UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub will look to rebound from his August knockout loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira when he faces Ben Rothwell at next month’s UFC 145 event in Atlanta.Schaub says he’s going to bring a battle to Rothwell’s doorstep:
These guy…
UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub will look to rebound from his August knockout loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira when he faces Ben Rothwell at next month’s UFC 145 event in Atlanta.
These guys know when they fight me, it’s going to be one hell of a fight. I expect the best Ben Rothwell. And I know it’s cliche to say and everyone says, ‘Oh, that’s something fighters say all the time,’ but when I say it, it’s obviously true. The previous guys he’s fought, when they rocked Ben, they don’t have the cardio, they rock Ben, they use it as a way to recover themselves.
I’m not like that. It’s going to be 15 minutes of me in his face. I can do it all. You want to strike? Let’s do that. It’s going to be a short night, though. I think if you have to list a top three toughest guys in the heavyweight division, he’s right up there. Everyone’s tough in the UFC but he’s a different caliber of tough. But just being tough isn’t going to get you the belt.
I guarantee people walk away from this fight talking about my performance rather than the main event or anyone else on the card.
I had no idea that Rothwell was still in the UFC. Seriously. He’s 1-2 during his UFC tenure and has never looked to be much more than merely passable as a heavyweight fighter. This fight should be his last one in the UFC.
This is a gimme fight for Schaub—a way for him to get an easy win after losing his momentum against Nogueira—and I fully expect him to capitalize.
The main event is the most prestigious fight on the card. It is a showcase of the greatest talent than an event can offer.In today’s UFC, reaching the main event provides not only a boost in pay, but in notoriety. Fighters in the main events are heavil…
The main event is the most prestigious fight on the card. It is a showcase of the greatest talent than an event can offer.
In today’s UFC, reaching the main event provides not only a boost in pay, but in notoriety. Fighters in the main events are heavily featured in advertising, UFC Countdown specials and much more.
Unlike past events like UFC 109: Relentless and UFC 69: Shootout, the UFC has more commonly adopted a branding strategy where they name their events after the fighters in the main event. For example UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans.
This is a ranking of the Top 25 UFC stars who are worthy enough to be called Main Eventers.
The UFC light heavyweight title fight between defending champion Jon Jones and Rashad Evans is the most anticipated fight of the spring season. The former friends and training partners will finally meet in the main event of UFC 145 in April.It’s not ju…
The UFC light heavyweight title fight between defending champion Jon Jones and Rashad Evans is the most anticipated fight of the spring season. The former friends and training partners will finally meet in the main event of UFC 145 in April.
It’s not just the fans who are interested in the fight, either. The history and bad blood between Jones and Evans has caused professional fighters to stand up and take notice of the bout and they’re starting to weigh in with their thoughts on the outcome.
In the above video from MMA30, you’ll hear from Forrest Griffin, Urijah Faber, Dominick Cruz, Kyle Kingsbury, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and “King” Mo Lawal, as well as journalists John Morgan and Brett Okamoto. Each individual shares their thoughts on Jones opening up as a six-to-one favorite over Evans before analyzing how Evans might overcome the odds and beat Jones.
It’s interesting watch. Do I believe Rashad Evans is going to beat Jon Jones? No, I don’t. After what we’ve seen Jones do to Shogun Rua, Lyoto Machida and Rampage Jackson, I’m not sure Evans has what it takes to really pull off the upset.
But I’ll also point out that Evans does have the best chance of anyone else in the light heavyweight division to dethrone the current champion. As Cruz points out in the video, Evans needs to stay in close quarters, right there in the pocket where Jones cannot effectively use his gigantic reach advantage.
If Evans is able to keep the striking battle close and mix in his wrestling to put Jones on his back, we might see an upset in Atlanta.
Jon Jones and Rashad Evans will finally settle their score at UFC 145 on April 21st. Once a brotherhood between the two at Greg Jackson’s MMA, the relationship has altered and gone down two separate paths.But like the old saying, all roads lead t…
Jon Jones and Rashad Evans will finally settle their score at UFC 145 on April 21st. Once a brotherhood between the two at Greg Jackson’s MMA, the relationship has altered and gone down two separate paths.
But like the old saying, all roads lead to Rome.
Very fitting in the sense that these two warriors, who have had different career paths, will ultimately throw down in the Colosseum of today, the Octagon. After a back-and-forth drama of betrayal and controversy, the two will finally see who is the better fighter.
Jones is the current UFC Light Heavyweight champion, and Evans is a former champ himself. The fight between the two is fueled by the hype surrounding Jones and their story of “friends turned rivals.” The variable in question here is if Evans has an advantage or not over Jones, since the two have trained together.
Evans is walking into the cage as a huge underdog according to oddsmakers, but in his eyes, he already has Jones’ number. Fans have expressed that Evans has the best chance of winning due to his time spent with Jones training.
Jones is one of those fighters, like Anderson Silva, who are very hard to emulate with training partners. Arguably, one of Silva and Jones’ biggest advantages is the unique and unorthodox styles that their opponents are not used to.
The support for Evans taking home a win is primarily based on his previous knowledge of Jones, paired with his own well-rounded skills. This, however, probably isn’t justifiably as important as people believe it will be.
Some feel that Jones will walk right through Evans; others believe that Evans will give him a run for his money due to his previous training with Jones. The problem with this is that they both have evolved since training with each other. Thus, this factor may not prove to be as significant as many think.
Evans does have some knowledge advantage, but at the end of the day, it’s just knowledge.
Vitor Belfort had trained with Anderson Silva a while back, and despite sparring and training, it did not help him in the least when they finally stepped in the cage at UFC 126. Both Jones and Evans have been training differently and getting better since the “breakup” and fans will most likely see two different fighters.
This fight is between two of the best light heavyweights out, with the fire of gaining the other’s respect back. You will likely see an even improved Jones, as well as a motivated and ready Evans.
The familiarity with someone’s moves is great to know, but it would only be significant if they had spent years training together, and did so up until a fight with one another. Evans has left Jackson’s MMA and been with Imperial Athletics and a whole new set of teammates and trainers. This is where the new Evans will shine through.
But will it be enough? The fans and media talk about how Evans has an advantage because he knows how Jones moves and what his strengths and weaknesses are, but no one flips the coin on the matter.
While Evans was learning about Jones, Jones was learning about Evans. The media portrays this possible advantage that Evans has, but never gives it to Jones as well. This is why this whole “Evans has his number” can be rather obsolete.
One can argue that because of Evans’ new camp, Jones loses that aspect, but Jones assumingly has not been on the same routine with the same people since Evans was with Jackson’s MMA. Jones is an ever-improving and evolving fighter. Evans may have the familiarity with Jones’ reach, but Jones is smart enough to not just rely on that advantage.
Both men should see a different fighter across from them when they go toe-to-toe.
This article is not to say Evans has no advantage or way of winning, though. Jones has earned the right to be the favorite going into this fight, but Evans poses a great challenge for him regardless of back story and controversy. He is very quick with knockout power and has a strong wrestling game. Evans showed his counter-punching well against Phil Davis and looked great against Tito Ortiz.
The long layoff made people wonder if ring rust would set in, but Evans proved he was still on point.
UFC 145 will be a night of great fights, topped off with a fan-pleasing main event. It is a championship fight between the former champ and TUF winner and the youngest champ in UFC history who is riding a huge hype train and deservedly so. It is a title fight that has a controversial rivalry and has been long overdue.
Jones vs. Evans has the potential to be either fighter’s biggest highlight of their career.
UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) light heavyweight titlist Jon Jones is upping the ante in his quest to defend the honor of Greg Jackson’s gym, by beating Rashad Evans in their main event clash at UFC 145. Original quotes reported by MMAmania…
UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) light heavyweight titlist Jon Jones is upping the ante in his quest to defend the honor of Greg Jackson’s gym, by beating Rashad Evans in their main event clash at UFC 145.
“One part that is kind of there, I kind of feel like I’m defending kind of like the honor of this team. Rashad’s been badmouthing this team and really calling our team cliché and commercial and just really badmouthing Greg and our program’s loyalty and everything like that. I think he kind of has it all twisted in his own head, feeling as if people betrayed him. And, really, this is a family here and it’s the same program that it’s always been. Yeah, he’s been here longer than me but he doesn’t realize how much a family this team still is. There’s more people on this team than just the UFC fighters. We start from kids, to kids with no money, to kids who can’t speak English, there’s a whole family here. I’m here to defend this family and to defend everything he’s kind of said about us. I feel like me beating him solidifies that this is a program that’s going to live without him.”
The war of words between “Bones” Jones and “Suga” Rashad has slowly been gathering pace in the lead up to their eagerly anticipated and highly-acrimonious showdown, and as things stand neither side is willing to budge an inch.
In a recent interview with UFC.com, the 24-year-old phenom suggested that the former 205-pound champion chagrin towards him was as a result of envy, with regards to his meteoric rise in the MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) ranks.
Bones also made it clear that come UFC 145, he intends to put the indigenous New Yorker out of his misery, and in the process earn his respect.
Meanwhile, Evans told UFC.com he believes he has the requisite skill set to unseat the young champion. And to add a little spice to their ongoing hostilities, he tweeted a photo of someone resembling Jones (a Chris Brown fan), only that someone was dolled up all lady-like.
Following his victory against Ryan Bader and as a result of an injury sustained to Evans, Jones (15-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) was installed as the No. 1 contender to then-champion Mauricio Rua, which at the time Evans had no problem with.
Ever since, Evans (17-1-1 MMA, 12-1-1 UFC) has born a grudge against Jones, so much so that he upped sticks from the aforementioned outfit to train at Imperial Athletics, that and the fact he believed Jackson was favoring Jones over him.
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UFC 145 will finally bring us the match-up that we have all been waiting for. When the bell rings for the main event in Atlanta, Georgia, UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones will put his title on the line against longtime rival and former teammate…
UFC 145 will finally bring us the match-up that we have all been waiting for. When the bell rings for the main event in Atlanta, Georgia, UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones will put his title on the line against longtime rival and former teammate Rashad Evans.
Evans has haunted Jones for his entire title reign. This is the third time that the title bout has been scheduled and the two fighters have had heated back-and-forths leading up to each potential battle. Each exchange has been harsh and is becoming more personal, but what fuels these harsh words?
If you ask the champion, Evans is fueled by jealousy.
According to the pre-fight interview at UFC.com, Jones said, “Jealousy fuels Rashad, to some degree.I think it’s safe to say, ya absolutely, absolutely safe to say. I think it’s very weak emotionally on his part. That’s why I can’t wait for this fight to be over. I have no problem with him. Right now, I have my kids, I have my girl, we have our place together, I’m following my dreams, I’m doing the right things in life, I’m on the right track.”
The rivalry started when Jones said he would be willing to fight Rashad, despite the fact that the two were teammates at Greg Jackson’s. Evans has since left the team to create his own team in Florida – The Blackzilians. Going off on his own and creating a new team added to the rivalry.
“Rashad is the one who looks at this whole story like, this guy’s went off and created his own team and he’s left the people who were there for him in the beginning,” stated Jones. “He’s the one who is going through this whirlwind in life right now. And I just can’t wait to put him out of his misery, and solidify me being the light heavyweight champion, and then telling him to go have a seat somewhere.”
Many believe that Evans can be Jones’ stiffest test to date because of the familiarity he has with the young champion. Despite all of the past sparring sessions, Jones says that this gives Evans no decisive edge. In fact, it could hurt Evans because he is fighting with “an old image of Jones” and not “the new and improved version.”
“I’m a completely different fighter since the time he held me down in practice,” Jones said. “It’s just night and day. He’s truly picking a fight with my past. I think when he gets out there he’s going to realize there’s different combinations, there’s different size and strength, there’s a whole different kid out there that he’s against.”
What is the goal for the champion when he steps into the cage?
He wants to make a statement. Not only does Jones hope to retain his title and put the past demons behind him, he hopes to solidify himself as one of the greatest and move on to the next chapter and challenge of his career.
“To finish this fight is one of my goals for 2012, whether it is by knockout or submission, I’m not going to put a title on it. I realize when people are struggling for knockouts, that’s when you don’t get a knockout. If you are looking for a submission the whole time, that’s when you don’t get a submission,” added Jones. “So I’m going to go out there and have fun. I’m going to play the game that I love so much, and that I’ve dedicated my whole life to.”
When it is all said and done, Jones hopes to once again hoist the UFC Championship. Whether or not he and Rashad can put their beef behind them is not the main focus of Jones. Instead, he just wants to go out, keep his belt and come away with the respect that he feels he deserves.
“And whether me or Rashad become friends again in the future, only God knows. One thing that is inevitable is respect. Once you go out there and put it on the line, there will be respect,” said Jones.
“And I can’t wait to have his respect.”
Who will come out on top? There is only one way to find out. Be sure to tune in to the UFC 145 pay-per-view live from the Philips Arena in Atlanta. It’s going to be a war.
Jon Jones and Rashad Evans will finally settle their score at