Diego Sanchez to Absorb the Lifeforce of Poor, Poor Myles Jury at UFC 171


(Hey guys, you forgot to write “In Memoriam” at the top. Photo via Jury’s official website.)

Myles Jury might be one of the most talented up-and-coming prospects in the UFC that I couldn’t pick out of a lineup if a police officer was holding a gun to my mother’s head. I don’t how or why that situation could arise, I’m just saying. The TUF 15 alum is currently 4-0 in the UFC with wins over fellow TUFers Michael Johnson, Mike Ricci, and Ramsey Nijem, but since he’s been stuck in FX/FS1 prelim hell for those fights, his accomplishments have gone largely unnoticed by the general public.

Well that’s all about to change, because it appears that Jury has been selected to be cleansed by the holy flame of Diego Sanchez’s vengeful God, as tribute, at UFC 171.

It’s a classic matchup of undefeated vs. mentally unstable undefeatable.


(Hey guys, you forgot to write “In Memoriam” at the top. Photo via Jury’s official website.)

Myles Jury might be one of the most talented up-and-coming prospects in the UFC that I couldn’t pick out of a lineup if a police officer was holding a gun to my mother’s head. I don’t how or why that situation could arise, I’m just saying. The TUF 15 alum is currently 4-0 in the UFC with wins over fellow TUFers Michael Johnson, Mike Ricci, and Ramsey Nijem, but since he’s been stuck in FX/FS1 prelim hell for those fights, his accomplishments have gone largely unnoticed by the general public.

Well that’s all about to change, because it appears that Jury has been selected to be cleansed by the holy flame of Diego Sanchez’s vengeful God, as tribute, at UFC 171.

It’s a classic matchup of undefeated vs. mentally unstable undefeatable.

Since dropping back to lightweight, Sanchez has gone 1-1, scoring a controversial split decision win over Takanori Gomi at UFC 161 before being upended by Gilbert Melendez at UFC 166 in a “Fight of the Year” contender. I say “contender,” because PRIDE. Sanchez also recently reupped with the organization and will likely continue putting on three-round wars until he is forced to be carted into the octagon, at which point he will still manage to stay above .500 on sheer willpower alone.

Seriously, I feel kind of bad for Myles here. He finally receives a shot in the real big time, and it comes at the cost of facing this fucking guy. It’d be like asking your boss for a raise in front of your entire office while naked and being pelted with cow pies. Diego Sanchez is Richard Simmons’ spirit animal. When monkeys are injected with RAGE-virus, they see Diego Sanchez, which is why I find it all the more brash that Conor McGregor has recently taken to mocking Sanchez on Twitter. It’s almost as if he isn’t aware that Sanchez has likely already purchased the plans to his home and begun installing Rube Goldbergian death traps in it while McGregor is sleeping.

You just don’t fuck with that kind of crazy, and I can only hope that Jury comes out of this alive. He seems like a nice kid with a very full life ahead of him. Even if that’s not the case, he’s simply too young to be trapped in a dry well with Greenskeepers playing on loop for the rest of his life.

J. Jones

Jake Shields (Zzzz) vs. Hector Lombard (!!) Added to UFC 171


(“For the last time, I’m not Charlie Brenneman and I don’t have any weed for sale.”)

This morning, the UFC announced (via ESPN.com) that a welterweight contest between former title challenger Jake Shields and former Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard has been booked for UFC 171: Jones vs. Teixeira. While we assumed that this matchup was just Dana White’s way of further punishing anyone and anything related to Bellator, it turns out that “Lightning” actually requested the matchup because, like the rest of us, he finds Shield’s style somewhat underwhelming:

I think he’s been so boring and me always trying for the KO, it’s going to be exciting. He’ll make it boring, or I’m going to end up knocking him out. It’s going to be one or another. 

You’d think that Lombard would have already learned his lesson about calling out “boring” fighters after he fought the Jake Shields of the UFC’s middleweight division and came up short, but it appears otherwise. Let’s hope Lombard can bring the same kind of ferocity against Shields as he brought against Nate Marquardt or we’re gonna be in for a long night, folks.


(“For the last time, I’m not Charlie Brenneman and I don’t have any weed for sale.”)

This morning, the UFC announced (via ESPN.com) that a welterweight contest between former title challenger Jake Shields and former Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard has been booked for UFC 171: Jones vs. Teixeira. While we assumed that this matchup was just Dana White’s way of further punishing anyone and anything related to Bellator, it turns out that “Lightning” actually requested the matchup because, like the rest of us, he finds Shield’s style somewhat underwhelming:

I think he’s been so boring and me always trying for the KO, it’s going to be exciting. He’ll make it boring, or I’m going to end up knocking him out. It’s going to be one or another. 

You’d think that Lombard would have already learned his lesson about calling out “boring” fighters after he fought the Jake Shields of the UFC’s middleweight division and came up short, but it appears otherwise. Let’s hope Lombard can bring the same kind of ferocity against Shields as he brought against Nate Marquardt or we’re gonna be in for a long night, folks.

Currently 3-0 1 NC in his past 4, Shields is apparently coming off a unanimous decision win over Demian Maia at Fight Night 29. I say “apparently” because I have no recollection of this fight happening and neither do any of you, right? Come to think of it, I have no recollection of Shields ever fighting Tyron Woodley or Ed Herman for that matter…

…if you guys will excuse me, I’ve got some investigating to do regarding this so-called fighter name “Jake Shields.”

J. Jones

Thiago Alves *Finally* Healthy, Hoping to Continue Obliterating Legs at UFC 171 in March


(“C’mon bro, you’re a UFC fighter for Christ’s sake. If you start crying, you’ll never be able to show your face in this parlor again. You’ll be no better than Phil Baroni.” Photo via ami-james.)

It feels like its been eons since we’ve seen Thiago Alves in action, and by “in action,” we mean cutting down fighters young and old with leg kicks powerful enough to give even Cecil Peoples nightmares. Ever since suffering a last minute, come-from-behind submission defeat at the hands of Martin Kampmann last March, Alves has been forced to pull out of bouts with Siyar Bahadurzada and Matt Brown due to various injuries. In fact, Alves has hit something of a rough patch ever since fighting Georges “The Career Killer” St. Pierre at UFC 100, having dropped 3 of his past 5 contests and picking up wins over less-than-stellar competition.

Thankfully, none other than Ariel Helwani has passed along the news that Alves is finally healthy again and hoping to secure a fight at UFC 171: Jones vs. Teixeira.

Who would you like to see Alves paired up with in his return bout, Nation? Pyle? MacDonald? Paulo Odbelis?! Before you decide, let’s all just revel in the only Thiago Alves highlight reel that isn’t accompanied by a horrendous rap song after the jump.


(“C’mon bro, you’re a UFC fighter for Christ’s sake. If you start crying, you’ll never be able to show your face in this parlor again. You’ll be no better than Phil Baroni.” Photo via ami-james.)

It feels like its been eons since we’ve seen Thiago Alves in action, and by “in action,” we mean cutting down fighters young and old with leg kicks powerful enough to give even Cecil Peoples nightmares. Ever since suffering a last minute, come-from-behind submission defeat at the hands of Martin Kampmann last March, Alves has been forced to pull out of bouts with Siyar Bahadurzada and Matt Brown due to various injuries. In fact, Alves has hit something of a rough patch ever since fighting Georges “The Career Killer” St. Pierre at UFC 100, having dropped 3 of his past 5 contests and picking up wins over less-than-stellar competition.

Thankfully, none other than Ariel Helwani has passed along the news that Alves is finally healthy again and hoping to secure a fight at UFC 171: Jones vs. Teixeira.

Who would you like to see Alves paired up with in his return bout, Nation? Pyle? MacDonald? Paulo Odbelis?! Before you decide, let’s all just revel in the only Thiago Alves highlight reel that isn’t accompanied by a horrendous rap song after the jump.


(Props: Youtube user 92maxiboi)

J. Jones

Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira Re-Re-Booked for UFC 171, March 15th in Dallas


(“MR. JONES, MR. JONES, TELL US MORE ABOUT THIS ‘GATORADE’ DRINK. IS IT TRUE THAT IT QUENCHES THIRST *AND* RESTORES ELECTROLYTES?” / Photo via Getty)

Super Bowl weekend didn’t work. February 22nd didn’t work either. But we have a good feeling that the latest date for Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira is going to stick, you guys. As revealed by UFC press secretary Ariel Helwani on the latest episode of UFC Tonight, the impending light-heavyweight title fight has been scheduled to headline UFC 171, March 15th at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

Though the UFC wanted Jones to return to action earlier, the champ couldn’t commit to a February date against Teixeira due to lingering injuries from his last fight, as well as the desire to spend Christmas with his family. As for Teixeira, he’s been twiddling his thumbs since his TKO win over Ryan Bader in September, but other than a bout of indigestion, the Brazilian slugger is ready to roll.

No other fights have been announced for UFC 171 yet, although there’s a rumor floating around that Daniel Cormier could make his light-heavyweight debut on the card against none other than Rashad Evans. We’ll keep you posted…


(“MR. JONES, MR. JONES, TELL US MORE ABOUT THIS ‘GATORADE’ DRINK. IS IT TRUE THAT IT QUENCHES THIRST *AND* RESTORES ELECTROLYTES?” / Photo via Getty)

Super Bowl weekend didn’t work. February 22nd didn’t work either. But we have a good feeling that the latest date for Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira is going to stick, you guys. As revealed by UFC press secretary Ariel Helwani on the latest episode of UFC Tonight, the impending light-heavyweight title fight has been scheduled to headline UFC 171, March 15th at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

Though the UFC wanted Jones to return to action earlier, the champ couldn’t commit to a February date against Teixeira due to lingering injuries from his last fight, as well as the desire to spend Christmas with his family. As for Teixeira, he’s been twiddling his thumbs since his TKO win over Ryan Bader in September, but other than a bout of indigestion, the Brazilian slugger is ready to roll.

No other fights have been announced for UFC 171 yet, although there’s a rumor floating around that Daniel Cormier could make his light-heavyweight debut on the card against none other than Rashad Evans. We’ll keep you posted…

Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira to Headline UFC 171 in Dallas

This fight has been announced and postponed so many times that it’s hard to believe what’s real anymore. 
According to Ariel Helwani on UFC Tonight, Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira will finally happen at UFC 171 in Dallas on March 15, 2014. The UFC …

This fight has been announced and postponed so many times that it’s hard to believe what’s real anymore. 

According to Ariel Helwani on UFC Tonight, Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira will finally happen at UFC 171 in Dallas on March 15, 2014. The UFC had previously announced the match for both UFC 169 and UFC 170, and it finally lands a solid date…barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Jones has been the champion since early 2011 when he blasted through Mauricio Rua to take the title. He has since defended the title six times over competition such as Rashad Evans, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Lyoto Machida.

His latest title win came in a close bout against Alexander Gustafsson, and UFC fans are clamoring for a rematch in the near future. Of course, Gustafsson can re-earn a title shot with a win over Jimi Manuwa next year. They will fight around the same time as Jones and Teixeira.

Teixeira is undefeated in the UFC at 5-0, beating guys like Ryan Bader, James Te Huna and Jackson. He has shown a great game that has seen him finish four of his five UFC opponents.

This battle offers an interesting matchup. Jones is a long, lanky wrestler with unorthodox striking that has been an unsolvable puzzle. Teixeira is a power boxer with a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and great experience.

Teixeira has trained in the U.S. for a long time, as he linked up with John Hackleman and Chuck Liddell earlier in his career. That kind of backing gives him some hope in taking down the seemingly unbeatable Jones.

Jones is part of the prestigious Greg Jackson camp, which has led him to his overall success. He trains with Andrei Arlovski, Travis Browne and John Dodson, among others.

Jones vs. Teixeira is the only fight that has been announced for UFC 171 so far. The pay-per-view card promises to be a solid draw among UFC fans.

For more breaking news, stick with Bleacher Report as more updates are released.

 

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