Jon Jones and Rashad Evans Were Never Really That Close, or Were They?
MMA is different than other sports, particularly as it relates to competing against friends. Sure, tackling and blocking is the kind of aggressive thing you don't normally do to a friend, much less an acquaintance. But trying to knock someone out or break their arm is a totally different deal. Therefore, it's always interesting when two fighters who were supposedly friends choose to fight. Oftentimes one seems to think that they were closer than the other one did. Remember the whole Tito Ortiz-Chuck Liddell saga? Well, in the case of the upcoming UFC 145 main event between UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and former champ Rashad Evans, we know two things: First, Jones agreed to fight Evans while in the cage pretty quickly. Second, Jones has gone on record indicating that the two were never really that close, even if Evans seemed to think they'd already decided not to fight one another.
"We were never really that close," Jones told Ultimate Insider host Jon Anik a ways back. "We had moments when we would talk about our families and relationships and being a pro athlete and how to stay away from certain things, how to go about certain things, we had those talks. We never got to the point where we were like brothers. We both kind of knew that we would compete against one another one day. It was what it was, and we just tried to handle it the best we could."
Regardless, the extreme bad blood would seem to indicate that either Jones is understating things, Evans felt vastly different, or the media circus following this whole saga has done a good job of manufacturing a feud between the two. Probably some combination of all of these factors.
Can't wait to find out how/if Evans can use his knowledge of Jones in training to his advantage. What we do know for certain is that emotions will play a role in the outcome of this fight.
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Fabricio Werdum Defeats Roy Nelson By Unanimous Decision
High level black belts in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu aren't all that easy to find, but that's exactly what both Fabricio Werdum and Roy "Big Country" Nelson are. So the fact that both engaged in a fight at UFC 143 had a lot of people interested. Read More...
Edwin Figueroa Defeats Alex Caceres By Split Decision
Alex Caceres, also know as Bruce Leroy, was an interesting fighter during his stint on The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck. That said, he hadn't had a ton of success in the UFC, prompting a decision to move to the bantamweight division for his most recent bout (a win). Edwin Figueroa planned on sending a message to him during their UFC 143 contest. Read More...
Karate Fighter Stephen Thompson Defeats Dan Stittgen By KO
The hype coming into Wonderboy's UFC debut was certainly noticeable. The bottom line is that entering his UFC 143 bout against Dan Stittgen, Stephen Thompson brought a 57-0 kickboxing record and a 5-0 MMA record. Combined with the fact that he also trains with Georges St. Pierre, people were thinking that the karate champion would impress. Then again, how many times had we been disappointed by a guy making his UFC debut?
Not this time, folks. Read More...
Chris Weidman Defeats Demian Maia By Split Decision
Demian Maia is one of the great Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioners in the world today. Chris Weidman wants to make a name for himself. Who would win their UFC on FOX 2 match up?
Get ready, get set, go! Read More...
Mike Russow Defeats John Olav-Einemo By Unanimous Decision
Mike Russow once took more punishment against Todd Duffee than most people see in three fights, only to come back and knock him out. Then again, John Olav Einemo is a really big guy with really great Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Who would win their UFC on FOX 2 fight?
Keep reading to find out.
Read More...George Roop Defeats Cub Swanson by TKO
Coming into their UFC on FOX 2 bout, George Roop was considered one of the tallest featherweight fighters in the world. Cub Swanson wasn't, but that didn't necessarily make him any less tough. Here's how their fight went down.
Early in round one, Swanson landed a mild low kick. Read More...
Brock Lesnar Was an MMA Fighter
We're now one major UFC event removed from UFC 141; but let's take a trip back to that time. After Alistair Overeem defeated former WWE star Brock Lesnar and sent him into retirement, well, the haters came out in droves. Many made it sound like Lesnar had been a poor MMA fighter from the outset, perhaps that he was never even an MMA fighter to begin with. Bologna. The fact is that Lesnar accomplished some amazing things in MMA during his short stint in the sport. He was every bit an MMA fighter.
It's easy to forget that Lesnar defeated former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir, MMA legend Randy Couture, top contender Shane Carwin, and former PRIDE fighter Heath Herring. When it comes to Mir and Herring, he did so easily. How many heavyweights can defeat either of those two guys? That's right- you're probably counting on one, maybe one and a half hands now :).
Many point to Lesnar's last three fights, all of which he looked pretty bad on his feet in. Yep, Lesnar was not a very good striker. That said, he did hurt both Herring and Couture on his feet. Besides, that doesn't really matter, does it? Is Lesnar the first fighter to ever be successful with limited striking skills? Matt Hughes, anyone?
Finally, it would seem important to note that Lesnar's least impressive appearances in the Octagon were after his diverticulitis issues started. This is a guy that went through something which would've ended most people's careers in a heartbeat. Yet he still demonstrated enough heart to try three more fights. And finally, his entire career can be summed up in only eight professional bouts. Amazing.
Brock did not prove that professional wrestlers can make the transition to MMA. All he did was reaffirm that a former national champion wrestler could. Was he one of the best of all-time? Not even close. But Lesnar was impressive during his short stint. He wasn't a circus show; he was an MMA fighter.
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Ben Henderson Thinks His Boxing is Better Than Frank Edgar's
Coming into his UFC 144 encounter against UFC Lightweight Champion Frank Edgar, Ben Henderson believes he holds advantages in several areas of fighting. One of these is in boxing, one of Edgar's perceived strengths.
"I think I can hold an advantage in a lot of places, where ever I take it," Henderson told MMAWeekly.com. "I think my boxing's a little bit better than his. I haven't really showcased that in a fight yet in the Octagon. I think my kickboxing is better, I think my Muay Thai is better, I think my wrestling is better, I think my jiu-jitsu is better. If I can put it all together and perform well when the lights are on and when it's time to actually perform, I think I definitely hold the edge."
Henderson is an excellent athlete. But Edgar made MMA legend BJ Penn look less than adequate on two separate occasions due to his pugilistic skills. Ask Gray Maynard- the guy has stick and move written all over him.
A better boxer? Hmmmm......don't know about that one.
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UFC on FOX 2 Fight Card
The UFC on FOX 2 will come to us all live on January 28, 2012, from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The main event between Rashad Evans and Phil Davis should be a good one, but just as many people are stoked about the Chael Sonnen-Michael Bisping encounter. Check out the entire fight card below.
UFC on FOX 2 Fight Card
Chael Sonnen vs. Michael Bisping
Johnny Bedford vs. Mitch Gagnon
Shane Roller vs. Michael Johnson
Jon Olav Einemo vs. Mike Russow
Charles Oliveira vs. Eric Wisely