The battle is over, but the war is just beginning between Jon Jones and Rashad Evans.After getting routed by his former teammate at UFC 145, Evans spoke with UFC analyst Karyn Bryant about his performance and a potential rematch.”It sucked. I didn’t ge…
The battle is over, but the war is just beginning between Jon Jones and Rashad Evans.
“It sucked. I didn’t get the job done, but it’s a lesson, you learn, and it’s a fight business, and this is what happens sometimes. I just gotta do what I gotta do to come back stronger and keep my head up and bring some other good fights out there.”
There was certainly some good for Evans to take away from the fight. He was able to go the distance and land a few good shots that had Jones backpedaling out of the pocket.
With that said, Evans’ main objective was to leave with the UFC title, a feat he never came close to accomplishing.
“I don’t take no victory in [going five rounds]. I wanted to win the fight. It’s not winning the fight, so, a loss is a loss all the way through. I’m not gonna hang my head on it too much. I just got to go back into the gym and just get better.”
The fight is finally in the books, and Jones was declared the victor. Is there any hope of Jones and Evans hashing out their differences, or did fans only witness part one of an ongoing rivalry?
“I still don’t like him. He fought a good fight, and I got respect for him as a fighter, and I had respect for him as a fighter before. I still don’t…I’ll tell you what, we’re gonna fight again.”
Looking for some more MMA news, and perhaps a couple of laughs? Follow me on Twitter @JordyMcElroy.
For a 22-year-old fighter Rory MacDonald has had one hell of a run, compiling a record of 13-1 since making his professional MMA debut in 2005. Coming along with that impressive record has been the talk that MacDonald is a champion in the making. MacDo…
For a 22-year-old fighter Rory MacDonald has had one hell of a run, compiling a record of 13-1 since making his professional MMA debut in 2005. Coming along with that impressive record has been the talk that MacDonald is a champion in the making. MacDonald’s impressive second-round TKO victory over Che Mills at UFC 145 did little to change anyone’s mind regarding McDonald’s bright future in the UFC.
MacDonald carried a 9-0 record into his UFC debut—a fight against Mike Guymon. Despite being dropped to one knee by a hard right hand from Guymon, MacDonald kept his composure and went on to earn a first-round submission victory.
In his next fight, the UFC gave him a bout against former WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit. For two rounds, MacDonald controlled the fight. However, in the third round, Condit was able to take control when the fight went to the ground.
Condit, perhaps sensing he needed a stoppage to gain the victory, laid into MacDonald with some heavy striking, eventually earning the stoppage with seven seconds remaining in the fight.
After the fight, Condit, while being interviewed in the cage by Joe Rogan, said, “Rory’s a great fighter, he’s got a lot of great fights in front of him. I’m sure he’ll come back from this.”
Condit’s words proved to be prophetic, because comeback MacDonald did. In his next fight, a bout against former winner of The Ultimate Fighter, Nate Diaz, MacDonald took things to another level. During the third round, MacDonald tossed Diaz around the cage with ease, delivering three impressive supplexes on his way to a unanimous decision victory.
The victory sent MacDonald onto a fight with Mike Pyle. It was at this fight that MacDonald went from being Rory “The Waterboy” MacDonald to being Rory “Ares” MacDonald—Ares being the Greek god of war.
That nickname fit MacDonald well as he put a beatdown on Pyle, earning a stoppage victory before the first round had expired. The performance also led Joe Rogan to proclaim that MacDonald “may have more potential” than UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.
That brings us up to this past Saturday’s UFC 145 where MacDonald faced Mills. Mills used his heavy hands to hurt MacDonald early in the first round, but what that led to was a MacDonald takedown. Once on the ground, MacDonald unleashed a torrent of strikes that didn’t cease until the horn sounded to end the round.
MacDonald wasted no time putting Mills in the exact same position in the second stanza, taking him down with ease just 25 seconds into the round. Once on the ground, MacDonald again took total control, delivering strikes whenever an opening became available and when Mills gave MacDonald his back, that opening became huge, and MacDonald finished Mills via TKO.
The victory over Mills showed a fighter that’s mature beyond his years and ready to make big waves in the welterweight division, but it’s most likely far too early to declare MacDonald the next Georges St-Pierre or a future champion. Declarations such as those can have negative results, such as inflation of the ego and/or crushing disappointment when those expectations go unrealized.
Perhaps, some of that ego inflation has already occurred in MacDonald as he recently told Sportsnet 590, “I think I could beat anybody in the division right now. I know my skill level.”
It’s good to have confidence, but at the same time, dangerous to believe the hype one hears about oneself. Whatever the case is with MacDonald, talk like that could easily put a target on the back of the young fighter. The welterweight division has plenty of fighters who would like to take his words and use them for fuel in order to prove him wrong.
The reality of the situation is that while MacDonald may feel he can defeat everyone in the 170-pound division, he has plenty of time to advance up the rankings and work his way slowly through the division. The UFC would be well served to match him up against higher-level competition with each coming fight. There’s no reason to rush this kid; he’s only 22 years old and has a long, bright career ahead of him.
The potential problem facing the UFC is that MacDonald is a teammate and training partner of current UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre—a fighter he has said that he would never fight.
“You can’t dance with the devil. I didn’t get into (mixed martial arts) for money…I’m not taking a fight against Georges. We’re training partners and help each other get better…I stick to my principles. I believe in friendship. I have to think more tomorrow and 10 years from now.”
While those words are eerily similar to statements that were made by Jon Jones and Rashad Evans not too long ago, at this point, there’s no reason to believe that they are not true, even if UFC president Dana White has his doubts that they will remain true for long.
White recently spoke to MMAJunkie.com, saying, “I guarantee you if Rory looks at GSP’s [expletive] bank account, he’ll want to beat the [expletive] out of him.”
MacDonald’s climb through the ranks has been impressive, but he still has a way to go to get to the rarefied air that St-Pierre currently resides in. There’s no doubt that through his recent wins and statements, he’s on his way to becoming a marked man in the welterweight division. The question now is will he rise to the occasion, or will he become another “could have been” in the annals of mixed martial arts?
However things turn out, you can rest assured that both fans and detractors will tune in to see Rory MacDonald’s rise or fall.
(The fighters of UFC 145 meet perhaps the single greatest interviewer of all time. Props to Creative Loafing for the vid.)
It’s good to be king, Potato Nation. We sure don’t need to tell that to Jon Jones, who walked away from UFC 145 with not only his pretty non-replicated belt, but a cool 400K for his troubles. As Pepper Brooks would surely tell you, that’ll buy onehell of a blumpkin. Not to be outdone, Rashad Evans picked up $300,000, which he immediately invested in a double D sized ocular implant. I know it probably gives you more confidence, “Suga,” but you’ll lose respect from the soccer moms is all we’re saying. Combined, the night’s main-eventers took in just over half of the total disclosed salary, which rang in at $1,241,000.
Check out the full list of salaries, along with our thoughts, after the jump. Per usual, these numbers do not include things like locker room bonuses, PPV cuts, insurance, licenses, taxes, etc., nor do they include the $65,000 end of the night bonuses handed out to those who earned them.
(The fighters of UFC 145 meet perhaps the single greatest interviewer of all time. Props to Creative Loafing for the vid.)
It’s good to be king, Potato Nation. We sure don’t need to tell that to Jon Jones, who walked away from UFC 145 with not only his pretty non-replicated belt, but a cool 400K for his troubles. As Pepper Brooks would surely tell you, that’ll buy onehell of a blumpkin. Not to be outdone, Rashad Evans picked up $300,000, which he immediately invested in a double D sized ocular implant. I know it probably gives you more confidence, “Suga,” but you’ll lose respect from the soccer moms is all we’re saying. Combined, the night’s main-eventers took in just over half of the total disclosed salary, which rang in at $1,241,000.
Check out the full list of salaries below. Per usual, these numbers do not include things like locker room bonuses, PPV cuts, insurance, licenses, taxes, etc., nor do they include the $65,000 end of the night bonuses handed out to those who earned them.
Overpaid: Who would’ve guessed that Ben Rothwell was making over 50K to show? Before UFC 145, the guy was 1-2 in the UFC and on the heels of a disastrous loss to Mark Hunt, but you would think he was a top contender with that kind of money. We aren’t here to dump haterade on “Big Ben,” because he seems like a pretty cool dude, as evident by his heartfelt post-fight speech. He’s earned his payday, as did everyone else on the card. It’s just a little surprising is all.
Underpaid: OK, now it’s time to dump some haterade. If someone has the balls to attempt and justify how Keith Wisneieiskiwiewi manages to have a higher base salary than bantamweight phenom Michael McDonald and Che Mills, then be our guest. We know that Mills has only had one fight in the UFC prior to UFC 145, but so did Whiskeytits (at least in his current run), and he required Face/Off surgery after his last performance against Josh Neer. This is not a knock on Winsnickerskew, because the dude’s a warrior, but more of a knock on the paltry base pay some fighters receive. Hopefully DW tossed Mills some undisclosed cash in the locker room, or else he might want to start considering the rare bird wrangling business. It may be more frustrating than MMA, but it’s a lot less painful.
As for McDonald, he now stands at 4-0 in the UFC with two straight knockouts, the most recent coming over a former WEC champ and top pound-for-pounder nonetheless, yet he gets paid like a sub-level TUF participant. Makes you wonder what he’s always smiling about.
After a dominant victory over former teammate Rashad Evans at UFC 145, many are already wondering when light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will make the move to heavyweight.However, now just two wins away from tying Tito Ortiz for the most consecutive…
After a dominant victory over former teammate Rashad Evans at UFC 145, many are already wondering when light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will make the move to heavyweight.
However, now just two wins away from tying Tito Ortiz for the most consecutive title defenses in the history of the 205-pound division, Jones still has some unfinished business in the class he currently reigns over.
Later this year, the 24-year-old will defend his belt against 41-year-old MMA legend Dan Henderson.
After Jones prevented Evans from reclaiming the light heavyweight title, let’s take a look at how the rest of the 205-pound division stands below Jones.
The following rankings are computerized based primarily on results against similar competition and do not include fighters who have not yet competed inside the Octagon, announced their retirement, been suspended, gone more than one year without competing or scheduled a fight in a new division.
UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion Jon “Bones” Jones does not yet share the same pound-for-pound title with Anderson “The Spider” Silva. Indeed, the previous toss-up between Silva and Georges St-Pierre remains MMA’s closest pa…
UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion Jon “Bones” Jones does not yet share the same pound-for-pound title with Anderson “The Spider” Silva. Indeed, the previous toss-up between Silva and Georges St-Pierre remains MMA’s closest parallel to the Papal Schism.
There is no doubt, though, that the current LH champion Jones is reaching and inching closer to the throne with his third successful title defense, seventh straight win, 16th victory in 17 fights and only one defeat best written in quotation marks.
Yes, it’s cumbersome, but let’s mention and specify again that that disqualification loss was due to illegal elbow strikes versus Matt Hamill—a lone, isolated case of the greatest-not-being-the-smartest all the time. (Greatest light-heavyweight, I mean.)
Other than that cursed “loss,” Jones has proven that he is the smartest and most skillful every single time inside The Octagon.
Now, after elbowing Rashad Evans out of the title contention picture for the moment, Jones is handed by Dana White a chance to spur the pound-for-pound debate further—by defending his belt against living legend Dan “Hendo” Henderson.
And as “MMA math” goes, if Jones defeats Henderson in a quicker and more spectacular fashion than Silva did, then he can be considered as the better fighter than The Spider.
As a reminder, Silva submitted Hendo by rear-naked choke at 4:50 of the second round of their UFC 82 main event in 2008.
But if Hendo lasts longer against Jones—especially for five full rounds like Evans—even if he loses, then Bones will be judged as inferior to Silva.
Worse if Hendo wins, as MMA math is ultimately predicated on the following equation: If X (Silva) beats Y (Hendo), and Y beats Z (Jones), then X is better than Z.
Well, MMA math may not be absolutely valid in comparing one fighter with another, but it’s not entirely without merit in analyzing hypothetical matchups.
Resorting to it will never prove as decisive as the Council of Constance, but in the absence of an actual match between two great fighters in question, at least it provides a parameter for comparison.
MMA math is just one of many theoretical frameworks.
Besides, give some credit to them MMA mathematicians; after all, not everyone’s good in math.
(Above: Rashad Evans licks his hand and wipes his butt… Below: …and pays dearly for it. / Props: )
We bid a final farewell to Saturday’s UFC event with a roundup of the 11 best GIFs from UFC 145, courtesy of The UG and IronForgesIron. Enjoy, and click here for previous MMA GIF coverage.
(Above: Rashad Evans licks his hand and wipes his butt… Below: …and pays dearly for it. / Props: )
We bid a final farewell to Saturday’s UFC event with a roundup of the 11 best GIFs from UFC 145, courtesy of The UG and IronForgesIron. Enjoy, and click here for previous MMA GIF coverage.
For a 22-year-old fighter Rory MacDonald has had one hell of a run, compiling a record of 13-1 since making his professional 
