Tag: UFC 145

Michigan State Spartan Rashad Evans Earns Title Shot

Former Michigan State Spartan wrestler “Sugar” Rashad Evans has finally earned his shot at the title again.After winning the belt in 2008 against Forrest Griffin, Evans lost it in his next fight against Lyoto Machida.It was no easy task on …

Former Michigan State Spartan wrestler “Sugar” Rashad Evans has finally earned his shot at the title again.

After winning the belt in 2008 against Forrest Griffin, Evans lost it in his next fight against Lyoto Machida.

It was no easy task on the road back to the belt for Evans. He defeated Thiago Silva, and Rampage Jackson. After the Jackson fight, Evans earned a title shot against Shogun Rua.

Rua however would hurt his knee, forcing Evans to wait almost a year for his shot. A few weeks before the title bout Evans himself hurt his knee forcing him to miss his opportunity.

One of Evans’ best friends and training partners took the title shot himself—Jon Jones.

Jones has since then dominated the division while Evans has had to sit back and watch his former friend wear the belt. Evans left his training camp and has feuded publicly with Jones over the last year because of it.

The two were set to meet in 2011 but due to a hand injury, Jones withdrew from the bout between him and Evans.

Tired of waiting, Evans, booked a fight against former champion Tito Ortiz, and about a week later Jones’s hand, which was thought to require surgery, apparently didn’t need it anymore, angering Evans once again because he was already set to fight Ortiz.

Evans went through with his plans with Ortiz and was able to earn a TKO victory in the Round 2.

After Jones defended his belt against Jackson, it looked like the two former training partners would finally meet. However during the fight against Ortiz, Evans suffered a broken hand which would push the bout between himself and Jones a few weeks back.

Unwilling to wait a few weeks, Jones took a fight against Machida. Wanting to fend off ring rust, Evans, took a fight against Phil Davis which leads us to where we are now.

Last night, in a dominating fashion Evans manhandled Davis for five rounds, winning each round on all three judges’ score cards for a 50-45 unanimous decision victory.

Jones and Evans will FINALLY meet up at UFC 145 in one of the most anticipated fights in UFC history. The two truly hate each other, and there is a lot of understandable bitterness from Evan’s camp.

When the two do meet up in April, you can guarantee someone will get finished. This will not go to the judges.

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Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans Title Match Set for UFC 145 in Atlanta

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Jon JonesUFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones will defend his belt at UFC 145 in Atlanta, the UFC confirmed during Saturday night’s UFC on FOX 2 event.

Barring any unforeseen issues, it will be against his former friend and current rival Rashad Evans.

By virtue of his unanimous decision win over Phil Davis on Saturday, Evans (17-1-1) held on to his No. 1 contender status, but after a fairly grueling five-rounder, he’d have only 12 weeks to heal up any injuries he suffered during the fight and prepare for a title bout. In the post-fight press conference, Evans didn’t mention any physical issues stemming from the fight, saying that he was looking forward to the long-awaited grudge match and title bout with Jones.


“Yeah I’m ready to fight in April or whenever,” he said. “There’s a couple of things I need to work on. I look forward to going into camp and working on things, but I’m looking forward to fighting Jon and giving the fans the fight they want to see.”

Evans admitted that it was difficult to prepare for Davis with the possibility of fighting Jones lurking in the background.

“This is the monkey on my back I had to get over,” he said. “It was hard to get ready for this fight because everybody kept talking about that fight [with Jones]. It was hard to get excited for a fight like this, but Phil Davis definitely brought it, and now that I won, I get the opportunity to fight Jon, and I’m very excited about it.”

Atlanta is the site of Evans’ star-making win, as he knocked out Chuck Liddell at UFC 88 at the same arena that will host UFC 145.

Jones, who was in Chicago as a member of the FOX broadcast team, was beaming after Evans’ win, saying that he was happy to finally face his former teammate in the cage.

“I can’t wait to get past this chapter in my career,” he said. “I’ve been calling him my antagonist because of all the hype and drama. So I’m a happy man. I’m looking forward to retaining my title on April 21st in the ATL.”

It’s not a lock yet though, as Evans will have to pass a post-fight physical and hope to avoid any lengthy medical suspensions.

If Evans can’t make the quick turnaround, former Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion Dan Henderson is likely to get the headlining slot opposite Jones.

The 41-year-old Henderson (29-8) is coming off his thrilling unanimous decision win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 139, a scrap that many have called the greatest MMA fight of all time.

Jones originally won the belt at UFC 128, battering Rua en route to a fourth-round TKO. He then successfully defended it twice, beating Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Lyoto Machida to cap a banner 2011.

UFC 145 takes place on April 21 from Philips Arena.

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Jon JonesUFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones will defend his belt at UFC 145 in Atlanta, the UFC confirmed during Saturday night’s UFC on FOX 2 event.

Barring any unforeseen issues, it will be against his former friend and current rival Rashad Evans.

By virtue of his unanimous decision win over Phil Davis on Saturday, Evans (17-1-1) held on to his No. 1 contender status, but after a fairly grueling five-rounder, he’d have only 12 weeks to heal up any injuries he suffered during the fight and prepare for a title bout. In the post-fight press conference, Evans didn’t mention any physical issues stemming from the fight, saying that he was looking forward to the long-awaited grudge match and title bout with Jones.


“Yeah I’m ready to fight in April or whenever,” he said. “There’s a couple of things I need to work on. I look forward to going into camp and working on things, but I’m looking forward to fighting Jon and giving the fans the fight they want to see.”

Evans admitted that it was difficult to prepare for Davis with the possibility of fighting Jones lurking in the background.

“This is the monkey on my back I had to get over,” he said. “It was hard to get ready for this fight because everybody kept talking about that fight [with Jones]. It was hard to get excited for a fight like this, but Phil Davis definitely brought it, and now that I won, I get the opportunity to fight Jon, and I’m very excited about it.”

Atlanta is the site of Evans’ star-making win, as he knocked out Chuck Liddell at UFC 88 at the same arena that will host UFC 145.

Jones, who was in Chicago as a member of the FOX broadcast team, was beaming after Evans’ win, saying that he was happy to finally face his former teammate in the cage.

“I can’t wait to get past this chapter in my career,” he said. “I’ve been calling him my antagonist because of all the hype and drama. So I’m a happy man. I’m looking forward to retaining my title on April 21st in the ATL.”

It’s not a lock yet though, as Evans will have to pass a post-fight physical and hope to avoid any lengthy medical suspensions.

If Evans can’t make the quick turnaround, former Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion Dan Henderson is likely to get the headlining slot opposite Jones.

The 41-year-old Henderson (29-8) is coming off his thrilling unanimous decision win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 139, a scrap that many have called the greatest MMA fight of all time.

Jones originally won the belt at UFC 128, battering Rua en route to a fourth-round TKO. He then successfully defended it twice, beating Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Lyoto Machida to cap a banner 2011.

UFC 145 takes place on April 21 from Philips Arena.

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UFC 2012: The Beginning of Big Things to Come

“There is, in this world, no force such as the force of a man determined to rise.” — W.E.B. Dubois Combat sports have been fighting a much more heated battle than their athletic competition counterparts for over 150 years. Boxing fought for accep…

“There is, in this world, no force such as the force of a man determined to rise.” — W.E.B. Dubois

 

Combat sports have been fighting a much more heated battle than their athletic competition counterparts for over 150 years. Boxing fought for acceptance throughout the late 19th and early 20th century. It is still attacked today from time to time when a finger needs to be pointed at someone, a common thread in American society.

The NFL seems to avoid such scrutiny, though its athletes still suffer concussions each time they take the field. It is a matter of when and not if. Still, even today it seems to be easiest to single out the combat sports. Maybe it is their visceral nature. Maybe it is the fact that they don’t command billion dollar payrolls yet. Whatever the reason, the UFC and the sport of mixed martial arts are now actively persuading the public day by day that they represent a top tier company and sport, respectively.

In the fall of 2011, the UFC announced a landmark deal in mixed martial arts history. They had signed a seven year deal with Fox to include programming on Fox, FX and Fuel TV. The deal was for hundreds of millions of dollars.

With the deal beginning on January 1, 2012 the UFC has announced an exhaustive schedule and an unprecedented amount of new programming. Bellator Fighting Championships, the recognized number two organization in the United States, announced a buyout by Viacom and a move to Spike TV in 2013. This also will only serve to further the furious rise of MMA.

So Far

The new year has already been huge for mixed martial arts with events popping up like weeds in a summer field and new ventures blossoming as they should. There are still many injuries in MMA, sure, but the talent pool is getting deeper and the holes in the boat are being patched with a calm assertiveness. 

Already this year, Bellator has announced a spring schedule, HDNet has further committed to the sport of MMA while deciding to re-brand the network, the UFC had a huge event in Brazil that was watched by more than 20 million people in that country alone, and this Saturday marks the third UFC card of the year and fourth overall if you count Strikeforce. It is shaping up to be a big year.

Big Things to Come

2012 is the first year of the historic UFC deal with the Fox family of networks. It marks another year of UFC material on Spike TV and Bellator featured consistently on MTV2. HDNet will do their part to give exposure to many regional MMA organizations.

Counting UFC on Fox 2, which airs Saturday January 28, 2012 from the United Center in Chicago, the company will have 8 events in the next three months alone. UFC 145 will take place in Atlanta, Georgia and Jon Jones is rumored to be defending his light heavyweight title in the main event.

It seems that many past civilizations have predicted 2012 to be the end of days. But I say, no way! It ain’t the end of the world, not by a long shot. This is just the beginning. As for the UFC and the sport of MMA, the future looks pretty darn good.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 145 Card Filling Fast, With Miguel Torres-Michael McDonald Added to Event

Filed under: UFC, NewsAtlanta’s UFC 145 has rapidly taken shape over the last 24 hours, with most of the fights originally scheduled for Montreal shifted to the April 21 card.

But it also has some additions. Among the newest bouts signed is a bantamw…

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Atlanta’s UFC 145 has rapidly taken shape over the last 24 hours, with most of the fights originally scheduled for Montreal shifted to the April 21 card.

But it also has some additions. Among the newest bouts signed is a bantamweight tilt with rising star Michael McDonald taking on former WEC champ Miguel Torres. The UFC confirmed the matchup on Friday afternoon.

Just 21 years, McDonald (14-1) is considered one of MMA‘s brightest lighter weight prospects, and he’s won all three of his octagon bouts so far, most recently knocking out Alex Soto in just 56 seconds at UFC 139.

Torres (39-4) is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Nick Pace on the same card. Shortly thereafter, Torres was released from the UFC after making offensive comments on Twitter. Within three weeks, however, Torres had met with company president Dana White, who decided that Torres had shown remorse for his mistake and he was re-signed.

In addition to Torres-McDonald, eight bouts that were supposed to take place on the canceled Montreal show were moved over.

All told, 10 fights have been announced for the show, which is quite conspicuously missing a main event. With light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones recently telling UFC brass he’s ready to step back into training, a Jones title defense is a distinct possibility, though the UFC has given no indication of that happening.

The full card as it currently stands is below.

Michael McDonald vs. Miguel Torres
Maximo Blanco vs. Marcus Brimage
Mark Hominick and Eddie Yagin
Rory McDonald vs. Che Mills
Brendan Schaub vs. Ben Rothwell
Mark Bocek vs. Matt Wiman
Travis Browne vs. Chad Griggs
John Makdessi vs. Anthony Njokuani
Mac Danzig vs. Efrain Escudero
Keith Wisniewski vs. Chris Clements

 

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UFC 145 in Montreal Officially Canceled, Showing the Company Has a Ways to Go

The UFC has had to officially call off UFC 145, which was supposed to take place in Montreal.  In an article by the Winnipeg Free Press, the UFC head of the Canadian division, Tom Wright, admitted it was because the card lacked championship-level …

The UFC has had to officially call off UFC 145, which was supposed to take place in Montreal.  In an article by the Winnipeg Free Press, the UFC head of the Canadian division, Tom Wright, admitted it was because the card lacked championship-level quality.

This isn’t a devastating blow for the UFC.  Montreal is a great fight town and when the company returns, they will generate a lot of revenue and interest.

It does tell fans something about the company itself.  Namely that the UFC has been spreading their talent and names a bit thin in the past few years and that, without fighters like Georges St-Pierre to put at the top of the card, the projected income wasn’t worth the venture.

The card had already had fights announced for it, but not a main event.  Without a marquee headline, the card wouldn’t do as well.

It was a smart business decision by the UFC to cut losses, but it shows that for all their expansion, they are having trouble finding enough talent to help sell events.

The UFC doesn’t necessarily need to sell a main event with a Canadian in it, though, it helps.  They have done it before when Lyoto Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua fought for the light heavyweight title at UFC 113.

The fact that no serious, top-level talent would be available for the event could take the UFC in several directions.  

They could shrug their shoulders and continue to surge forward.

They could choose to slow down the growth of their company.

Or in a final step, they could choose to try and acquire more talent.  The best way to do this would be to axe more divisions or fighters from Strikeforce.

The first two won’t happen and the last one isn’t likely with Strikeforce and Showtime moving forward to promote more fights in 2012, but moments like these will help shape the future of the company and help make decisions on where they go.

Matthew Hemphill writes for the boxing, MMA and professional wrestling portion of Bleacher Report.  He also hosts a blog (elbaexiled.blogspot.com), which focuses on books, music, comic books, video games, film and generally anything that could be related to the realms of nerdom.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Scraps Planned March Show in Montreal, Hopes for Return Later in 2012

Filed under: UFC, NewsA UFC event that had been rumored for Montreal in March has been scrapped, the UFC has confirmed in a report published by The Canadian Press.

The report cited “complications in scheduling and a desire to deliver a championship ca…

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A UFC event that had been rumored for Montreal in March has been scrapped, the UFC has confirmed in a report published by The Canadian Press.

The report cited “complications in scheduling and a desire to deliver a championship card” as the reasons for the cancellation. Despite the move, the UFC is likely to return to Montreal sometime in 2012, UFC’s director of Canadian operations Tom Wright told the news outlet.

UFC had never formally announced the event, which had been expected to take place at the Bell Centre. But the promotion’s news page had listed the possibility, along with with a series of fights that had been planned for the outing.

The inability to bring a bonafide headliner to the event likely sealed the show’s fate.

Among the fights the UFC had planned for the show were Rory MacDonald vs. Che Mills, Travis Browne vs. Chad Griggs and Brendan Schaub vs. Ben Rothwell. Many of the eight announced bouts will be shifted to an April 21 event in Atlanta, which was announced just last week by the UFC.

 

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