Tag: UFC 151

Say it Ain’t So: Circulating Rumors Claim Dan Henderson Out of UFC 151 With Knee Injury [UPDATED]


(You see this move, right here? PUSSY MAGNET.) 

There’s been a lot of talk regarding Jon Jones, Dan Henderson, and GOATS around here lately, but if any of the rumors circulating Twitter right now have any truth to them, we might just have to put that discussion on hold for a while. And although tweets from random sources don’t constitute truth, the sheer volume of them that have been sent out claiming that Henderson has suffered a knee injury in training are making us feel sick to our stomachs nonetheless. Take a look for yourselves:

Kenny Florian ?@kennyflorian
Hearing that we may have some disappointed @UFC fans soon due to some unfortunate circumstances for an upcoming card

Luke Thomas ?@SBNLukeThomas
@KCBanditMMA @jamiekilstein if what I’m hearing is correct, it’s so much worse than what is even being rumored on Twitter.

 Luke Thomas ?@SBNLukeThomas
@Jdiddy381 @KCBanditMMA @jamiekilstein again, I’m not talking about Hendo’s health when I say the matter is ‘worse’. Relax, people.

Jeremy Botter ?@jeremybotter
If what I’m hearing is correct, UFC 151 may be in desperate need of a main event. And that sucks.

Matt Lindland ?@mattlindland
Rumor? @MattHawryluk94: @tarecfighter rumor is Hendo is out with a knee injury, please tell me it is not true!

FrontRowBrian FrontRowBrian ?@FrontRowBrian
Rumor going around Hendo was injured by Thierry Sokoudjou at some point in this camp. Appears he’ll press on.. if he has to crawl to cage. 
Someone described the brace Hendo is wearing as a “Stone Cold Steve Austin brace”.

Again, we’re not writing this without first understanding the power of rumor, but considering some of the sources (Kenny Florian, Luke Thomas), we might be looking at either a severely hampered Hendo come next Saturday, or no Hendo at all. And who do you think the UFC would replace him with on such short notice? Surely not this guy, right? Or are all the pieces of our conspiracy puzzle falling into place exactly according to plan? MWAHAHAHAHA!!


(You see this move, right here? PUSSY MAGNET.) 

There’s been a lot of talk regarding Jon Jones, Dan Henderson, and GOATS around here lately, but if any of the rumors circulating Twitter right now have any truth to them, we might just have to put that discussion on hold for a while. And although tweets from random sources don’t constitute truth, the sheer volume of them that have been sent out claiming that Henderson has suffered a knee injury in training are making us feel sick to our stomachs nonetheless. Take a look for yourselves:

Kenny Florian ?@kennyflorian
Hearing that we may have some disappointed @UFC fans soon due to some unfortunate circumstances for an upcoming card

Luke Thomas ?@SBNLukeThomas
@KCBanditMMA @jamiekilstein if what I’m hearing is correct, it’s so much worse than what is even being rumored on Twitter.

 Luke Thomas ?@SBNLukeThomas
@Jdiddy381 @KCBanditMMA @jamiekilstein again, I’m not talking about Hendo’s health when I say the matter is ‘worse’. Relax, people.

Jeremy Botter ?@jeremybotter
If what I’m hearing is correct, UFC 151 may be in desperate need of a main event. And that sucks.

Matt Lindland ?@mattlindland
Rumor? @MattHawryluk94: @tarecfighter rumor is Hendo is out with a knee injury, please tell me it is not true!

FrontRowBrian FrontRowBrian ?@FrontRowBrian
Rumor going around Hendo was injured by Thierry Sokoudjou at some point in this camp. Appears he’ll press on.. if he has to crawl to cage. 
Someone described the brace Hendo is wearing as a “Stone Cold Steve Austin brace”.

Again, we’re not writing this without first understanding the power of rumor, but considering some of the sources (Kenny Florian, Luke Thomas), we might be looking at either a severely hampered Hendo come next Saturday, or no Hendo at all. And who do you think the UFC would replace him with on such short notice? Surely not this guy, right? Or are all the pieces of our conspiracy puzzle falling into place exactly according to plan? MWAHAHAHAHA!!

Of course, according to Hendo’s latest tweets, everything seems to be running smoothly…

Dan Henderson ?@danhendo
Just got done with a great training session with the boys. @CyrilleDiabate @tarecfighter @heathlsims @RFBJJ @rockholdMMA

Dan Henderson ?@danhendo
Headed to the house to get worked on by @msmariahv to finish of the day happy.

It should be known that @msmariahv is a “massage therapist for extreme sports athletes.” We’re not sure how a Hendo handjo is going to be a cure-all for a busted knee if that is truly the case, but then again, Henderson is basically as tough as all of our dads put together, so if all he needs is a happy ending to compete, someone better make that shit happen.

Ariel Helwani, on the other hand, possesses a level of Twitter trend awareness that is simply unmatched by his counterparts:

Ariel Helwani ?@arielhelwani
Every person attached to that Hendo tweet promptly retweeted it in some form moments later. Impressive.

Impressive indeed. Could this be a last ditch effort by Hendo’s camp to dispel the rumor before it gains too much steam? If so, they have clearly failed, as every MMA site imaginable has already posted something regarding this rumor by now. But like we said, they are simply rumors, and we will keep you informed as the story develops.

[UPDATE] 1 p.m. EST

Well, this isn’t looking good. According to Ariel Helwani (via Twitter, of course) Dana White is holding a conference call at 2 p.m. EST “regarding the fate of UFC 151.” 

–J. Jones

UFC 151: Is Dan Henderson Hiding a Training Injury?

Yesterday the MMA Twitterverse exploded with some shocking news. Or “nearly news.” Let’s call it educated speculation.Light heavyweight challenger Dan Henderson, it seemed, was injured. No one could point to a source on the record, but the cryptic twee…

Yesterday the MMA Twitterverse exploded with some shocking news. Or “nearly news.” Let’s call it educated speculation.

Light heavyweight challenger Dan Henderson, it seemed, was injured. No one could point to a source on the record, but the cryptic tweets were everywhere. Everyone in the MMA media went into scramble mode, trying to be the first to get official news on the situation.

Our own Jeremy Botter was in the middle of it all:

 

So was UFC announcer Kenny Florian:

 

Henderson, however, wasn’t going gently into that good night. Later that evening he posted a tweet of his own, thanking a group of training partners for a great workout.

 

So, just another fake rumor. Had Henderson put fears to rest?

No so fast. The plot thickened. One of the fighters Henderson mentioned training with in his tweet was Tarec Saffiedine. That in itself is not unusual.

What is strange? Earlier that same evening, presumably during this alleged workout, Saffiedine tweeted that he hadn’t seen Henderson since his own fight for Strikeforce last week and that he hoped the injury rumor wasn’t true.

 

What to make of all this? It’s definitely a tough one to parse. Sources say Henderson indeed injured his knee grappling more than a week ago. Henderson coach Ricardo Feliciano tweeted a picture on August 12 of Henderson sparring with Luke Rockhold, wearing what appears to be a brace on his right knee.

It’s fascinating to watch a rumor like this develop in real time. It’s a product of our new “new media,” a different way of doing business in the age of Twitter and social media. Is the MMA legend hurt? Will he be able to fight against Jon Jones? No one can say for certain. But when the news breaks, rest assured that it will happen on Twitter.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Jon Jones vs. Dan Henderson: Why You Can’t Write off Hendo

Jon “Bones” Jones is an overwhelming favorite as he heads into his UFC 151 battle with Dan Henderson, as everyone in the MMA world understands to a tee.Having defended his UFC light heavyweight crown three times successfully after thoroughly and lopsid…

Jon “Bones” Jones is an overwhelming favorite as he heads into his UFC 151 battle with Dan Henderson, as everyone in the MMA world understands to a tee.

Having defended his UFC light heavyweight crown three times successfully after thoroughly and lopsidedly dismantling Mauricio “Shogun” Rua to claim the belt, Jones’ creative offense and unpredictability inside the cage look to showcase themselves in full against Henderson, who possesses a solid wrestling game, as well as arguably the most legendary right hand in mixed martial arts.

Many predict that Jones will find a way to defeat Henderson as he did Rua, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Lyoto Machida and “Suga” Rashad Evans. In the process, he will likely show us something we’ve yet to see in MMA, but while a number of fans give Jones a good chance to win, that same bunch seems to give Henderson very little chance to prevail on Saturday night.

Only if Henderson finds himself fighting through some sort of nagging injury will he truly lack much of a chance to beat Jones, as any sort of pre-fight injury could always distract Henderson and cause him to not unleash his right with the ferocity we know he’s capable of unleashing.

That said, if anyone could pack the power needed to threaten Jones, who better than Henderson to do it?

Not only does Henderson have the power needed to threaten Jones, but also Henderson plays the underdog role in this fight, and if his past outings proved any indication, Henderson’s at his best, as well as his most dangerous, when he’s given no chance to win legitimately. Jones’ chin has been tested before without question, but Machida didn’t land with Henderson’s power and neither did Evans.

If Jones can take the powerful right hand of Henderson and still come back to mount a victory over the PRIDE legend, he may indeed live up to his word of becoming the very first man to stop one of the greatest MMA fighters of this or any other generation.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Classic Fight: Jon Jones vs. Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson @ UFC 135 [FULL VIDEO]

(Props: YouTube.com/JonJones. Fight starts at the 13:50 mark, but it’s worth it to watch the entrances, just to see Jackson and Jones walk out to those obviously patched-in nü-metal tracks, I guess because the UFC couldn’t secure replay rights on YouTube for the songs they actually walked out to. It’s hilariously jarring. Couldn’t they find generic rap tracks to include for situations like this?)

After winning the UFC light-heavyweight championship in March 2011 with his demolition of Mauricio Rua, 24-year-old Jon Jones attempted his first title defense in September at UFC 135 in Denver, against former champion Quinton Jackson. And for the second title fight in a row, Jones gave nothing and took everything. Over four rounds, Bones picked his shots and wore Rampage down, confounding Jackson with his unorthodox kicks and elbows, and clowning ‘Page whenever the inspiration struck. (Skip to 31:08 for an all-time classic.)

After winning the first three rounds handily, Jones closed the curtains in the fourth frame, taking Jackson down with ease then finishing him with a rear-naked choke. It was the first time Jackson was ever stopped in the UFC. To put it lightly, aging legends have never really performed well against Jon Jones, and Dan Henderson might not fare any better at UFC 151 — that is, if Hendo actually makes it to the fight. There are some nasty rumors swirling around right now…we’ll update you if they turn out to be legit.


(Props: YouTube.com/JonJones. Fight starts at the 13:50 mark, but it’s worth it to watch the entrances, just to see Jackson and Jones walk out to those obviously patched-in nü-metal tracks, I guess because the UFC couldn’t secure replay rights on YouTube for the songs they actually walked out to. It’s hilariously jarring. Couldn’t they find generic rap tracks to include for situations like this?)

After winning the UFC light-heavyweight championship in March 2011 with his demolition of Mauricio Rua, 24-year-old Jon Jones attempted his first title defense in September at UFC 135 in Denver, against former champion Quinton Jackson. And for the second title fight in a row, Jones gave nothing and took everything. Over four rounds, Bones picked his shots and wore Rampage down, confounding Jackson with his unorthodox kicks and elbows, and clowning ‘Page whenever the inspiration struck. (Skip to 31:08 for an all-time classic.)

After winning the first three rounds handily, Jones closed the curtains in the fourth frame, taking Jackson down with ease then finishing him with a rear-naked choke. It was the first time Jackson was ever stopped in the UFC. To put it lightly, aging legends have never really performed well against Jon Jones, and Dan Henderson might not fare any better at UFC 151 — that is, if Hendo actually makes it to the fight. There are some nasty rumors swirling around right now…we’ll update you if they turn out to be legit.

Free Fight: Jon Jones vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 135

In just over a week and a half, UFC wonderkid Jon Jones will step in the cage to make the fourth defense of his UFC light heavyweight championship.Jones faces Dan Henderson in the main event of UFC 151 on Saturday, Sept. 1.Today, we’re taking you back …

In just over a week and a half, UFC wonderkid Jon Jones will step in the cage to make the fourth defense of his UFC light heavyweight championship.

Jones faces Dan Henderson in the main event of UFC 151 on Saturday, Sept. 1.

Today, we’re taking you back to Jones’ first title defense. It happened last September, when Jones faced former champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in the main event of UFC 135.

Watch the full fight above.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 151: Dan Henderson and the Oldest UFC Fighter in Each Division

“Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”  — Leroy “Satchel” Paige At UFC 151, 41-year-old Dan Henderson will attempt to capture UFC gold for the first time in his 15-year career. Standing in hi…

“Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”  — Leroy “Satchel” Paige

 

At UFC 151, 41-year-old Dan Henderson will attempt to capture UFC gold for the first time in his 15-year career. Standing in his way will be 25-year-old phenom Jon Jones, who is already writing himself into the history books alongside Henderson as one of the best to ever compete in MMA.

While Henderson is a significant underdog heading into the bout, the fact that he has been able to return to title contention at his present age is impressive enough in itself. Win or lose, Henderson will be long-remembered for his ability to remain competitive deep into his legendary career.

However, Henderson isn’t the only fighter over the age of 35 to continue causing havoc inside the Octagon. Several competitors are remaining competitive in the twilight of their careers. These are the oldest fighters in each of the UFC’s eight divisions.

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