The collision course between young phenoms Jon Jones and Ryan Bader seems to finally be nearing its point of impact.
According to sources with knowledge of the situation, the blue-chip light-heavyweights will square off in early 2011, with a date still to be assigned to the fight.
The 23-year-old Jones has been one of the most dynamic fighters on the international scene since making his UFC debut in August 2008. At 11-1 overall, Jones is 5-1 in the UFC with his only loss coming via disqualification after landing illegal elbows in a fight he was otherwise dominating against Matt Hamill.
Filed under: UFCSometimes I feel like MMA fans, much like MMA judges, are afflicted with a disease that makes us place undue importance on whatever we saw last.
That would explain why a takedown in the final minute of the round is somehow enough to n…
Sometimes I feel like MMA fans, much like MMA judges, are afflicted with a disease that makes us place undue importance on whatever we saw last.
That would explain why a takedown in the final minute of the round is somehow enough to negate all the punches a fighter took in the first minute, and also why many fans are talking about UFC 119 this morning as if it was the biggest waste of their money since “Waterworld.”
What we saw on Saturday night was an exciting undercard eclipsed by an anti-climactic main event. Whatever highs we may have been riding after watching guys like Sean Sherk and Evan Dunham go at it were obliterated by the time we got to round two of Frank Mir vs. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic. And since that was the last thing we saw before turning off the TV and trudging angrily off to the bed or the bar, it understandably left some people feeling cheated.
(If only…) Our talented UFC 119 photographer and comment section regular Jason "J-Dog" Wright was back at the Conseco Field House in Indianapolis Saturday night to snap some exclusive photos for us.
Except for one scary incident pr…
Except for one scary incident prior to the Mitrione-Beltran fight (which Ariel Helwani touched on in this interview with Meathead) that nearly cost us some danger pay, J-Dog made it home in one piece with some wicked shots and some great stories to tell the grandkids some day.
Jason was situated by one of the Octagon doors and as such was able to get some candid shots before, during and after each of the fights.
Check out part one of our exclusive UFC 119 photo gallery after the jump.
Filed under: UFCINDIANAPOLIS — This is the UFC 119 live blog for Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Ryan Bader, the co-main event of tonight’s UFC pay-per-view from the Conseco Field House.
Bader faces his toughest challenge yet against veteran Nogueira. N…
INDIANAPOLIS — This is the UFC 119 live blog for Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Ryan Bader, the co-main event of tonight’s UFC pay-per-view from the Conseco Field House.
Bader faces his toughest challenge yet against veteran Nogueira. Nogueira is coming off a controversial win over Jason Brilz and will need a win to stay in title contention.
Filed under: UFC, NewsFormer Ultimate Fighter winner Ryan Bader earned the biggest victory of his MMA career Saturday at UFC 119, beating Antonio Rogerio Nogueira by unanimous decision.
The bout may set Bader up for a showdown with Jon Jones, in what …
The bout may set Bader up for a showdown with Jon Jones, in what would be a match-up of the two best young fighters in the light heavyweight division. If Jones is next for him, Bader will need to be better than he was Saturday night against Nogueira.
(Seriously Mirko, you didn’t miss much. We’ll tell you about it later. PicProps: Vancouver Sun)
There were times during UFC 119 when it felt like everyone involved spent Saturday afternoon chugging tons of codeine cough syrup. Everybody loo…
(Seriously Mirko, you didn’t miss much. We’ll tell you about it later. PicProps: Vancouver Sun)
There were times during UFC 119 when it felt like everyone involved spent Saturday afternoon chugging tons of codeine cough syrup. Everybody looked just a little slow, a little out of it. It sure didn’t help that the two main eventers were totally sleepwalking during the first 14 minutes of their fight before Mirko CroCop ended things with his vicious head butt to Frank Mir’s knee. The “co-main event” was also entirely forgettable, as Ryan Bader outpointed Roger Nog to reportedly win the Jon Jones Sweepstakes. Guess we’ll have to check in with him in six months, find out how that worked out for him …
This was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a great effort from the world’s largest MMA promotion. It also wasn’t quite as bad as a lot of people are saying. We’re not talking “worst show of all time” territory here. Credit local boys Matt Mitrione, Sean McCorkle and Chris Lytle for salvaging what they could of the day. Also, Evan Dunham and Sean Sherk’s back-and-forth battle was by turns exciting and totally bizarre. Too bad it was marred by a shaky judges’ decision. And hey, the good news is, if you liked UFC 119 you’re gonna love Oct. 16’s UFC 120, which looks just as terrible on paper but at least airs for free on SpikeTV.
The collision course between young phenoms Jon Jones and Ryan Bader seems to finally be nearing its point of impact.
Sometimes I feel like MMA fans, much like MMA judges, are afflicted with a disease that makes us place undue importance on whatever we saw last. 
INDIANAPOLIS — This is the 
Former Ultimate Fighter winner 