Tag: UFC

‘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 […]

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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 […]

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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.”

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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. […]

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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.

Israel Adesanya Makes His Pick For Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic At UFC 309

Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya believes this weekend’s curtain-closer between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic will reach a conclusion well inside the five-round distance. Jones and Miocic have renewed hostilities a year on from their first failed attempt at sharing the cage. That bout set for Madison Square Garden fell through owing to an […]

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Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya believes this weekend’s curtain-closer between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic will reach a conclusion well inside the five-round distance.

Jones and Miocic have renewed hostilities a year on from their first failed attempt at sharing the cage. That bout set for Madison Square Garden fell through owing to an injury on the side of the heavyweight kingpin.

And despite that setting the stage for Tom Aspinall to achieve interim champ status, the title won’t be unified next, as “Bones” has instead kept his sights on welcoming Miocic back to the Octagon after a near-four-year layoff.

Given the veteran’s age and lengthy stint on the sidelines, which followed a brutal knockout loss to Francis Ngannou, not many are giving the Ohio native a chance of ripping the gold from Jones’ grasp at UFC 309.

And that includes a man who hasn’t always seen eye-to-eye with the Rochester native…

During a video recently uploaded to his FREESTYLEBENDER YouTube channel, Adesanya provided a brief breakdown of both UFC 309 headliners before making his prediction.

While “The Last Stylebender” praised Miocic’s toughness and past stints with the heavyweight crown in his possession, he went as far as to suggest that a victory for the challenger would mark the “biggest upset” the Octagon has seen.

“Jones lately looks better at heavyweight already. He’s been taking it seriously,” Adesanya said. “The Ciryl Gane fight was the one that made me go, ‘Yeah, he’s the best.’ I thought Ciryl Gane was going to give him some trouble, and Ciryl was the new-age heavyweight. Jones was like, ‘Hold on there.’ … The guy’s just crafty, creative with what he does.

“But with Stipe, Stipe is tough. He can outwork a lot of heavyweights. You’ve seen what he’s done in the past, you’ve seen his reign as a heavyweight. … But in this fight, man, I think he’s up against it,” Adesanya continued. “I’m going to pick Jon Jones….first two rounds, he’s going to finish him. … If Stipe gets it done, it will be the biggest upset in UFC history.”

Miocic will look to prove Adesanya wrong and deliver a major shock in “The Big Apple.”

In doing so, he’d likely return to the heavyweight throne in an even more shocking fashion than his redemption against Daniel Cormier back in 2019.

Continue Reading Israel Adesanya Makes His Pick For Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic At UFC 309 at MMA News.

Jon Jones Recalls ‘Humbling’ Experience Training With Top Heavyweight Boxer In His UFC 309 Camp

It has been a reoccurring theme throughout Jon Jones’ career that he always looks to bring in some of the best specialists in their fields to train with him. This has been no different ahead of his long awaited return at UFC 309 this Saturday night. Fans have already seen how “Bones” has been working […]

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It has been a reoccurring theme throughout Jon Jones’ career that he always looks to bring in some of the best specialists in their fields to train with him. This has been no different ahead of his long awaited return at UFC 309 this Saturday night.

Fans have already seen how “Bones” has been working alongside one of the best jiu-jitsu competitors and wrestlers around right now by added Gable Steveson and Gordon Ryan to his close knit team. Over a month out from his first heavyweight title defense, Jones was also seen getting some training in one of the top heavyweight boxers around right now.

New Zealand’s Joseph Parker is coming off of his two most impressive wins to date with victories over Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang. Jones was incredibly impressed by the in-form competitor, as he spoke about during a recent interview with Fox Sports New Zealand.

“He’s so disciplined and so dedicated. Literally every day he was here, he was just trying to figure out ways to get better, his diet, his worth ethic. He’s just so humble like he was willing to learn from anyone around and you would imagine a person that’s fought at the level he’s fought would have a little bit of pride and a little bit of ego and man, he was just abnormally kind and I’m really grateful to call him a friend.”

Given that his upcoming opponent, Stipe Miocic, is known for his boxing skills, working alongside someone as high level as Parker is sure to have been a great experience for Jones heading into Madison Square Garden on November 16. He reflected on what he was able to gain from the time they spent together.

“Well it was very humbling to try to box with him. He’s just so powerful and so tight in his position and his technique. He gave me some great pointers. I don’t want to get into it in depth because a lot that he taught me, I’ll be trying to implement in my next fight but we both have many years of training experience and to collaborate and to learn different training methods from him was really nice, him and his coach [George] Lockhart.”

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Charles Oliveira Doubts Michael Chandler Has Changed Since First Fight: ‘He Can’t Help But Be Himself’

Former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira expects to come up against the same Michael Chandler that he did back in 2021 this weekend. Oliveira is gearing up for his second assignment of the year, as he looks to immediately bounce back from his narrow split decision setback opposite Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300 this past […]

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Former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira expects to come up against the same Michael Chandler that he did back in 2021 this weekend.

Oliveira is gearing up for his second assignment of the year, as he looks to immediately bounce back from his narrow split decision setback opposite Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300 this past April.

To do so, “Do Bronx” is tasked with repeating a feat he achieved back in May 2021 — beat Chandler.

The former Bellator champion hasn’t competed in the two years since his loss to Dustin Poirier at Madison Square Garden. And following a failed wait to fight Conor McGregor, “Iron” gets his chance for redemption against Oliveira back at MSG.

Ahead of the pair’s second clash at UFC 309, Chandler has waxed lyrical about his evolution as a fighter since being the victim of a come-from-behind knockout against the Brazilian.

Oliveira, though, isn’t convinced.

During a recent fight week interview with ESPN MMA, Oliveira reacted to Chandler’s claims regarding his improvements as a competitor since their first showdown three and a half years ago.

“Do Bronx” was firm in stating that Chandler doesn’t have it in him to change his aggressive, forward-pressing style. With that in mind, he’s anticipating a similar opening frame burst from the 38-year-old.

“All you have to do is watch his fights, that’s who he is. He’s always aggressive, he’s always going to go forward. He can’t help but be himself,” Oliveira said. “It’s like saying, ‘Charles is going to back down, or walk backwards.’ I am never, I am going to always push forward. That’s who (Chandler) is always going to be. Always very explosive, always very aggressive, a guy who’s got a very strong first round.”

At UFC 262, Chandler’s fast start almost paid off. He had Oliveira badly hurt and appeared just seconds away from closing the show on more than one occasion.

But after “Do Bronx” survived to hear the first horn, a perfectly timed left hook early in the second round caught Chandler and set up the shock finish — something the former champ will now hope to repeat in New York City this Saturday night.

Continue Reading Charles Oliveira Doubts Michael Chandler Has Changed Since First Fight: ‘He Can’t Help But Be Himself’ at MMA News.