Jon Jones-Rashad Evans
SATURDAY’S UFC 145 MAIN EVENT A ROUT OR A RIOT?
San Francisco, CA– The “so-called” best fighter in the UFC and world of MMA is light heavyweight (205 lbs) champ Jon Jones (15-1). “Bones” as he’s called, is an amazing athlete without question and he is the best in the game as I write. But there are so many different ways to “win or lose” a UFC match that being the best and staying the best is a precarious situation.
CHAMPION JONES FIGHTING AT HOME FOR FIRST TIME!
Going into Saturday’s fight with challenger Rashad Evans, Jon Jones, who will be fighting in front of a hometown crowd is the very best in MMA. But seeing you can lose via decision, KO, TKO, Submission, be it by an assortment of Chokes, Arm Bars, Ankle Locks, I can go on, but I think you’ve got the point, staying on an unbeaten streak is not an easy task.
JON JONES WAS NEVER BEATEN, ONLY BEAT HIMSELF!
After coming to the UFC in 2008, the only fight Jones lost was when he was Disqualified against Matt Hammil at 3:55 into the first round in December 2009. The reason for the DQ was that Jones was throwing “Illegal Downward Elbows.” Since then, Jones who has won six straight since has been hotter than World Trade Centers I & II when they were ablaze as nobody has lasted the distance with the 6’4 Jones who captured UFC gold in March 2011 with a thrashing of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128.
RASHAD EVANS AT A GLANCE!
Challenger Rashad Evans (now 17-1-1) was unbeaten when he defeated Forrest Griffin at UFC 88, the only blemish being a unanimous draw with Tito Ortiz at UFC 73. Had Ortiz not had a point deducted for “grabbing the cage,” Tito would have prevailed. Evans would lose the title in his first defense being stopped in two rounds by Lyoto Machida on May 23, 2009 at UFC 98. All that being said, the only real highlight reel in Evans’ MMA career was a one-punch knockout of UFC icon Chuck Liddell in September 2008 at UFC 88.
EVANS SAYS HE “HANDLED” JONES IN THE GYM!
Rashad “used” to be friends with Jones. Where as this has a lot of the time been nothing but promotional hype, evidently there really is “bad blood” between the two ex-stable mates. Evans has said repeatedly during the lead up to Saturday’s fight that he abused the champion during their years of training together. That riled the 6’4 Jones to the point where he’s genuinely pissed off!
OFT-POSTPONED FIGHT WITH PHIL DAVIS WAS EVANS’ LAST!
Last time out, Evans defeated an overly “hyped” Phil Davis, who looked like he was fighting square, in five easily forgettable five-minute rounds on FOX TV in Chicago, IL on January 28 of this year. Evans didn’t look like Secretariat, more like a horse of average talent, and not that of a superstar. Now let’s go back to the headline of this article.
IS RASHAD EVANS WORTH A BET AT 6-1 VS. JON JONES?
HBO Boxing guru Larry Merchant told me once, “It doesn’t matter what the odds are. If a guy’s going to win, it doesn’t matter what the numbers are, the favorite is more than likely going to win.” That being said, I agree with Merchant’s notion and I believe the much bigger Jon Jones is going to smoke Rashad Evans like a New York blunt inside the distance. Why, because it boils down to this. Everything Rashad does well, Jones does a lot better! In addition, he is bigger, faster, hits harder and is better on the ground and on his feet. First fight Saturday night starts at 4 PM PT on Facebook.com for an hour. This will be followed up with two hours of FX Cable coverage (5-7 PM PT) before the PPV for UFC 145 starts at 7 PM PT.
TITO ORTIZ ON “RING TALK MMA RADIO” HOUR SATURDAY
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz will make an appearance on the “Ring Talk Radio MMA” hour this Saturday. The show starts at 11 AM PT and will air an hour on boxing and an hour of MMA. Ortiz is in Atlanta, where UFC 145 takes place later that night, is slated to face Forrest Griffin for a third time on July 7, 2012 at UFC 148 and retire, win or lose!
LISTEN OR WATCH: ONE HOUR OF “RING TALK BOXING” & ONE HOUR OF “RING TALK MMA”
We have a new radio affiliate joining the “Ring Talk” mix of one hour of boxing and one hour of MMA and that’s WEEE 1100 AM in Atlanta, GA.
USTREAM VIDEO & HIGHLIGHTS RETURNS!
You can watch the show LIVE on the Facebook Ustream TV channel at Click here and then hit the Ustream button for live video in the right side of the page.
LISTEN ONLINE TWO DIFFERENT WAYS!
Listen Online at Click to listen LIVE with Media Player. If you don’t have a Media Player you can listen online Click to Listen LIVE Without Media Player
Pedro Fernandez