Following his recent win at UFC 135, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones looks to have a lot of confidence heading into his next bout against Rashad Evans. Jones, who successfully defended his title against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, endured …
Following his recent win at UFC 135, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones looks to have a lot of confidence heading into his next bout against Rashad Evans.
Jones, who successfully defended his title against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, endured an intense but awkward staredown with Evans during his postfight interview and looked determined to beat his rival.
“I’m going to try to make it the easiest fight of my career,” Jones said. “I don’t like Rashad and that’s going to motivate me. I have to work my butt off and just do everything necessary to make this fight look like the easiest fight of my career.”
Since their public fallout earlier this year, the former teammates have gone their separate ways. Evans now trains at Imperial Athletics in Boca Raton, Florida, while Jones has remained at Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts in Albuquerque, New Mexico, under the tutelage of trainers Greg Jackson and Mike Winklejohn.
Since then, Evans has been very vocal about Jones’ image and mentality as a fighter. He even revealed that he got the better of the champion in sparring sessions on several occasions during their time together at Jackson’s MMA.
Jones is expected to make his next title defense against Evans, but he is currently on medical suspension after suffering a hand injury during his bout with Jackson last weekend.
A date for the upcoming title bout has yet to be announced.
Following his humbling loss to Jon Jones at UFC 135, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has stated that he plans to pursue a career in boxing once his UFC contract comes to an end.Jackson was outclassed by Jones in the “Fight of the Night” winning matchup, whic…
Following his humbling loss to Jon Jones at UFC 135, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has stated that he plans to pursue a career in boxing once his UFC contract comes to an end.
Jackson was outclassed by Jones in the “Fight of the Night” winning matchup, which saw Jones submitting Jackson in the fourth-round, via rear-naked choke.
Jackson has highlight reel knockout wins over the likes of Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva, with 14 of his wins coming by way of knockout. He possesses one-punch knockout power and has made a name in the UFC and in international organizations with his explosive striking.
He now plans to translate the success he had in MMA into the sport of boxing:
“I hate fighting people who are scared,” Jackson told ESPN. “When you fight somebody who is scared you never know what they’re going to do. They turn and run.
“That’s why I’m gonna go to boxing. I’m gonna try boxing because they’ve got to stand with you. If I get knocked out I don’t care because at least it’s a fight.
“I’ve tried a lot of boxing, I’m falling in love with boxing and I know I can put butts on seats over there.”
It may be a while before we see Rampage in boxing; he called out “Shogun” Rua following the UFC 135 loss, bit with “Shogun” tied up, it looks like Rampage will most likely take on Forrest Griffin.
(Take it easy, Rashad. You don’t want to break this puppy, do you?)
The medical suspensions list for UFC 135 was just released yesterday and included a couple surprising entries of note, mainly that of Jon Jones. The defending champ, who seemed to walk away from the match unscathed, was suspended 180 days, with the chance of physician clearance after 45 days. It makes you wonder whether the doctor’s found something significant enough to give Jones such a lengthy recovery time, or if it was simply a precautionary measure. Rampage Jackson, on the other hand, was suspended 60 days with no contact for 45.
Additionally off-putting was the suspension of James Te Huna, who was given a six month waiting period (or one month with a doctor’s clearance) following his quick knockout victory of Ricardo Romero, who was suspended for 60 days with no contact for 45. It also appears that Aaron Riley wasn’t fooling about his broken jaw, as he is out for 3 months minimum to heal that sucker up. Check out the full suspension list after the jump.
-Danga
(Take it easy, Rashad. You don’t want to break this puppy, do you?)
The medical suspensions list for UFC 135 was just released yesterday and included a couple surprising entries of note, mainly that of Jon Jones. The defending champ, who seemed to walk away from the match unscathed, was suspended 180 days, with the chance of physician clearance after 45 days. It makes you wonder whether the doctor’s found something significant enough to give Jones such a lengthy recovery time, or if it was simply a precautionary measure. Rampage Jackson, on the other hand, was suspended 60 days with no contact for 45.
Additionally off-putting was the suspension of James Te Huna, who was given a six month waiting period (or one month with a doctor’s clearance) following his quick knockout victory of Ricardo Romero, who was suspended for 60 days with no contact for 45. It also appears that Aaron Riley wasn’t fooling about his broken jaw, as he is out for 3 months minimum to heal that sucker up. Check out the full suspension list after the jump.
-Danga
Jon Jones: Suspended 180 days (or 45 days with physican clearance)
Quinton Jackson: Suspended 60 days with no contact during training for 45 days
Matt Hughes: Suspended 45 days no contact for 30 days
Mark Hunt: Suspended 45 days no contact for 30 days
Ben Rothwell: Suspended 60 days with no contact for 45 days
Takanori Gomi: Suspended 30 days
Aaron Riley: Suspended 180 days (or 90 days with physician clearance)
Nick Ring: Suspended 30 days
Eddie Yagin: Suspended 30 days
Cole Escovedo: Suspended 45 days no contact for 30 days
Ricardo Romero: Suspended 60 days with no contact for 45 days
James Te Huna: Suspended 180 days for injuries (or a minimum 30 Days with physician clearance)
Let the trash talk begin. Ever since Jon Jones’ ascension to the top of the light heavyweight division, there has been a rift between him and former teammate Rashad Evans. The tension between the two rivals ultimately divided the camp and forced E…
Let the trash talk begin.
Ever since Jon Jones’ ascension to the top of the light heavyweight division, there has been a rift between him and former teammate Rashad Evans. The tension between the two rivals ultimately divided the camp and forced Evans to leave. He now resides in Boca Raton, Florida and trains at Imperial Athletics.
The two competitors have continuously traded verbal jabs at each other, but now that both of them will meet in a future title bout, the tension between them couldn’t be anymore real.
Evans was a guest on ProMMA Radio and discussed Jones’ recent win and the opportunity of facing his former teammate.
“He looked like his stand-up got a little better and it got a little crisper,” Evans said regarding Jones’ performance at UFC 135. “I’m pretty sure he’s going to try to switch up the game plan and try and come with something different that he don’t think I’m going to be ready for.”
Jones’ victory over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson was another effortless performance put on display by the 24-year-old champion, which saw him pick apart Jackson, while utilizing distance with strikes and leg kicks, before submitting him in the fourth round.
Evans was nothing but complimentary towards Jones, but despite his dominant performance, Evans said he saw he weaknesses in the champion’s game, which he thinks he can exploit.
“Right now, this dude is on cloud nine. He thinks he’s God’s gift to the fight game,” he said. “Now that he’s beat ‘Rampage,’ he’s gonna think that there’s nothing I could do. He’s seen my style and he’s gonna think there’s nothing I can do. He’s gonna go out there and just try and embarrass me. He thinks it’s gonna be an easy fight, but he’s gonna find out different.”
As the debate continues to wage on regarding Jon Jones’ competition, there is no question that he is the best fighter in the 205-pound division. Fresh off of his victory over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 135, few would wonder who could actuall…
As the debate continues to wage on regarding Jon Jones‘ competition, there is no question that he is the best fighter in the 205-pound division.
Fresh off of his victory over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 135, few would wonder who could actually challenge the champion and end his title reign.
While discussing Jones’ recent win on the MMA Show with Mauro Ranallo, trainer Mike Winklejohn spoke of the light heavyweight champion’s progression thus far in his career.
“The game plan was definitely break Quinton down: Let’s break his legs down, let’s break his body down, let’s slow him down and stay away from his big bombs and then anything you want to do,” Winklejohn said. “Jon just comes from a wrestling background so all this is new, so he’s still trying to figure out all the striking out and doing really well with it.”
Jones’ recent success inside the UFC is something very few fighters can accomplish in that short amount of time. With dominant victories over such fighters as Ryan Bader and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Jones has solidified himself as one of the premier fighters in mixed martial arts today. Not to mention, he just turned 24 years old. Combined with athleticism, intelligence and an unprecedented 84.5 inch reach, it’s quite easy to imagine just how much Jones is capable of accomplishing in his career.
Most recently, fans have requested to see Jones square off against UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. And while the thought of seeing both fighters face off seems intriguing, stylistically, Winklejohn doesn’t believe the Brazilian would fare well.
“With his stand-up I think Jon brings many more strikes to the table than Anderson has, a lot more variety,” he said. “I think, you know, Anderson would use his length and pick his shot against people. With Jon coming in at so many different angles from a long range, I definitely don’t think that’s a good fight for Anderson.”
While speculation continues to grow regarding Jones’ next opponent, Winklejohn said they’re taking it one day at a time, hoping to establish a legacy in the light heavyweight division.
“I think we’re here to stay in the Light Heavyweight division for a while and build a legend, something that hasn’t been done in a little bit of a while,” he said.
Filed under: UFCThere have been few champions in recent UFC history that have engendered such diversity of opinion as Jon Jones. In fact, there’s only been two in the same ballpark. One was Brock Lesnar, and the other is Jones’ next opponent, Rashad Ev…
There have been few champions in recent UFC history that have engendered such diversity of opinion as Jon Jones. In fact, there’s only been two in the same ballpark. One was Brock Lesnar, and the other is Jones’ next opponent, Rashad Evans. Both of those fighters have heard many boos in their day, but for very different reasons.
From the minute he made a serious run at an MMA career, Lesnar was a lock for polarizing reactions. First, there were the people who knew nothing of his decorated amateur wrestling background, choosing only to see him through the prism of his work in professional wrestling. Then, there were the others who resented his immediate elevation to major fights. And finally, there were those who were turned off by his aloof attitude and disinterest in engaging the MMA community past fighting.
For Evans, it was different. He was the little guy among heavyweights when he began his career on The Ultimate Fighter and easily could have turned himself into an underdog story, but instead he forged a first impression that many couldn’t and still can’t shake. He quickly tangled with the respected veteran Matt Hughes, and was initially seen as a showboater without the skills to warrant it.
But what about Jones?
Unlike Lesnar, Jones had no fame before coming to the UFC. And unlike Evans, he didn’t have a built-in audience from a reality show stint. So when he entered the UFC after just eight months of MMA training in 2008, he entered with a blank slate.
Early impressions were good. Jones opened up many eyes in his debut fight, a win over Andre Gusmao on just three weeks’ notice. He followed that up with a surprising win over Stephan Bonnar five months later, and from a career standpoint, he was off and running.
With each time out, it became more clear that Jones was heading for big things. He was beginning to finish fights, his fight IQ and confidence were growing, and the headlines were quick to follow. So was the backlash.
Like many reporters that travel to events, I’ve had the chance to speak to Jones on a few occasions, and find him friendly, smart and engaged. Even though fame has come quickly for him, he doesn’t appeared jaded by it. I remember him being the last fighter in the room at the UFC 126 press conference, just hanging out and making conversation. Even though fortune has come quickly for him, he doesn’t flaunt it. He doesn’t wear flashy jewelry, and last I’d heard, he’d yet to even spring for a new car.
In the cage, he’s parts spectacular and effective, stopping all of the last six fighters he’s beaten.
With his mix of personality and success, you think Jones would be a lock for a crowd favorite, but that’s yet to completely materialize.
Why?
He’s overrated. He’s phony. He’s cocky. He stretches the rules.
He’s been accused of everything. Let’s run down the laundry list: snitching, spying, swagger-jacking, fighting dirty, ripping apart a training camp, arrogantly signing autographs as the champion before he was one, arrogantly declining to sign autographs on replica belts as the champ after he was one, fighting no one, fighting past-their-prime someones, too religious, too fake, too manufactured.
He also doesn’t hand out autographed $100 bills, that monster.
Maybe it’s different with Jones because the bandwagon didn’t slowly stop along the way, picking up fans as it went. It was a rocket ride, and few had time to join before he blasted off. Maybe it’s because the media has spent time force-feeding Jones down their throat.
But the reaction, I just don’t get. You watch fights to be entertained, and few will disagree that he’s delivered the goods time after time. That’s why many boos have greeted Jones to his fights, but he almost always leaves them cheering. The funny thing is I’ve seen and read many people say that they like watching him fight, but they don’t like him. If you like watching him fight, you at least partially like him. You’re just rooting with your wallet and time.
The standard reason for disliking Jones is his perceived arrogance. Is he confident? Of course. Wouldn’t you be, if you were him? He made it to the UFC after nine months of MMA training. He was the champion at 23. He’s a millionaire today. Even with hard work, that type of progression makes him an outlier, a prodigy.
Most 24-year-old males couldn’t handle that meteoric rise. Jones has handled it just fine.
If you don’t “like” Jones, I’m probably not going to change your conscious mind, but if you appreciate his fighting style, the seeds of fandom are already planted. You’re Darth Vader just waiting to cross over from the dark side. And that’s a good thing, because rooting against Jones is cheering against progress. If you really want to see what the sport can be and where it can go, this is the type of talent that’s going to take us for that ride. This is the type of talent that will stretch the boundaries of what’s possible. You want evolution? Here it is, in a 6-foot-4 package. If he loses his way, if he loses his motivation, we miss out.
At some point, maybe those boos will turn to cheers for good. At some point, maybe he’ll no longer care about the negativity grenades lobbed his way. Maybe. But for right now, we need Jones. We need to love him or hate him. Sometimes, the two emotions are rooted in the same thing.
Following his recent win at UFC 135, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones looks to have a lot of confidence heading into his next bout against Rashad Evans. 
There have been few champions in recent