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#TheTimeIsNow — But Only Because of Jon Jones

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MMA reached its zenith at UFC 182 on Saturday, but if you looked at and listened to the crowd throughout the night you’d have hardly recognized that.

The audience was sparse and half-dead. They’d have done a wave to entertain themselves if the first four fights of the PPV — four decisions featuring unimpressive and sluggish performances — hadn’t already put them to sleep. An incessant stream of “this event sucks” tweets rolled in. This script has played itself out in the past. A card that’s supposed to be the pinnacle of the sport turns out to be a boring, uninteresting, overhyped amalgam of everything wrong with it, only this time we spent an extra $5. It appeared the poor showings, as well as the restless (and partially absent) audience would ruin one of the most anticipated UFC cards in recent memory.

Then Jon Jones fought Daniel Cormier.

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By Matt Saccaro

MMA reached its zenith at UFC 182 on Saturday, but if you looked at and listened to the crowd throughout the night you’d have hardly recognized that.

Then Jon Jones fought Daniel Cormier.

“Domination” and “breaking your opponent” are cliched phrases in MMA, but when fans and pundits originally coined them they had performances like Jon Jones’ in mind. Not only did Jones beat Cormier, he beat Cormier at what he was best at — wrestling…and he made it look easy. Jon Jones took an Olympic wrestler to the mat multiple times just for kicks, broke his will in the later rounds through the same fabled “grind” Cormier was supposed to be the master of, and made him cry at the post-fight press conference.

The in-cage martial artistry isn’t even the best part. That came after the phantasmagoric displays of violence. Jones taunted a dejected Cormier with a “crotch chop” circa late 1990′s WWE. When Joe Rogan conducted a rushed (the PPV was about to hit the end of the allotted time) interview with Jones, the reigning light heavyweight champ chided Cormier’s supporters by telling them to burn their “Break Bones” t-shirts and buy his “Unbroken” t-shirt. Already guffawing (or seething, depending on your alignment) at these antics? There’s MORE. In the post-fight show on Fox Sports 1, Jones continued to bash his defeated foe.

“I hope he’s somewhere crying right now,” Jones said. “I’m sure he is.” He continued on, saying Cormier is the kind of fighter who breaks when fights get tough. Jones also said Cormier is no king of the grind like people thought.

When asked about a possible reconciliation, Jones refused to let up on his verbal onslaught.

“I know if he would have won, he would have been up here, talking all types of trash,” Jones told MMAJunkie. “So I don’t feel sorry for him. This is combat.”

The hashtag #TheTimeIsNow became the butt end of many jokes on MMA Twitter during the last few weeks. The UFC used the hashtag to promote their embarrassing “omg big announcement” press conference where they announced they had no big announcement. People used #TheTimeIsNow to mock the UFC’s recent legal troubles as well as the grim state of their PPV business.

But despite all that has gone wrong — and all that’s still currently going wrong — the UFC was right. The time is now. Not because of CM Punk‘s entry in to the UFC. Not because of the upgrades to Fight Pass. Not because of the complete 2015 schedule. Not because of Brock Lesnar’s rumored return.

The time is now because of Jon Jones.

Jon Jones is the best MMA fighter that any of us will ever see in our lifetimes. You can claim Fedor Emelianenko was the GOAT while clutching your Pride VHS collection, but you’d be wrong. Jon Jones is capable of violence and technique on a level we’ve never seen before, nor will we likely ever see again if MMA continues its current descent in popularity.

In addition to his fighting acumen, Jon Jones posses more personality and emotional magnetism than all the other UFC champions combined. Remember how MMA erupted when Ronda Rousey didn’t shake Miesha Tate’s hand after submitting her at UFC 168? What Jones did to Cormier after UFC 182 makes that look like a bro hug by comparison.

The best part is it’s not a gimmick. Jon Jones doesn’t caricature over-the-top professional wrestling promos from yesteryear. Jon Jones doesn’t exclaim that fighters from less fortunate countries mistake public transit for barnyard animals. Jon Jones breaks people. Jon Jones chokes people out and drops them on the canvas, limp and limbs quivering. Jon Jones makes people cry, then says he’s glad about it. Jon Jones is unabashedly himself. A large percentage of fans hate him for it — just look at the comments on any Jones-related article to see that. Hell, someone even tweeted to CagePotato last night saying they hope somebody shoots Jones. But despite the hate, they pay to see him. Estimates already state UFC 182 achieved over 750k buys. In an age where fighters who draw 400k are considered the company’s top stars, this is almost a miracle.

The time for watching the best MMA fighter of all time and the UFC’s current biggest star is right now. Jones is the light in the current dark age of MMA. Every second of watching Jon Jones display his craft is a gift from a Lovecraftian god of violence. Cherish this gift, even if you don’t like Jones as a person.

Jones vs. Cormier Results: What Went Right for the Champ at UFC 182

At UFC 182, Jon “Bones” Jones retained his UFC light heavyweight title and defended it for a record eighth time. He proved once again why he is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world in defeating one of his most formidable foes…

A lot went well for the champion at UFC 182. Many wondered if Cormier would be able to get past the 12-inch reach advantage and either knock Jones out or score a big takedown. Jones used his sizable reach advantage to keep the challenger at bay, and his long arms helped when Cormier did close the distance, as Jones was able to avoid enough of Cormier’s onslaught in the clinch to win the fight.

The thing that worked best for Jones was his game plan throughout the fight. He implemented it very successfully and never strayed into a wild brawl with Cormier. There were a few certain aspects of his game plan that proved to make the difference in this fight.

Leg Kicks

One of the reasons why Alexander Gustafsson was able to do so much damage to Jones was because he effectively avoided the diagonal kicks to the leg that Jones has hurt so many past opponents with. He moved laterally and threw kicks of his own to keep the champion guessing, which was a strategy that didn’t work for the much-shorter Daniel Cormier.

Cormier chose to move forward more than circle throughout the fight, which left him walking right into kicks that were meant to bend his leg backwards in the most unethical of ways. Jones repeatedly nailed DC with kicks that undoubtedly frustrated the challenger. Jones’ legs were just too long, and he used his kicks too well for Cormier to come up with any real countermeasures.

Takedown Defense

Daniel Cormier embraces the grind. His walkout shirt read “King of the Grind,” and his plan was to “Break Bones.” With this fight being fought in such close quarters, Jones was able to use his underhooks to avoid being taken down by Cormier.

Cormier is known for being able to find the takedown regardless of where the fight is positioned. He wasn’t able to shoot in for single-leg attempts, and he couldn’t use his trips when in close with Jones.

Cormier finally scored a huge takedown late in the fifth round, but it was too little, too late against the prolific light heavyweight champ.

Strikes to the Body

Throughout the fight, Jones landed some hard punches and kicks to the body of Cormier. It helped keep the challenger guessing. At the points where he was able to time and avoid the oblique kicks, Jones would hammer Cormier to the body.

Jones wasn’t able to use his signature elbow strikes as much, but he sure wore down DC with strikes to the body. He chipped away at the challenger, and while in the clinch, Jones landed some well-placed knees to the midsection of Cormier.

As was evidenced in the fight, Cormier presented a very difficult challenge for Jones. Had Jones done anything other than thoroughly prepare and implement his game plan to a tee, he very well could have lost to DC at UFC 182.

Jones never lost his focus throughout the fight and never strayed away from his game plan. He did eat some punches from Cormier, but the champ was just too effective with his offense to be beaten.

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Cutting Through The Bullsh*t: UFC 182 Edition

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After an abundance of trash talk, a pre-fight press conference brawl, asking pussies if they’re still there, technical breakdowns, and moving betting lines, Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier duked it out for five rounds in an early “Fight of the Year” candidate, which went exactly how most of us thought it would. The main card of UFC 182, however, was pretty putrid.

Our excitement was at an all-time high, which is rare nowadays when it comes to MMA in general. This truly felt like 2008 all over again, but sometimes, we rely on nostalgia to compare upcoming fight cards that may or may not be worth viewing live.

Nevertheless, Jones vs. Cormier lived up to the billing, as both light heavyweights engaged in a dogfight at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV., this past Saturday night.

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By Alex Giardini

Nevertheless, Jones vs. Cormier lived up to the billing, as both light heavyweights engaged in a dogfight at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV., this past Saturday night.

Truth be told, their fight couldn’t have come any sooner to save the day. There was uncontrolled excitement running through our veins Saturday morning, but after the FOX Sports 1 and Fight Pass prelims concluded, we were better off rummaging through our Twin Peaks Definitive Gold Box Edition and watching some of our favorite episodes.

The prelims were off to a raucous start, with Marion Reneau pummeling Alexis Dufresne in a unanimous decision win, and making the latter look like she came straight out of those So You Wanna Fight? events we used to see on our PPV listing (they must be at #341 by now…talk about real oversaturation). The highlight from that fight was Dufresne’s pathetic corner, who had too much pride to throw in the towel and actually made it seen like their fighter could have bounced back when she lost every second of that fight.

After Omari Akhmedov and Evan Dunham returned to winning ways over Mats Nilsson and Rodrigo Damm, respectively, Shawn Jordan scored another highlight-reel knockout over the debuting Jared Cannonier. Then, Team Alpha Male witnessed some ups and downs, as rising prospect Cody Garbrandt scored a stoppage victory over Marcus Brimage with 10 seconds left in the round.

Although the happiness was short-lived, as Paul Felder, taking the fight on short notice, blasted Danny Castillo with a spinning back forearm that sent “Last Call” into the Himalayas. If Garbrandt was seen as one of the starlets of the under card, the undefeated lightweight stole his thunder minutes later, and even walked out of Las Vegas $50,000 richer. The downside is with the sheer volume of athletes competing inside the Octagon these days, it’s impossible for bar bros to remember their names come Monday morning.

The main card was supposed to be off to bang, since Hector Lombard was going to smother the returning Josh Burkman in seconds. However, the former WSOF welterweight title challenger hung in there, hands down and guns blazing, stepping up to “Showeather” and looked good early. Lombard eventually cracked Burkman enough times to convince us the scrap was a lot more lopsided than we initially thought, earning the unanimous decision victory and disappointing UFC President Dana White in the process, since he thought the winner should have tried harder to finish.

Regardless, Lombard looks set to challenge either Rory MacDonald next, or casually inserts himself as the number one contender to fight the winner of Robbie Lawler and Johny Hendricks when the time comes for their trilogy bout.

Then, it all went miserably downhill from there. You know, there are plenty of things to do on a Saturday night when staying in. MMA fans have sacrificed hitting the club or having a meaningful social life outside of the bubble, and that’s okay. But watching the next three fights (all involving popular fighters like Donald Cerrone, Nate Marquardt, and according to Fightland, the next Prime Minister of Japan, flyweight Kyoji Horiguchi), over the NFL wildcard playoff between the Steelers vs. the Ravens, Saturday Night Live, a black market copy of Birdman, or Louie on Netflix was an absurd decision. I’m not saying the main card of UFC 182 wins The 2015 Potato Award for Greatest-Hype Deflation, but it’s definitely worth consideration.

The main event was a straight-up dogfight, and even looked like a street fight at times. The battle was highly competitive for the first three rounds, as “Bones” was off to a flashy start, throwing strikes from every angle with every limb. It was the back-and-forth scuffle we hoped it would be, thanks to “D.C.” staying in Jones’ face and willing to close the distance, or better yet, nullify the champion’s reach advantage in the clinch. If the first round went to Jones, then it was fair to award Cormier the second.

The tide turned when Jones, who swore he could take down Cormier and presumably started this mess, took the Olympic wrestler down at will, and stuffed his adversary’s attempts, too. From that moment on, it seemed as if Cormier let the fight slip past him, with AKA’s Javier Mendez and Bob Cook yelling in his face while he sat on the stool before the fifth frame.

The challenger didn’t do much to finish the fight in the final round like he needed to, and instead, went for the takedown because of pride issues. He scored somewhat of a toss, and grappled with the champion when he should have separated and swung for the fences. As the fight concluded, Jones, who had given “D.C.” the crotch chop seconds after the final horn, blasted his adversary in his post-fight interview and told fans to return their “Break Bones” t-shirts. Finally, “Bones” embraced the heel persona, and did as good as Shawn Michaels did on The Barber Shop.

A while back, UFC announcer Bruce Buffer compared Jones to Muhammad Ali. Considering Jones was prepping for the Ryan Bader fight at UFC 126, and hadn’t even won his coveted 205-pound strap yet, some knew the comparison would eventually come to fruition, while others chose not to believe it. Ironically, leading up to this contest, there was a lot of talk as Jones being Ali, and Cormier serving as his Joe Frazier, even though “Bones” thought Alexander Gustafsson better suited the part.

However which way the media wants to spin it, Jones isn’t Ali, and quite frankly, he’s something even greater in the sport of MMA. Nobody talks the same way as they did when referring to Anderson Silva and Fedor Emilianenko, and with Georges St-Pierre absent from the whole scenario, Jones truly is the greatest fighter on planet earth right now, and maybe the greatest ever. It’s not like the main event was as close as Jones’ scrap against “The Mauler” at UFC 165.

When it comes to “Gus,” if the Swede beats Anthony Johnson later this month at UFC on FOX 14, he’s obviously next. But the division is so thin that “Rumble” would earn his spot against Jones if he pulls off the upset against the former title challenger.

But you have to wonder what happens after that. Jones sticking around to face his old foes would get tiresome, and maybe even pointless. Some are under the impression that “Bones” should move to heavyweight after his next fight, which would be the right call. If Jones was announced to face Cain Velasquez in four months from now, I’ll go out on a limb and say not only could he win the heavyweight title, he could even be favored. It’s all speculation at this point, yet this athlete is just too special, being 27 years old and already beating the division’s most dangerous fighters. We can say that he may not have even entered his prime yet, but we can also agree he’s wiped out everyone he’s had to in order to be called the greatest, with not much else to prove.

Apart from a lackluster PPV card, UFC 182’s main event was the perfect way to start off 2015, even though problems will continue to persist, like domestic abuse cases being thrown out the window, drug testing woes, odd MMA debuts, PPV price increases and the other nonsense we have to put up with. Apart from the cool Fight Pass library news, some other stuff has been getting us mildly intrigued, like Bellator in it to win it, Brock Lesnar’s rumored return, and the potential superfight involving Ariel Helwani vs. Front Row Brian at Cowboys Stadium (now the AT&T Stadium), stemming from their continued fight announcement rivalry.

Let’s not hold our hopes high for a groundbreaking year. We’re just praying it’s better than the last.

UFC 182: Grading Paul Felder and Cody Garbrandt’s Debuts

On a UFC 182 main card that was populated by names such as Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier, Hector Lombard and Donald Cerrone, it’s a surprise to many that there wasn’t a Performance of the Night candidate to be found when it was all said and done.
How…

However, it was the fighters in the prelims who had everything to gain and put on a spectacle for those in attendance at the MGM Grand. The debuting Paul Felder and Cody Garbrandt skillfully picked apart their respective opponents before putting a stamp on near-flawless victories. Felder picked up a performance bonus for his spinning backfist knockout of Danny “Last Call” Castillo. Garbrandt, who missed out, should still be feeling pretty good about himself.

Felder, known as The Irish Dragon, continued his undefeated streak and added another impressive knockout to his expansive resume. The 29-year-old former Cage Fury Fighting lightweight champion has seven knockouts to his name including this one. Felder, a longtime friend of fellow lightweight Donald Cerrone, had been training with Cowboy for the latter’s co-main event bout against Myles Jury.

Felder, already 1-0 inside the Octagon, drew Team Alpha Male member Castillo in his second bout. Castillo has been known to wrestle and clinch his way to victory, which he does to compensate for his average boxing skills. The 35-year-old Castillo had his legs battered by Felder‘s kicks; perhaps he could have used those against him by threatening for more takedowns. Instead, that allowed for Felder to continue pushing forward, growing his confidence in time for this beauty.

But before we hand Felder the owner of most vicious knockout of the night, let’s take a look at the fight that preceded his. As one Team Alpha Male fighter fell, one rose, and he goes by the name of No Love. Garbrandt, undefeated like Felder, came into Saturday night’s debut against the Marcus Brimage on a five-fight win streak, winning each fight by knockout or TKO.

For the entire fight, Garbrandt marched forward and was clearly the aggressor of the two. He also seemed to have an answer for everything the American Top Team fighter threw at him and employed an efficient counterstriking attack. But while the 23-year-old Garbrandt landed several counter lefts and punishing hooks, Brimage was quietly making this more of a fight than it may have appeared.

The third round marked a turning point, when Garbrandt was able to put away the stumbling Brimage via several left and right hooks. Garbrandt‘s power went unmatched throughout the entire fight, as the Bama Beast never was able to tee off and put him in danger. If it weren’t for Felder‘s propensity for the unorthodox, UFC President Dana White may be writing a different name on the check.

Garbrandt‘s victory, while it may have seemed one-sided, had the feeling of a somewhat competitive fight. When compared to Felder‘s win, it pails in comparison. The Irish Dragon’s striking was light years better than Castillo’s. He also stuffed two of Castillo’s takedown attempts. Top 15 bantamweights and lightweights have all been put on notice.

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UFC 182: Highlights and Breakdown of Most Surprising Results

If we’re being honest with ourselves, UFC 182 will likely be remembered for one thing and one thing alone—Jon Jones’ unanimous decision over Daniel Cormier. Quite frankly, the rest of the event wasn’t terribly compelling.
But that doesn’t m…

But that doesn’t mean there weren’t highlights or surprising results. Far from it.

Jones’ victory over Cormier wasn’t without its surprises. Despite the fact that Cormier was a two-time Olympic wrestler and based his game plan on trying to break Jones’ guard and keep the fight in close to mitigate the advantage in reach Jones possessed, it was the now eight-time defending champion who finished with eight takedowns to Cormier‘s zero.

SportsCenter on Twitter provided some of the highlights from the fight:

Donald Cerrone‘s victory over Myles Jury in the night’s next-biggest fight wasn’t necessarily surprising. What was a bit surprising was that the fight was a bit dull throughout, to the point that the crowd booed the fighters at one point and Cerrone was vocally disappointed to the point that he apologized after the match.

Still, a win is a win, and Cerrone clearly defeated Jury on Saturday evening. Plus, the crowd did get a kick out of Cerrone‘s late leg kicks as Jury lay in his guard on the mat, clearly done in frustration after the dull spectacle. It may not have been pretty, but one would guess the next time Cerrone steps into the Octagon he’ll make things more memorable.

Hector Lombard was a huge favorite over Josh Burkman, so it was pretty surprising that Burkman gave Lombard all he could handle and then some. In the end, Lombard earned the victory, but it was far from the dominant display folks were expecting.

Paul Felder and Shawn Jordan not only provided major highlights at UFC 182, they were also rewarded for their efforts, each taking home a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus. Felder floored Danny Castillo with the ever-rare spinning back-fist, while Jordan ended Jared Cannonier in the first round with a right hook.

Cody Garbrandt, meanwhile, quite literally saved his best for last, earning a TKO against Marcus Brimage at the 4:50 mark of the final round. Garbrandt is now 6-0 and hasn’t been in a fight professionally that went the distance, so it would have been a bit surprising had he not finished off Brimage as well.

He wasn’t about to let that happen, however, even if it took him the entire fight to earn his stoppage.

Nate Marquardt’s rather dramatic decline, meanwhile, continues to be a surprising development in the UFC. The fighter has now lost three of his four matches after losing to Brad Tavares in a unanimous decision and might be sliding his way right out of the UFC. His fall from grace has been a huge surprise that continued on Saturday night.

All in all, the most surprising development from UFC 182 was probably the fact that the card didn’t deliver on the hype that surrounded it. Outside of the Jones vs. Cormier match, this ended up being a disappointing card rather than the introduction in 2015 of several exciting events to come. Yes, UFC 182 had its highlights, but all in all it was expected to be much more than it delivered upon.

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UFC 182 Results: Ranking the Biggest Winners from Saturday’s Fight Card

While fighting fans were mostly tuning in to UFC 182 for the matchup between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier, there were plenty of intriguing matchups throughout the evening to keep them entertained. And that meant there were plenty of big winners in…

Below, I’ll take a look at the five biggest winners from Saturday’s event. Spoiler alert: The biggest fight provided the biggest winner. Duh.

5. Shawn Johnson

For his first-round knockout of Jared Cannonier, Shawn Johnson took home a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus. So he quite literally was one of the biggest winners of the night, wasn’t he?

4. Donald Cerrone

Donald Cerrone was a big winner on the night, but at least in the hearts and minds of UFC fans, he could have been a big loser, as his fight against Myles Jury was a pretty dull one throughout.

While Cerrone won a unanimous decision, there were actually boos during the cagey encounter. Cerrone was clearly affected by the crowd’s response and responded late in the fight with several vicious leg kicks on Jury while the latter was downed, which might have endeared him to the crowd again.

“I’m upset with my performance, and I’m going to go watch the tape and figure out what I need to do to capitalize if that happens again,” he told MMA Junkie after the fight. “I’m very upset for the performance I put in tonight, and I apologize to everyone that was watching and the hype that was behind all that.”

Still, it’s important to remember two things about this fight—Cerrone held off the previously undefeated Jury, a huge result for him going forward, and his late display of aggression certainly gave the fans something to remember him by on the night.

MMA fans were expecting more from this fight, yes. But Cerrone survived it while managing to leave his mark at the end on an otherwise dull display.

3. Cody Garbrandt

If first impressions go a long way, Cody Garbrandt certainly introduced himself to the UFC in the most memorable way possible, earning a TKO against Marcus Brimage at the 4:50 mark of the final round. Better late than never, right?

Garbrandt is now 6-0 in his professional fighting career, and none of them have gone the distance. The disciple of Urijah Faber showed Saturday night that he has the potential for a big future.

2. Paul Felder

Paul Felder‘s fight against Danny Castillo wasn’t the most anticipated fight of the night by a large margin, and it wasn’t even the best fight of the night (more on that below). But after flooring off Castillo with a spinning backfist knockout, it was certainly the most memorable finish to a fight on the evening.

Felder wasn’t even originally supposed to be at UFC 182, as he was scheduled to fight Johnny Case at UFC Fight Night 59, but he jumped at the chance to take on Castillo after Rustam Khabilov had to drop out of the match.

Boy, was that a good decision. Felder now has a contender for Knockout of the Year, made quite a few new fans on the evening and earned a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus. Not too shabby, eh?

1. Jon Jones

Jones’ eighth title defense may have just been his most impressive one yet.

Facing off against a stiff challenger in Cormier—the former Olympic wrestler who was undefeated in his MMA career coming into Saturday night—Jones was incredibly impressive, holding off Cormier‘s attempts to press against him and get inside his guard while actually finishing with five more takedowns than the former wrestler.

In the end, Jones was awarded a 29-26 unanimous decision and more than lived up to his billing as the best pound-for-pound MMA fighter in the world, a distinction he should continue to hold for years to come. After the fight, he offered a glimpse of what could be to come, per Nancy Gay of UFC:

After he handled Cormier, it would probably be wise to bet on Jones no matter who he fights.

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