Mixed Martial Arts

[Guiness]

Ovince Saint Preux replaces Daniel Cormier at UFC 197

 

Jon Jones will still compete at UFC 197 this month, as the former light heavyweight champion is now scheduled to fight Ovince Saint Preux for the UFC's interim title.

UFC president Dana White announced the matchup on SportsCenter. Jones, 28, was originally scheduled to fight defending champion Daniel Cormier on April 23 at MGM Grand Garden Arena, but Cormier recently withdrew because of a lower leg injury.

 

Jones (21-1) hasn't fought since he defeated Cormier via unanimous decision at UFC 182 in January 2015. The victory marked Jones' eighth consecutive title defense, a record for the 205-pound division.

He was scheduled to defend the title against Anthony Johnson in May but was arrested one month before the fight on a felony hit-and-run charge in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The UFC stripped Jones of the title shortly after his arrest. Jones eventually entered a plea agreement on the case and was sentenced to 18 months supervised probation.

Once Cormier withdrew from the event, the UFC initially turned to Johnson (21-1) as a replacement, but Johnson was unable to accept due to a recent medical procedure.

"Obviously, the No. 1 choice would be Anthony Johnson, who is the No. 2-ranked guy in the world and a fight that everybody wants to see," White said. "But Anthony Johnson just had surgery on his mouth and can't even put a mouthpiece in for at least three weeks."

That opened the door for Saint Preux (19-7), who is 7-2 in the UFC. A former college football player at Tennessee, Saint Preux, 32, is coming off a decision win over Rafael Cavalcante in February. He trains out of Knoxville, Tennessee.

Although Saint Preux doesn't carry the same history with Jones as Cormier, he is the UFC's sixth-ranked fighter in the weight class.

"The one thing we've learned in the 16 years in this business is you never know what's going to happen," White said. "Anything is possible when two guys get in there. Jon Jones and OSP have never faced off before. No. 1 versus No. 6. Two big, strong, athletic, explosive guys. Anything is possible."

Cormier (17-1) won the official title by submitting Johnson at UFC 187. He has recorded one successful defense, a split decision against Alexander Gustafsson in October.

In a statement to ESPN, Cormier said his recovery time is estimated at four to six weeks.

"The decision not to fight on April 23 was one of the hardest decisions I've had to make," Cormier said. "I've been scheduled to fight 18 times, and I have made that walk every time. I want to apologize to Jon Jones, Lorenzo Fertitta, Dana White and all of the UFC fans for not being able to defend my title.

"The recovery should not take very long, and I can't wait to compete and defend my title again. For all the fans, thanks for your support. I appreciate each and every one of you."

Unfortunately for Cormier, his inability to fight Jones will lead to him losing his belt. White explained on SportsCenter the decision to make Jones-Saint Preux an interim title fight.

"Thing is, Jon has never lost his title in the Octagon," White said. "He was stripped of his title because of problems outside. We think it's the right thing to do. It's not his fault that Cormier is injured so. He will fight for the interim light heavyweight title. When Cormier comes back, they'll decide who the real champ is."

[Guiness]

Video of Jon Jones being stopped by the police officer for Drag Racing which Jon objects to, strongly. I thought the cop was being an a-hole giving sarcastic remarks and harrassing him. Hate these types of people who think because they can, they will give you s@%t without a reasonable reason other than just being a cop they want to dump on you.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HrtXOM295M

 

 

 

 

This is the probation hearing of Jones after he spent 3 days in jail for violating his parole after he got a citation for a traffic violation where he issues a plea agreement for a curfew because of the traffic incident. It looks like the judge was easier on him and allowed him to continue his training for the upcoming fight this month with OSP

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5No9zYLE9OU

Edited April 3, 2016 by hahnz

[theluffy99]

nope. jon jones vs ovince st preux for interim lhw championship. main event at ufc 197. my guess is, if jon jones wins this fight, uninjured and dc recovers from his injury, jon jones vs dc for ufc 200 main event, coz its still 3 months away. ufc 200 isnt as appealing to me, a fight with 2 rematches and just 1 title fight, i thought it was going to be 3.

Jones would have more to lose than OSP. Damn AKA stop with your injury prone training!

[Alex2003]

Jones will ne the underdog because he in not mentally fit for the upcoming fight.

[Guiness]

Jose Aldo: Interim belt 'means nothing,' UFC 200 is 'first step towards' undisputed title

Capturing the UFC interim featherweight championship at UFC 200 in July means nothing to ex-undisputed titleholder Jose Aldo.

 

Former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo will rematch Frankie Edgar with the interim 145-pound championship on the line at the UFC 200 mega-show later this year, while current champ Conor McGregor will square off with Nate Diaz a second time in a non-title welterweight bout.

As expected, the Brazilian isn't too fond of the Diaz vs. McGregor rematch, as the first fight occurred less than a month ago and didn't involve any controversy.

"He will be fighting at the same night in a different division, in a rematch that means nothing," Aldo said during a recent media scrum in Rio de Janeiro (via MMAFighting.com). "We asked for a rematch. For everything I’ve done, all the years as champion, I deserved a rematch, but what can I do? I had to accept. We’re not the ones making the call. We’ll go there and win. I respect Frankie Edgar, but it’s our first step towards the belt.

"It’s a bit frustrating, of course, because we expected the title fight, but it’s kind of what they said they would do, that we would fight Frankie Edgar for the belt, but it’s not the undisputed belt. But what can I do? We’re hired to go there and fight."

Aldo held the undisputed belt for years, so capturing the interim championship against Edgar doesn't mean much to him at all. Instead, he looks at the Edgar fight as his first step towards re-gaining the undisputed gold in a rematch with McGregor.

"It means nothing," Aldo said. "I want the victory so I get the belt next. That’s the first step we’re taking. Interim belt is made for media and fans, not for me. I want the undisputed belt. I respect Frankie Edgar, but I’ll get there and win. This lit that fire again, this desire to go there and win."

Aldo (25-2) has not fought since his 13-second knockout loss to McGregor in the main event of UFC 194 last December. He already owns a decision win over Edgar from early 2013.

UFC 200 takes place live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 9.

[Guiness]

Fighters talk moving to Bellator: 'There is no negotiation' with the UFC

More name fighters are taking a chance on free agency than any time since the dark ages of the UFC. Now, several name fighters that made the jump from the UFC to Bellator are speaking out about why.

 

What is there to complain about? That's the big question that fighters are answering in the ongoing battle between Bellator and the UFC over free agent talents. As always, the UFC is winning that war. They have more resources, bigger platforms, more fighters, more prestige, and the lure of bigger paychecks at the top. But now more than ever (or at least since the dark days of the late 90's, when the UFC was bleeding talent) fighters are out testing free agency to see if they can get a better deal than what the UFC has to offer.

And it appears that at least a few of them have. Mike Chiappetta over at Bleacher Report spoke to Matt Mitrione, Josh Thomson, and Benson Henderson to get their thoughts on why a move out of the UFC and over to Bellator made sense. Mitrione laid out the groundwork of his argument with his thoughts on the seeming lack of interest from fighters in putting business first:

"Some people are so brainwashed," Mitrione said. "They say, 'How dare you think about business like that?' If you cite money, you're a greedy pig. If you cite anything else, you're a scared p---y. It's crazy. The thing is, the UFC has become bigger than the sport, and what's bad about that is so many people want to be in the UFC that everyone else is an afterthought. There are guys in smaller organizations that their only goal is 'I want to go to the UFC.' And I'll tell them there might be more money in another place. And they'll say, 'It doesn't really matter. That's my goal.' But once people get to the UFC, they might get the disenchantment of what's going on. If you're a veteran in the UFC, you'll see it."

Benson Henderson gave his insights on why the promise of "Fight of the Night," or various other locker room incentives, in place of a better salary became a major sticking point with him in his decision to move on:

"When you talk about backroom bonuses and discretionary bonuses, they're awesome, they're cool, but it's not a steady salary, it's not promised," Henderson told Bleacher Report. "Some guys never get a bonus. It's all at the whim of the higher-ups. And you shouldn't have a problem paying your mortgage because of the whim of the higher-ups, because they didn't feel your fight was worthy of a bonus.

"That struck me as wrong. It's not right at all. Fighters are professional athletes. As much as we sacrifice, we shouldn't have to live hoping that we get a bonus, hoping that we did enough to impress them."

And Josh Thomson made his feelings clear about what it was like to work with the UFC, or more specifically, that he never really felt like he was able to do so.

"I couldn't tell you what it was like to do business with the UFC, because there never was a business side of it as far as, there is no negotiation," Thomson said. "There were times we've heard there's talks and negotiations, but you really don't need a manager because, 'This is the deal you're going to get.' There's been talks like, 'Sure, you can negotiate for an extra two or three grand, but don't expect to get any backroom bonuses.' So then you question, is it really even worth negotiating that extra two or three grand?"

There's a lot more in the interview, including Henderson's claims that the UFC wouldn't let him fight out his WEC contract to renegotiate for a better UFC deal, and Mitrione's thoughts on maximizing his value as a fighter while he still has time to fight. So, check the whole thing out, it's a rare and comprehensive look at fighters who left the UFC on their own terms.

Obviously, on the other side of the fence there are free agents re-signing too. Alistair Overeem recently re-upped his UFC deal, and it sounds like his proximity to a heavyweight title shot was a key factor in staying put. Aljamain Sterling chose to stick with the UFC as well, when it came down to a bidding war between Zuffa and the WSOF. And of course, Rampage Jackson has been notably changeable in his desire to fight either for Bellator or for the UFC. Currently the former UFC light heavyweight champ is under contract with Bellator under a two fight deal, without matching rights, 30 days after which he'll be back on the open market again.

In any case, this looks to be a long-term battle over veteran talent between the two promotions. So stay tuned for all the news and updates on upcoming potential free agents, especially with Rory MacDonald about to hit the market.

[Guiness]

UFC 200: Conor McGregor wants UFC 'bums' to thank him for pay raise

Longtime Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) veteran Nate Diaz made more money in one fight against Conor McGregor than he did in all of his previous fights combined. And to think he didn't even have the nerve to say "thanks" to his "Notorious" counterpart.

That makes him a "bum" according to the reigning featherweight kingpin.

 

I guess we should lump Jose Aldo in there, as well (because of this).

Diaz will have a chance to show his gratitude at the UFC 200 pay-per-view (PPV) on July 9 in Las Vegas, Nevada, though I can't help but wonder if it's McGregor who should be saying "thanks" for getting the chance to redeem himself after coming up lame at UFC 196.

Edited April 7, 2016 by hahnz

[Manilatonight2016]

Tank me! Tank me!

[tamago]

Meisha Tate vs Amanda Nunes at UFC 200

 

Rumor has it Tate denied Holm a rematch

[WitMystery]

Man, that whiff though. Could've KO'ed Rothwell right there.

[Zometa23]

Jon Jones over Cormier...

[jakero]

McGregor is the UFC's best seller

but his head has been filled with air

now Uncle Dana can't contain him

 

luck of the Irish because RDA won't be able to abuse him

Mr Irishman may truly believe he can beat RDA, but it ain't happening

the version of RDA we have right now is a fooking DESTROYER (in a Joe Roganesque scream)

 

http://cdn.mmaweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/DONALD-CERRONE-RAFAEL-DOS-ANJOS-.jpg

[spicycurry30]

let's go jon jones

[Manilatonight2016]

Thats f#&king illegal - Dana White

[monsignor28]

I believe they are just trying to build a hype for UFC 200.