and is now booked in a relatively needless trilogy fight against Tito Ortiz in July. With Forrest in a holding pattern, Bonnar is now riding a three-fight win streak, with W’s over Krzysztof Soszynski, Igor Pokrajac, and Kyle Kingsbury. In other words, Griffin might be heading down the mountain, while Bonnar is somehow reaching another peak in his career — which makes it an ideal time for the two rivals to meet one last time, perhaps at the end of an Ultimate Fighter gig that would bring their lives full circle. At least, that’s how Bonnar sees it. Here’s what he told MMAJunkie Radio:
“Everyone out there please harass Dana White on Twitter to let me and Forrest coach the next season (of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’). If he does that, I can guarantee a barn-burning slugfest…I won’t go for any takedowns. I won’t block any punches. I’ll just be moving forward. I’m serious I would just go and slug it out and try to top our first one. What the hell do I have to lose? I want to give the fans a good one…I’ve had a couple nice technical wins now without much damage. But now I’m actually missing the damage…When you get into a couple of wars in a row, you’re like, ‘Screw this,’ but if we got to be coaches, I would be so thankful. I’d get hit a ton. I’ve ate plenty of his punches over the years.”
Promising to get hit in the face a lot is one of the most bizarre matchmaking pitches we’ve ever heard, and is perhaps evidence that Bonnar has already gotten hit in the face too many times as it is. But you can’t argue with the compelling symmetry of having the two light-heavyweight warriors coach against each other on the show that made them (and the UFC) famous seven years ago — and it seems like a perfect recipe to revive the interest in TUF.
Plus, let’s call a spade a spade, here: Griffin may be losing his edge in the cage, and Bonnar probably feels like he should pounce while he has some momentum, so he can balance out their rivalry. As Quinton Jackson demonstrated against Wanderlei Silva, the first two fights in a trilogy are just battles; the last fight truly decides the war.
“The Ultimate Fighter” has seen its fair share of intense coaching rivalries, which have led to epic fights from these feuds. This season of “The Ultimate Fighter” has been no different, as Urijah Faber and Dominick Cruz have bu…
“The Ultimate Fighter” has seen its fair share of intense coaching rivalries, which have led to epic fights from these feuds. This season of “The Ultimate Fighter” has been no different, as Urijah Faber and Dominick Cruz have built quite a rivalry coaching opposite of each other. Let’s take a look at the best coaching […]
(And to think this all started with a friction-based erection.)
Chuck Liddell has been through some shit, ladies and gentlemen. He fought through the dark ages of the UFC, and in fact helped spearhead its rise into the mainstream. And he walked that path to glory on the mangled bones and concussed skulls of his dearest friends and family. The man’s nickname is “The Iceman,” for Christ’s sake, and considering that the nickname is written in quotations, it must literally mean that he has ice flowing through his veins. So you can imagine his lack of understanding when it comes to all these pussified, liberal fighters claiming that they won’t fight their teammates nowadays. According to Liddell, these so-called fighters should put their differences aside in the cage, duke it out, and then have a beer afterward. Here’s what he told The MMA Hour:
If (a teammate) can beat me, they can beat me. It is what it is. They deserve to fight me then. I’m not going to hold back some guy that’s in my camp if he wants to fight me. That’s not my thing. It’s just a personal choice and a personal opinion, but I think eventually, hey you guys are going at it, then go out and have two beers together afterwards. Go out there and prove who’s best that day, and go out and be friends again.
Given Liddell’s well documented feud with former teammate Tito Ortiz, you can rest assured that he is a man of his word. Hell, the fact that these two can even stand in the same room with each other, let alone pose for these kinds of pictures is pretty amazing after all that they have been through.
(And to think this all started with a friction-based erection.)
Chuck Liddell has been through some shit, Potato Nation. He fought through the dark ages of the UFC, and in fact helped spearhead its rise into the mainstream. And he walked that path to glory on the mangled bones and concussed skulls of his dearest friends and family. The man’s nickname is “The Iceman,” for Christ’s sake, and considering that the nickname is written in quotations, it must literally mean that he has ice flowing through his veins. So you can imagine his lack of understanding when it comes to all these pussified, liberal fighters claiming that they won’t fight their teammates nowadays. According to Liddell, these so-called fighters should put their differences aside in the cage, duke it out, and then have a beer afterward. Here’s what he told The MMA Hour:
If (a teammate) can beat me, they can beat me. It is what it is. They deserve to fight me then. I’m not going to hold back some guy that’s in my camp if he wants to fight me. That’s not my thing. It’s just a personal choice and a personal opinion, but I think eventually, hey you guys are going at it, then go out and have two beers together afterwards. Go out there and prove who’s best that day, and go out and be friends again.
Given Liddell’s well documented feud with former teammate Tito Ortiz, you can rest assured that he is a man of his word. Hell, the fact that these two can even stand in the same room with each other, let alone pose for these kinds of pictures is pretty amazing after all that they have been through. So you see, Rashad, if you and Jon could just let bygones be bygones, then maybe Greg Jackson wouldn’t have to undergo holistic treatments every night to help cure his anxiety-induced ulcers.* Just don’t take the “fight anyone” philosophy to the extremes that Houston Alexander did.
And while we’re on the subject of the upcoming Jones/Evans clash, perhaps we can talk about the current betting lines, which are inflated to say the least. Many gambling sites have Evans listed around a five-to-one underdog, and some have him listed as high (or low, maybe?) as seven-to-one. Needless to say, Liddell does not believe that the man who nearly sent him to his maker stands next-to-no chance of upsetting “Bones,” no matter how good the current champ is. In a recent interview with MMAWeekly Radio, Liddell was rather candid in his assessment of the betting odds:
I think that’s ridiculous. 5 to 1, and 6 to 1, I mean, Jon’s been great, he’s doing great, and he’s going to keep getting better, but this is a fight styles wise that’s a tougher fight for him than the ones he’s had.
He likes to control the distance, control where the fight was, whether it was standing or on the ground, and I think he’ll have a harder time doing that with Rashad. When you can shoot in and take a guy down, you can change the distance whenever you want, you can be pressed to do something else, and it’s a lot easier to follow your game plan.
If I was a betting man, with the odds, absolutely no question you have to go with Rashad. That’s for sure. It should be a pick em’ but I want to see if Rashad can do it. I really want to see how Jon reacts, I want to see him get pushed and see how he reacts.
As Jones himself has acknowledged before, Rashad’s best chance at walking away with the belt around his waist come Saturday night lies in his ability to get the fight to the ground. The question is, do you think “Suga” is powerful enough to get past Jones’ ridiculous reach advantage?
*Contrary to what I’ve written, Greg Jackson does *not* have an anxiety-induced ulcer, at least not to my knowledge. It was an attempt at a joke, Greg, so for the love of God, don’t sue me. I am the son of a poor, Welsh farmer with a peg leg who owns approximately 15 acres of government-subsidized farm land, so there would be nothing to take anyway.**
**OK, I lied. None of the things I just said about myself are true. For the love of God, Jones, don’t sue yourself.
(Alright, Rashad, you know what to do. As soon as he offers to shake your hand, pull away at the last second and then just stroll past him like a boss.)
The war of words between former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans and current champ Jon Jones has been brewing for what feels like forever, so much so that anyone within arms reach of either man has come under fire in the past few weeks. And at the epicenter of these disputes is none other than Evans’ former coach and Jones’ current one, Greg Jackson. Yes, ever since Rashad left Team Jackson for the greener pastures of Blackzilia, he has been rather candid when discussing what he believes was a betrayal on Jackson’s part.
When we last caught up with these two, Jones attempted to explain his side of the story, basically saying that Jackson has tried on numerous occasions to reconcile with Evans, who has instead opted to bash “the program and the history” of Team Jackson. A history that Evans himself helped build, nonetheless. “Suga,” on the other hand, felt that Jackson simply traded in his Cutlass Classic for a brand new Buick Lacrosse, so to speak. And in a recent interview with MMAWeekly, Evans expanded upon this notion, choosing to use Greg Jackson’s name as much as humanly possible:
Like I told Greg at the time, I told Greg I don’t think it would be a good idea, but Greg did what Greg wanted to do for Greg. That’s why Greg brought him on because Greg wanted to do what he wanted to do for Greg.
That’s the thing about him. Greg talks about ‘for the team, for the team.’ The team consists of ‘I’ which is Greg Jackson. That’s what the team consists of, it’s about Greg Jackson getting the ‘Coach of the Year’ awards. That’s what it consists of.
(Alright, Rashad, you know what to do. As soon as he offers to shake your hand, pull away at the last second and then just stroll past him like a boss.)
The war of words between former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans and current champ Jon Jones has been brewing for what feels like forever, so much so that anyone within arms reach of either man has come under fire in the past few weeks. And at the epicenter of these disputes is none other than Evans’ former coach and Jones’ current one, Greg Jackson. Yes, ever since Rashad left Team Jackson for the greener pastures of Blackzilia, he has been rather candid when discussing what he believes was a betrayal on Jackson’s part.
When we last caught up with these two, Jones attempted to explain his side of the story, basically saying that Jackson has tried on numerous occasions to reconcile with Evans, who has instead opted to bash “the program and the history” of Team Jackson. A history that Evans himself helped build, nonetheless. “Suga,” on the other hand, felt that Jackson simply traded in his Cutlass Classic for a brand new Buick Lacrosse, so to speak. And in a recent interview with MMAWeekly, Evans expanded upon this notion, choosing to use Greg Jackson’s name as much as humanly possible:
Like I told Greg at the time, I told Greg I don’t think it would be a good idea, but Greg did what Greg wanted to do for Greg. That’s why Greg brought him on because Greg wanted to do what he wanted to do for Greg.
That’s the thing about him. Greg talks about ‘for the team, for the team.’ The team consists of ‘I’ which is Greg Jackson. That’s what the team consists of, it’s about Greg Jackson getting the ‘Coach of the Year’ awards. That’s what it consists of.
Since leaving Team Jackson, Evans has gone into Josh Koscheck mode when questioned on anything semi-related to his former camp, and it’s beginning to come off as bitter more than anything else at this point. Considering that ninety percent of Evans’ success as a fighter came during his time at Team Jackson, his sudden willingness to discredit the same camp that propelled him to a championship seems both counter intuitive to his own success and honestly, rather shallow.
The question you have to ask yourself is this: Did Greg Jackson really do anything wrong by taking Jones under his wing? It’s understandable that Evans would expect a little loyalty, or perhaps preference, over Jones, being that they are in the same weight class, but who is Evans to tell Jackson who he can and cannot train with? From a business standpoint, it simply doesn’t make sense to limit one’s abilities as a coach to a select group of people, especially in an ever-growing sport such as MMA. There’s no reason to believe that these two could not be members of the same gym, even if they would eventually run into one another down the line. Not every team has to be run like AKA, where members of each camp flat out refuse to fight each other. Dana White has even said that teammates should be willing to fight each other simply because it’s what they are paid to do. It doesn’t mean they can’t be friends, it just means that they are both willing to do anything to become the best at what they do. The fact of the matter is, MMA is not a team sport, so to expect complete undying loyalty from one’s team is a bit of a bloated notion. This is why you don’t start a business with friends.
And what Evans doesn’t seem to realize is that, yes, by taking on a phenom like Jon Jones, Greg Jackson was protecting his best interests. As a coach, as a businessman, and as a professional, he saw a talent and wanted to help shape it. For Evans to say otherwise would simply reverse the scenario, in turn choosing to protect his own interests over that of his coach. Evans even went as far as to say that he would never bring someone into his camp with a chance of being a contender after the whole Team Jackson debacle:
I wouldn’t do that; I wouldn’t put myself in the position again. I wouldn’t bring myself with somebody that I knew would be a contender.
Well, all we can say to that kind of mentality is good luck, Mr. Evans. Because, as we all know, the quickest way to elevate your game is to train with people that you are leagues ahead of in terms of skill set and accomplishments. We hope that no one in “Suga’s” team actually becomes a decent fighter, because that will be the quickest way to earn one’s walking papers, it seems.
There are only a few great rivalries in modern MMA. Jon Jones and Rashad Evans happen to have one of the best. From a human angle, it is filled with trust leading to betrayal, friends turning into enemies and brothers-in-arms becoming an army against y…
There are only a few great rivalries in modern MMA. Jon Jones and Rashad Evans happen to have one of the best. From a human angle, it is filled with trust leading to betrayal, friends turning into enemies and brothers-in-arms becoming an army against you. From a sports perspective, it is an intriguing matchup between […]
