Tag: UFC News

Jon Jones Believes Latest Arrest May Have Been A Blessing In Disguise

Jon Jones believes his recent troubles might be a good thing for him in the long run.

After Jones was inducted into the Hall of Fame for his fight against Alexander Gustafsson, he was arrested for alleged domestic violence. After that, his gym, Jac…

Jon Jones Mugshot

Jon Jones believes his recent troubles might be a good thing for him in the long run.

After Jones was inducted into the Hall of Fame for his fight against Alexander Gustafsson, he was arrested for alleged domestic violence. After that, his gym, JacksonWink removed him from the gym, and many thought that would be the time “Bones” would realize he needs to make life changes.

As of right now, it’s uncertain if Jones has made any significant changes in his life. He did vow to leave alcohol in his past, but now, he thinks hitting rock bottom may be good for him.

“Maybe rock bottom was the foundation I needed,” Jones tweeted.

Jon Jones, of course, has now found a new ‘home base’ as he will train at Greg Jackson’s affiliate gym. He is preparing for his heavyweight move which he has been targeting for nearly two years now, but has yet to do, so whether or not he actually will is uncertain at this point.

The above tweet from Jones was posted moments before sharing an update on his training progress.

Jones has not fought since UFC 247 in February of 2020 where he beat Dominick Reyes by decision to defend his light heavyweight title. It was a close fight that some thought Reyes won. Prior to that, he scored a split decision win over Thiago Santos to defend his title. In his career, he holds notable wins over Daniel Cormier, Gustafsson, twice, Shogun Rua, Glover Teixeira, Vitor Belfort, Lyoto Machida, Ryan Bader, and Rampage Jackson among others.

The hope for Bones is to fight sometime in 2022 against the winner of Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane for the heavyweight title. Whether or not that will actually happen is to be seen, as the UFC hasn’t shown interest in booking the fight.

What do you make of Jon Jones saying rock bottom is the foundation he needs?

Continue Reading Jon Jones Believes Latest Arrest May Have Been A Blessing In Disguise at MMA News.

Procházka: I’d Accept A Top-5 Opponent If Title Fight Will Be A Long Wait

Despite targeting a title crowning in his next outing, UFC light heavyweight contender Ji?í Procházka is willing to face another top five first if he’s facing a lengthy wait for Glover Teixeira to be ready.

Not many promotional newcomers have broke…

Ji?í Procházka

Despite targeting a title crowning in his next outing, UFC light heavyweight contender Ji?í Procházka is willing to face another top five first if he’s facing a lengthy wait for Glover Teixeira to be ready.

Not many promotional newcomers have broken onto the scene in as impactful and brutal a way as Procházka. The Czech powerhouse arrived on MMA’s biggest stage in 2020 off the back of a successful career across the Pacific. Prior to UFC 251, “Denisa” had built a 26-3-1 record that included 23 knockouts and championship glory in Japan’s Rizin promotion.

Continuing his KO tendency, Procházka sent top-10 light heavyweight contender Volkan Oezdemir to sleep in his debut last July. After securing a bonus in his first appearance, the 29-year-old added a further two in his second. Against former title challenger Dominick Reyes, Procházka recorded one of the knockouts of the year as he rendered “The Devastator” unconscious with a vicious spinning back elbow.

Procházka Looks To Avoid Lengthy Period Of Inactivity

After weighing in as a backup for the UFC 267 main event last month, Procházka is expected to be the first challenger to Teixeira’s reign. The Brazilian defeated Procházka’s fellow European Jan Blachowicz to become the second oldest champion in UFC history.

In an interview with SCMP MMA prior to the Abu Dhabi-held event, Procházka discussed what the next steps would be once his services weren’t required on October 30. The Czech star made it clear the light heavyweight belt is his primary target.

“My plan is for my manager to spoke about, with the UFC, about my next fight. I want to fight when the title will be ready.”

However, Procházka also suggested he’d be willing to contest a title eliminator should the champion require a lengthy spell on the sidelines. Given Teixeira’s shoulder injury and targeted April/May 2022 timeframe, “Denisa” could well find himself in action once more before staking his claim for the 205-pound throne.

“If there will be a long time to wait for the title chance, maybe I will take somebody around, from the top five. But, everybody knows about me, and in the UFC they spoke about me and my title chance. So, I don’t wanna think about it more. I just wanna know, ‘Okay, you have a fight. Just be ready, be prepared.’ I don’t want to speak about that and just talking. I just want to fight some logic(al) fight; what is good for me, and that’s all.”

If Procházka’s third walk to the Octagon is to face another contender, the logical opponent will be Aleksandar Raki?. The Austrian boasts a 6-1 UFC record. His only defeat in the promotion was a controversial decision loss to Oezdemir, a result most fans and pundits disagreed with.

After entering the division’s top three with a win against Thiago Santos earlier this year, “Rocket” has repeatedly called for a number one contender’s clash with Procházka. Raki? even recently claimed he’d been offered the matchup by the UFC, suggesting his fellow European must have turned down the clash. “Denisa” responded by branding the #3-ranked contender a “liar.”

Would you rather see Ji?í Procházka fight for the belt next or face Aleksandar Raki? in a title eliminator?

Continue Reading Procházka: I’d Accept A Top-5 Opponent If Title Fight Will Be A Long Wait at MMA News.

Petr Yan is the Best Boxer in the UFC – Dustin Poirier

Petr YanUFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier thinks former bantamweight champion Petr Yan has the best boxing in the promotion today. Poirier is just weeks away from his UFC 269 with lightweight champion Charles Oliveira and stopped by The MMA Hour to preview the matchup. He also took the time to praise Yan for his recent work […]

Petr Yan

UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier thinks former bantamweight champion Petr Yan has the best boxing in the promotion today.

Poirier is just weeks away from his UFC 269 with lightweight champion Charles Oliveira and stopped by The MMA Hour to preview the matchup. He also took the time to praise Yan for his recent work in the octagon and thinks the Russian has better striking than Max Holloway, among others.

Holloway has claimed that he has the best boxing in the UFC, but Poirier disagrees and thinks Yan doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Yan most recently defeated Cory Sandhagen at UFC 267 for the interim bantamweight title.

Ahead of his anticipated rematch with Aljamain Sterling, Poirier gave Yan the title of best boxer in the UFC.

Dustin Poirier Cites Petr Yan’s Movement, Footwork As Reason For Him Being the Best Boxer

“I think Petr Yan,” Poirier told The MMA Hour when asked who the best UFC boxer is. “Just the way he moves. He doesn’t waste a lot of movements. His positioning is always crisp. He’s never out of position. He doesn’t load up while he’s throwing clean power shots. Good accuracy works the body well, goes up, goes down. It’s just a lot of things that he does really, really well.”

Yan rose to the top of the bantamweight division by earning back-to-back knockouts over the likes of Jose Aldo and Urijah Faber. He was dominating his first bout with Sterling before the fight was controversially stopped due to an illegal knee late in the fight.

But, Yan will have the opportunity to not only seek revenge against Sterling but to earn UFC gold and prove why he’s one of the most feared strikers in the UFC.

Do you agree with Dustin Poirier that Petr Yan is the best boxer in the UFC?

Chris Weidman Fires Back At ‘Dirtbag’ Conor McGregor

Chris Weidman has gone in on Conor McGregor following his leg break meme.

Conor McGregor seems to have made another enemy in Chris Weidman. Recently McGregor posted a meme of himself, Weidman, and Anderson Silva all with broken legs. The nature of…

Conor McGregor Chris Weidman

Chris Weidman has gone in on Conor McGregor following his leg break meme.

Conor McGregor seems to have made another enemy in Chris Weidman. Recently McGregor posted a meme of himself, Weidman, and Anderson Silva all with broken legs. The nature of the photo was suggesting that McGregor has been tougher through his rehab from his leg break than the other two men. Weidman took his frustration with McGregor out in his Won’t Back Down Podcast. (h/t Sportskeeda).

“He just put up some meme thing, I guess, you know,” Weidman said. “It’s a picture of me face down after I broke my leg, Anderson Silva with him screaming in pain when he broke his leg, and then it’s a picture of Conor McGregor. His leg’s broken. He’s talking to Joe Rogan. And he writes something like, ‘It’s not about what happens to you in life. It’s about how you deal with it moving forward.’ And it’s kind of like a slap in the face to me and Anderson Silva, like he handled pain and adversity in that moment better than we did.”

Weidman didn’t just stop at the attack on himself. He aired his frustrations with McGregor as a whole. Weidman was unhappy with the way McGregor has been acting and the way he verbally disrespected the families of his opponents such as Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier.

“I think you summed that up perfect. I just don’t know, like, you’ve got kids. You’ve got people who look up to you. How do you explain this to your kids? The way you acted, you know, punching this old guy in the face, then the DJ; it doesn’t stop. ‘Oh, I’m sorry to this guy. Then I’m sorry to that guy,” Weidman said. “You know, then I’m saying this about Khabib’s dad and Khabib’s mom and then this about Poirier’s wife.’ He has gone as low as you could possibly go – When it comes to dirtbag status, just the lowest of the low.”

Weidman suffered his broken leg back in April and has undergone surgeries to correct it. He is healing up and does not have a timeline yet as to when he can return to the UFC.

Do you agree with Chris Weidman’s assessment of Conor McGregor as a person?

Continue Reading Chris Weidman Fires Back At ‘Dirtbag’ Conor McGregor at MMA News.

REPORT | Thiago Santos Vs. Magomed Ankalev In The Works

Thiago SantosA UFC light heavyweight clash between Thiago Santos and Magomed Ankalaev has been targeted to headline a March UFC Fight Night. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was among the first to report the Santos/Ankalaev matchup that is in the works for March 12. Both men are looking to get back in the light heavyweight title picture as […]

Thiago Santos

A UFC light heavyweight clash between Thiago Santos and Magomed Ankalaev has been targeted to headline a March UFC Fight Night.

ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was among the first to report the Santos/Ankalaev matchup that is in the works for March 12. Both men are looking to get back in the light heavyweight title picture as Glover Teixeira will more than likely defend his belt against Jiri Prochazka next.

Santos is coming off arguably a less-than-thrilling win over Johnny Walker in October. He earned the unanimous decision win despite the fight being a bit lackadaisical in terms of volume, especially in the later rounds. Santos snapped a three-fight losing streak to Glover Teixeira, Jon Jones, and Aleksandar Rakic.

Ankalaev is one of the hottest light heavyweight prospects in recent years and is coming off of his dominant win over Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 267. He’s won seven fights in a row against the likes of Ion Cutelaba and Nikita Krylov and will finally get his main event opportunity against Santos.

Thiago Santos and Magomed Ankalaev Are Both In The Running For A Shot at The Title

Santos and Ankalaev promise fireworks in the Octagon. Both like to push forward and push the pace on their opponents, a matchup that will certainly entice fans of the light heavyweight division.

An impressive performance by either man could result in potentially earning the next title shot at 205 pounds. Santos has fought for the belt once, while Ankalaev is still awaiting a chance at UFC gold.

In his last win over Walker, Santos made it clear that he wants another shot at the belt sooner rather than later. A win over an impressive prospect like Ankalaev could give him the opportunity to do so.

What is your early prediction for the rumored Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev fight?

Justin Gaethje Warns Islam Makhachev That ‘F—king War Is Coming’

Justin Gaethje knows a fight with Islam Makhachev is coming in the future, and he has a message for the Dagestani.

Gaethje has had his eyes on Makhachev for a while, but things have really heated up between the two, after Daniel Cormier suggested t…

Justin Gaethje Islam Makhachev

Justin Gaethje knows a fight with Islam Makhachev is coming in the future, and he has a message for the Dagestani.

Gaethje has had his eyes on Makhachev for a while, but things have really heated up between the two, after Daniel Cormier suggested that Makhachev should jump the line for the next title shot, over the winner of Gaethje’s UFC 269 war with Michael Chandler. This has since developed into a back and forth with the Khabib protégé, as well as the former champ himself.

Gaethje is convinced at the point, that he has done enough to earn the title shot, lest the UFC does something that he would consider to be unethical. However, speaking with MMAFighting, he made it clear that he knows that there is a solid chance of him fighting Makhachev someday, sending a warning to the lightweight prospect.

“I’ll let him go first if he gets his spot. I’ll beat one of these guys (Poirier or Oliveira) and then I’ll let him go first. Fuck yeah, I’m looking forward to that. War’s coming. He wants to know one thing, fucking war is coming, so bring it,” Gaethje said.

By all accounts, it seems likely that the UFC will book Justin Gaethje against the winner of next month’s lightweight title fight between Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier, especially given how exciting his fight with Chandler was. Knocking at the door just behind him, though, is most likely Islam Makhachev, so it is nice to see that Gaethje is not intimidated by the mystique surrounding the highly touted prospect.

Watch the full interview with Justin Gaethje in the video below:

Continue Reading Justin Gaethje Warns Islam Makhachev That ‘F—king War Is Coming’ at MMA News.