Tag: UFC

Dana White Says Jon Jones’ Next UFC Fight Will Be vs. Tom Aspinall, Not Alex Pereira

If Jon Jones successfully defends his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 and wants to continue fighting in UFC, then his next matchup will be…

If Jon Jones successfully defends his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 and wants to continue fighting in UFC, then his next matchup will be…

UFC 309: Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic Press Conference Live Stream

We’re deep into UFC 309 fight week, meaning it’s time for the fighters set to be in action on November 16 to take to the stage and answer some questions. The MMA leader’s latest numbered event takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York City, where the main attraction will see UFC Heavyweight Champion […]

Continue Reading UFC 309: Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic Press Conference Live Stream at MMA News.

We’re deep into UFC 309 fight week, meaning it’s time for the fighters set to be in action on November 16 to take to the stage and answer some questions.

The MMA leader’s latest numbered event takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York City, where the main attraction will see UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones put his belt on the line against Stipe Miocic.

Setting the stage for the UFC 309 headliners will be a crucial five-round contest at 155 pounds, with former kingpin Charles Oliveira looking to repeat his 2021 victory over Michael Chandler in their highly anticipated rematch.

Also on pay-per-view will be rising middleweight prospect Bo Nickal, who gets his toughest test to date in formerly ranked submission specialist Paul Craig. That’s in addition to surging flyweight Karine Silva, who looks to keep climbing the ladder toward Valentina Shevchenko’s gold at the expense of her fellow countrywoman Viviane Araujo.

The UFC 309 main card will open with the always entertaining Mauricio Ruffy making his second walk to the Octagon. The Fighting Nerds standout will look to continue his winning start to life in the UFC against late-notice replacement James Llontop.

As is customary during major fight weeks, the athletes will take to the stage on Thursday for the pre-fight press conference.

Check out a live stream of the presser below via the UFC’s official YouTube channel, commencing at 5 PM ET.

Continue Reading UFC 309: Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic Press Conference Live Stream at MMA News.

UFC 309: Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic Press Conference Highlights & Faceoffs

We’re deep into UFC 309 fight week, meaning it was recently time for the fighters set to be in action on November 16 to take to the stage and answer some questions. The MMA leader’s latest numbered event takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York City, where the main attraction will see UFC […]

We’re deep into UFC 309 fight week, meaning it was recently time for the fighters set to be in action on November 16 to take to the stage and answer some questions.

The MMA leader’s latest numbered event takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York City, where the main attraction will see UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones put his belt on the line against Stipe Miocic.

Setting the stage for the UFC 309 headliners will be a crucial five-round contest at 155 pounds, with former kingpin Charles Oliveira looking to repeat his 2021 victory over Michael Chandler in their highly anticipated rematch.

Also on pay-per-view will be rising middleweight prospect Bo Nickal, who gets his toughest test to date in formerly ranked submission specialist Paul Craig. That’s in addition to surging flyweight Karine Silva, who looks to keep climbing the ladder toward Valentina Shevchenko’s gold at the expense of her fellow countrywoman Viviane Araujo.

The UFC 309 main card will open with the always entertaining Mauricio Ruffy making his second walk to the Octagon. The Fighting Nerds standout will look to continue his winning start to life in the UFC against late-notice replacement James Llontop.

As is customary during major fight weeks, the athletes took to the stage on Thursday for the pre-fight press conference.

Check out a replay of the presser below via the UFC’s official YouTube channel, followed by all the highlights and faceoffs.

UFC 309 Press Conference Highlights

UFC 309 Press Conference Faceoffs

‘This Is The Biggest Duck Of All Time’ – Fans React As Jon Jones Adds Size To List Of Excuses For Not Fighting Tom Aspinall 

UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones is continuing to come under fire for attempting to justify avoiding a title unification fight with Tom Aspinall. Jones is fast approaching his first defense of the heavyweight crown, which he captured in his divisional debut last year by submitting Ciryl Gane in one round. He was quickly penciled in […]

Continue Reading ‘This Is The Biggest Duck Of All Time’ – Fans React As Jon Jones Adds Size To List Of Excuses For Not Fighting Tom Aspinall  at MMA News.

UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones is continuing to come under fire for attempting to justify avoiding a title unification fight with Tom Aspinall.

Jones is fast approaching his first defense of the heavyweight crown, which he captured in his divisional debut last year by submitting Ciryl Gane in one round. He was quickly penciled in to next face Stipe Miocic.

Their planned showdown at Madison Square Garden last November fell through, however, due to an injury on the side of “Bones,” and Tom Aspinall subsequently became interim champ as a result.

Despite the presence of another titleholder, though, Jones has remained steadfast in his desire to face Miocic next instead of unifying the belt. With that, he’ll give making the walk inside MSG to square off with the returning legend a second chance this weekend at UFC 309.

Even beyond that, Aspinall remains an opponent whom the Rochester native is looking to avoid. The champ has expressed a number of reasons for not fighting the Brit this year, from a potential retirement and lack of enthusiasm about the interim king’s record to his desire to face Alex Pereira instead.

And Jones’ list of excuses has expanded in fight week. After suggesting he could vacate the title post-UFC 309 to fight the likes of Jamahal Hill, the former light heavyweight champ said he’s looking to fight athletes close to his size.

It’s worth noting that Jones spent three years on the sidelines to bulk up and prepare for his stint at heavyweight, weighing in at 248 pounds for his divisional debut. That’s just three pounds lighter than Aspinall hit the scales at before knocking out Curtis Blaydes this past July.

Jones’ latest remarks drew plenty of backlash on social media, not least due to the fact his remark on size came during the same media scrum in which he pointed to Derrick Lewis as a “super fight” he could pursue.

The common theme among commenters was the “ducking” accusation that has followed Jones throughout UFC 309 fight week.

Continue Reading ‘This Is The Biggest Duck Of All Time’ – Fans React As Jon Jones Adds Size To List Of Excuses For Not Fighting Tom Aspinall  at MMA News.

Kamaru Usman Eliminates Himself As An Option For Shavkat Rakhmonov At UFC 310

When Belal Muhammed announced that he had withdrawn from the first defense of his welterweight title at UFC 310, a lot of fight fans quickly came to the same conclusion. In the hopes of keeping Shavkat Rakhmonov on the card, a replacement opponent would need to be found for what would likely be an interim […]

Continue Reading Kamaru Usman Eliminates Himself As An Option For Shavkat Rakhmonov At UFC 310 at MMA News.

When Belal Muhammed announced that he had withdrawn from the first defense of his welterweight title at UFC 310, a lot of fight fans quickly came to the same conclusion. In the hopes of keeping Shavkat Rakhmonov on the card, a replacement opponent would need to be found for what would likely be an interim title fight.

Rakhmonov pushed for this and like many people online, he wanted to face the former champion of the division in Kamaru Usman. “The Nigerian Nightmare” may be winless in his last three but his reign as the welterweight champion still gives him lots of pedigree at 170-pounds.

The fight got everyone excited for December 7 but it unfortunately doesn’t look like we will get to see this match-up take place in Las Vegas. Usman spoke about the fight during a recent episode of his Pound 4 Pound podcast alongside Henry Cejudo.

He said that fighting the undefeated Rakhmonov is something that greatly interests him but without giving away any clear reason why, he said that stepping inside the Octagon in just a few weeks doesn’t look like it’ll be an option for him. This leaves very few options for potential replacements meaning that the UFC’s final PPV card of 2024 could be down to one title fight as Alexandre Pantoja defends his flyweight belt against the debuting Kai Asakura.

“To be honest, it’s a fight that I’ve looked at and it’s definitely a very, very winnable fight and I know that I can, of all people, go out there and expose what hasn’t been exposed in a young, hungry, streaky guy in Shavkat Rakhmonov. He’s very talented, he’s very good but I do see the holes and I think that I can exploit that when that time is right but December 7 might be a little too early for that time.”

Continue Reading Kamaru Usman Eliminates Himself As An Option For Shavkat Rakhmonov At UFC 310 at MMA News.

VIDEO: Jon Jones Walks Out Of UFC 309 Interview With UK Broadcaster To Avoid ‘Aspinall Fest’

The main event of UFC 309 features the consensus greatest of all time facing the best heavyweight we have seen inside the Octagon for the title in a bout that is over a year in the making. Yet, a lot of the talk during fight week has been about a third man in the picture. […]

Continue Reading VIDEO: Jon Jones Walks Out Of UFC 309 Interview With UK Broadcaster To Avoid ‘Aspinall Fest’ at MMA News.

The main event of UFC 309 features the consensus greatest of all time facing the best heavyweight we have seen inside the Octagon for the title in a bout that is over a year in the making. Yet, a lot of the talk during fight week has been about a third man in the picture.

Though the challenger, Stipe Miocic, has been his usual self all throughout the build up and is only focused on his upcoming clash with Jon Jones after their fight was rescheduled from UFC 295 last year, the narrative surrounding Jones and interim champion Tom Aspinall has dominated the headlines and key talking points.

Jones has faced some criticism over claims he is ducking Aspinall, whom many believe to be the toughest test out there right now and the rightful next opponent for “Bones.” The Rochester native has responded with some criticism of his own that has only led to more drama and discussion.

A video that was posted on social media by TNT Sports, which is the UK broadcaster of the UFC, showed how the Jones and Aspinall tension seemingly isn’t just for the cameras. Jones was carrying out his usual run of media duties as he walked into a room ready to be interviewed by the broadcaster’s team.

With the fight being shown on TNT Sports PPV and the return of the GOAT being the key draw, it’s not surprising that they would want to get some time with the champion ahead of Saturday night.

The clip shows that before Jones sat down, he declined to take part in the interview, telling his team that he didn’t want to do it because of the potential questions that he would be asked.

“Hey, I’m not going to do this interview, you know, because it’s going to be an Aspinall fest. I’m not doing it.”

The video also shows a quick interaction between Jones and the interviewer, TNT Sports’ Adam Catterall. Jones explained that his connection to Aspinall is why he refused to sit down and chat.

“Hey bro, nothing personal. I see how close you guys are, common sense tells me what type of questions I’m going to get asked.”

Catterall responded before the short clip cuts off with Jones walking down the hallway.

“You’re entitled to speak to speak to who you want to speak to.”

Where things get slightly more confusing is that TNT Sports did in fact put up an interview with Jones. At the start of the video, this footage is shown, and after his brief interaction with Catterall, he walks right into another interview with the broadcaster’s other presenter, Nick Peet.

Peet is also close with Aspinall but the two sit down for a full interview, which has led to some pondering if this was a social media bit rather than a legitimate interaction. That isn’t 100 percent clear at this time.

Continue Reading VIDEO: Jon Jones Walks Out Of UFC 309 Interview With UK Broadcaster To Avoid ‘Aspinall Fest’ at MMA News.