When Jon Jones recreated his new superstar speech, the humble, funny, super talented guy who reached the top and was expected to start a dynasty, the one thing clear was that, in time, the truth, whatever it was, would likely come out.
The fact is the spotlight would be on Jones, and after telling people he’s older and more mature, a fall from grace would label him as a phony. This time it would be difficult, not impossible, but difficult for time to heal that wound.
As it turned out, Jones failed a drug test taken on 7/28 in Anaheim, after weigh-ins the day before his fight where he won the UFC light heavyweight title back from Daniel Cormier.
Leading into the 76th episode of Josh Nason’s Punch-Out, I was planning on talking to Jack Encarnacao (Sherdog, The Lapsed Fan, Boston Herald) primarily about Saturday’s Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor fight and a little bit of Brock Lesnar.
Then, Tuesday night happened and all hell broke loose. Lucky for you, that means an even bigger show.
– For the first 20 minutes, Jack and I talked about the recently wrapped SummerSlam four-day weekend and some of the key talking points coming out of it including the SmackDown debut of Bobby Roode.
– I asked Jack whether we can only truly appreciate the greatness of Lesnar after he’s gone and the key to his staying power and success in 2017.
– We then finished up with discussion on the big fight of the year: McGregor vs. Mayweather. This isn’t a technical deep dive by any means, but we both have different views on the fight and we unpacked the best case/worst case scenarios for both the UFC and McGregor.
On a week where the eyes of the fight world are on the UFC lightweight champion making his debut in a boxing ring, a budding megastar with a troubled past has once again given the UFC a black eye.
TMZ is reporting Tuesday night that UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones tested positive for the anabolic steroid Turinabol and has been stripped of the title he won by knocking out Daniel Cormier last month at UFC 214 — his first fight back since coming off a one-year ban for his first USADA violation. A second positive failure could mean up to a four year ban from the sport.
UFC confirmed the news, saying the positive test was taken on July 28th after Jones weighed in.
Yahoo’s Kevin Iole said Jones hasn’t been stripped of the title yet and that a statement from his team is coming.
After several years of incidents with the law and the USADA violation, Jones looked to have finally won the fans back after his impressive effort over Cormier. The expectation was that he would fight former opponent Alexander Gustafsson at some point this year and move up to heavyweight for a megafight against WWE Universal Champion and former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in 2018.
If Jones is indeed suspended, a Cormier-Gustafsson rematch is appealing as well as a Cormier-Volkan Ozedemir fight given the latter’s recent propensity for knockouts.
On the heels of Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor, another unlikely combat sports event seems to have become a genuine possibility.
Jon Jones challenged Brock Lesnar to return to the Octagon after regaining the UFC light heavyweight title against Daniel Cormier last Saturday night. “Brock Lesnar,” Jones said. “If you want to know what it feels like to get your ass kicked by a guy who weighs 40 pounds less than you, meet me in the Octagon.”
The WWE Universal Champion then responded almost immediately, telling the Associated Press that Jones should be careful what he wishes for.
Jones vs. Lesnar is far from certain, and there are many hurdles that could prevent the dream fight from becoming a reality. The most obvious of those being that Lesnar is still under a one-year suspension for drug test failures surrounding his UFC 200 cameo against Mark Hunt.
That suspension was frozen when Lesnar retired from MMA earlier this year.
The hype for a potential Jon Jones vs. Brock Lesnar superfight isn’t stopping any time soon.
After defeating Daniel Cormier at UFC 214 on Saturday night, Jones took some of his post-fight interview time to challenge the WWE Universal Champion. “Brock Lesnar,” Jones said. “If you want to know what it feels like to get your ass kicked by a guy who weighs 40 pounds less than you, meet me in the Octagon.”
Lesnar then responded to Jones calling him out. “Be careful what you wish for, young man,” he said in an interview with the Associated Press.
Speculation about Jones vs. Lesnar began as soon as rumors started to surface about Lesnar making a UFC return, with both fighters then confirming that they were interested in the matchup. Lesnar told Jones to focus on Cormier then, but Jones’ win would seem to inch the dream fight closer to reality.
One of the hurdles that remains is that Lesnar is currently under a one-year suspension for drug test failures surrounding his UFC 200 fight against Mark Hunt. That suspension was frozen when Lesnar “retired” from MMA in February, and the clock would only start counting down again if Lesnar enters himself back into the USADA drug testing pool.
The UFC’s Jeff Novitzky denied that Lesnar had officially entered back into the pool on July 19th. It’s not clear whether he would be eligible to return by the UFC’s last show of 2017 on December 30th or if a return would have to wait until 2018 if he decides to come back.
Another possible hurdle is Lesnar’s WWE contract. WWE would have to approve Lesnar fighting again while under a deal with them, but the three-year contract that he signed in 2015 is up after next year’s WrestleMania.
Jones reclaimed the light heavyweight title by knocking out Cormier in the third round on Saturday night. A fight against Lesnar would require Jones to at least temporarily move up to heavyweight.
While those are only some of the barriers that could prevent Lesnar vs. Jones from happening, a fight that once seemed to be an impossibility will be one of the things that everyone is talking about coming out of UFC 214.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC 214: Cormier vs. Jones 2, emanating from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
It is the biggest UFC event of 2017 so far as three title fights headline the most stacked card of the year, with the biggest fight of the year headlining the show.
UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier defends his title against his top rival, former champion Jon Jones, as each man looks for vengeance against the other. Cormier is looking to get an elusive win over Jones after Jones defeated him at UFC 182 in January 2015, while Jones is looking to reclaim his throne as the man to beat at 205 pounds.
In the co-main event, UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley looks to make it 365 days as champion at 170 pounds, but he gets a tough test in the form of challenger Demian Maia, the most gifted ground fighter in the sport and winner of seven straight fights. Woodley won the championship from Robbie Lawler on July 30th, 2016, and this will be his third title defense.
In the third title fight on the card, the vacant UFC women’s featherweight championship is up for grabs as the most dominant female fighter in history, Cris “Cyborg” Justino looks to finally wrap UFC gold around her waist when she battles Tonya Evinger. Justino hasn’t lost since her pro debut in May 2005, while Evinger makes her UFC debut on the heels of an 11-fight unbeaten streak.
Also on the main card is a fight that could be a potential “Fight of the Year” candidate as welterweight sluggers Robbie Lawler and Donald Cerrone square off, and a light heavyweight fight that could determine the next challenger opens the main card as Jimi Manuwa takes on Volkan Oezdemir.
Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time with preliminary action all the way through the main card.
We are looking for your thoughts on the show, so send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best fight and worst fight to Dave at [email protected].
Fairly even standup early with Dober trying takedowns and Burkman defending pretty well. Burkman seemed to be hurting Dober with leg kicks but Dober landed a left hook out of nowhere and knocked Burkman out cold.
RESULT – DREW DOBER (18-8) by KO (punch) at 3:04
Dober put over Burkman in his post-fight promo and said it was an honor to fight him. He wants to be ranked and he may not be but he should get a top 15 fight after laying out a vet like Burkman in that fashion. Crowd gave him a nice hand on his way out of the cage.
> Eric Shelton (10-3, 0-1 UFC) vs. Jarrod Brooks (12-0, 0-0 UFC) Flyweights
Interesting round as Shelton vastly outstruck Brooks with the stats at one pointing having him ahead 46-12. But Brooks got at least 3 takedowns and controlled him most of the round, including a couple of submission attempts. Brooks got a front headlock with about 15 seconds and moved into mount and the buzzer may have saved Shelton. 10-9 Brooks
Really slow start to the round with almost nothing happening for the first couple minutes other than a stuffed takedown attempt by Brooks. Shelton got a takedown at 4:00 and controlled Brooks for about 30 seconds. After Brooks got to his feet, he got a takedown but Shelton got up right before the buzzer. 10-9 Shelton, all tied up after 2 although that round was real close
Crowd really turned on this fight midway through the round as not much was happening. Shelton landed a nice shot that nearly knocked down Brooks about 2 minutes in. With about 15 seconds left, Shelton landed a flying knee. Brooks got a takedown after it but Shelton secured a guillotine as the clock ran out. 10-9 Shelton, 29-28 on my scorecard
RESULT – JARRED BROOKS (13-0) by split decision (29-28 x 2; 28-29)
Brooks said the result was f***ing bulls*** and said he looked terrible. But then when Joe Rogan asked him if he thought he should’ve lost, he said no. He said he’s coming for the f***ing belt….he was just all over the place. Put over Joe Rogan, saying he’s been watching him since Fear Factor. Just a profanity laced promo that went nowhere.
> Kailin Curran (4-4, 1-4 UFC) vs. Alexandra Albu (2-0, 1-0 UFC) Women’s Strawweights
Best round of the night so far. Albu was landing all kind of strikes from everywhere and even pulled guard at one point. Curran was landing a lot as well but it seemed as if Albu’s were landing harder and affecting Curran more. She also had a couple of submission attempts. Curran was controlling the clinch game on the feet though. 10-9 Albu after 1
Antoher really good round. Albu was more active with a wide variety of strikes and got a couple of really nice headlock takedowns. She didn’t do much on the ground and Curran was able to get up fairly easily. They showed the strike stats at one point and it was 66-63 for Curran but Albu was definitely landing the harder shots. 10-9 Albu, 20-18
Great third round from Curran. Probably not enough to take the fight or even get a draw but she looked awesome. She had her best punch combo of the fight about a minute in. 2 minutes in, Albu got a headlock takedown but Curran scrambled into top position and controlled most of the rest of the round on the ground, doing a lot of damage. Albu got to her feet and got a late takedown but Curran was up quickly and got another of her own.
RESULT – ALEKSANDRA ALBU (3-0) by unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
According to Dave Meltzer, who’s live at cageside, the crowd gave the fight a standing ovation at the end but did boo the decision as you could hear on TV.
FXX PRELIMS | 8 PM ET/5 PM PT
> Andre Fili (16-4, 4-3 UFC) vs. Calvin Kattar (16-2, 0-0 UFC) Featherweights
Kattar took this fight on short notice and looked pretty good. Round was fairly even on the feet with Fili controlling the pace but Kattar slightly more active and it was looking to be a tossup round until Kattar got a late takedown and landed a ton of punches in the last 15 seconds to steal the round. 10-9 Kattar
Similar round in the sense it was fairly even almost the whole way. It felt like Fili was maybe winning the round slightly but Kattar landed the best punch combo of the fight with out about 15 seconds and really seemed to hurt Fili 10-9 Kattar, 20-18 overall
Fili came out more aggressive and was winning the round until Kattar got a takedown with about 45 seconds left. He did some ground and pound but Fili got up quickly. You could make a case for Fili taking the third but I’ve got it 30-27 Kattar. Great debut either way
RESULT – CALVIN KATTAR (17-2) by unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
> Renato Moicano (#9, 11-0-1, 3-0 UFC) vs. Brian Ortega (#8, 11-0 1 NC, 3-0 1 NC UFC) Featherweights
Close first round fought entirely on the feet. Every time Ortega would land a combo, Moicano would answer back with one of his own. Moicano also landed a couple of unanswered combos and had a kick combo as well. Ortega landed a flying knee at the end of the round but didn’t really do any damage. 10-9 Moicano but really close
Almost entirely on the feet again this round and Moicano started to take over. He was ahead 26-7 in strikes landed about 3 minutes in and it didn’t even seem as close as that. He seemed headed for a 10-8 round but Ortega picked it up a bit in the last minute. Moicano scored a late takedown to remove any doubt. 10-9 Moicano, 20-18 overall.
Ortega came out stronger in this round but Moicano picked up the pace about 2 minutes in and seemed to be cruising to another round win and the fight. He made the critical mistake of taking Ortega down and Ortega secured a guillotine on the way down and Moicano tapped quickly.
RESULT – BRIAN ORTEGA (12-0) by submission (guillotine choke) at 2:59 of the 3rd round
In his post-fight promo, Ortega brought up that he and Moicano were the only unbeaten fighters in the Top 10 and said if someone’s going to beat him, he’d like to see how. He fell short of calling anyone out though.
Fast start to the round with both guys throwing a lot of kicks and punches. Barao got a takedown just over a minute in and controlled Sterling on the ground for the rest of the round. Sterling had a couple of submission attempts from his back but Barao outstruck him badly…..total strikes were 30-10 at one point. 10-9 Barao, almost a 10-8
Second round was the exact opposite of the first with the fast start and then a takedown by Sterling at about 1:30. Sterling dominated the rest of the way and did way more damage than Barao did in the first round and I thought he did enough to get the 10-8. Barao did have a brief arm triangle submission attempt but Sterling closed strong, opening up a cut with elbows. 10-8 Sterling, 19-18 Sterling after 2
Closer third round. Sterling was definitely more active and Barao was really getting tired toward the end. There were a couple long cage clinches with Sterling controlling but neither guy did much and the ref had to break them both up. With about 30 seconds left, Barao took him down and while Sterling was trying to get up, Barao spiked him to the ground head first. It was almost enough to steal the round but not quite. 10-9 Sterling, 29-27 overall
RESULT – ALJAMIAIN STERLING (14-2) by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27 and 30-26)
> Ricardo Lamas (#3, 17-5, 8-3 UFC) vs. Jason Knight (#15, 17-2, 4-1 UFC) Featherweights
This was awesome. Lamas got an early takedown but Knight was very active from his back with several submission attempts and he had Lamas tied up to where he couldn’t do anything. When Lamas finally got to his feet, he lit up Knight with punches on the feet. Knight was rocked badly and just wouldn’t go down, despite eating a ton of punches. Knight shot for a takedown but ended up on his back and Lamas finished him with hard ground and pound. Knight protested the stoppage but could barely stand and was clearly out of it.
RESULT – RICARDO LAMAS (18-5) by TKO at 4:34
On the studio show, both Michael Bisping and Kenny Florian picked Cormier and Woodley to retain their titles in the top 2 matches on the PPV.
They clinched up early and Manuwa worked him to the cage. Oezdemir punched out of it and rocked him with punches from the clinch. As Manuwa was backing up, Oezdemir knocked him out. Scary performance as that’s two straight KOs in less than 30 seconds. He may get a title shot off of this
RESULT – VOLKAN OEZDEMIR (15-1) by KO (punch) at 22 seconds
Oezdemir said “I don’t know what’s going on but I have dynamite in my hands”. He went on to call out the winner of the main event. This guy went from a nobody to beating a top 3 contender in less than a year and could be fighting for the title.
> Robbie Lawler (#3, 27-11 1 NC, 12-5 UFC) vs. Donald Cerrone (#6, 32-8 1 NC, 19-5 UFC) Welterweights
Lawler opened strong, clinching up in the center with Cerrone and landing a ton of punches and elbows. He had 23 strikes in the first minute. It got a little more even after that and then Cerrone kind of took over late, getting a takedown and landing a nice knee/head kick combo. Great opening round. 10-9 Lawler
Cerrone fought much smarter in round 2. He kept his distance, not letting Lawler clinch with him and landed strikes while also controlling the pace. By the end of the round, he had gained the lead in strikes landed and took the round easily. 10-9 Cerrone, 19-19 heading into the third
Close final round. Lawler was much more active than he’d been in the 2nd and seemed to be landing the harder shots but striking stats showed them basically even, with Cerrone holding a 30-29 advantage. Cerrone also had several takedown attempts, all of which were defended by Lawler. Both guys were bloody at the end and the crowd gave this a standing ovation in the last minute. 10-9 Lawler but could go either way.
RESULT – ROBBIE LAWLER (28-11) by unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
Heavy boos from the crowd after the decision. Lawler said almost exactly what I did. “I won the first, he won the second and the third was up in the air”. He dedicated the fight to Matt Hughes, who’s still recovering from his accident. Lawler said he’s not worried about the title and he wants to visit Hughes.
Measured performance by Cyborg. She never seemed close to finishing Evinger but dominated every second of the round. Evinger actually had a couple flash takedowns but Cyborg was up immediately and did damage on the way up. 10-8 Cyborg
Not quite as dominant a round for Cyborg here and she seemed to be slowing down just a bit at the end of the round. Cyborg landed a lot of punch combos but Evinger was starting to evade strikes at the end of it and even landed some of her own in the last minute. Cyborg did do a lot of damage with leg kicks. 10-9 Cyborg, 20-17
Cyborg dropped Evinger with a punch combo early but refused to go to the ground with her. After the ref stood Evinger up, Cyborg initiated a cage clinch and then finished her with knees standing.
RESULT – CRIS CYBORG (18-1) by TKO (knees) at 1:56 of Round 3 NEW FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPION
In her post-fight promo, Cyborg said that she feels like she’s the best fighter she’s ever been. She says she is just now learning how to “fight” and was just relying on her abilities before this. No call-out since there are no other fighters in the division.
Maia had at least 8 takedown attempts and Woodley blocked every one. Woodley only landed occasional punches standing but messed up Maia’s eye somehow during one of the early takedown attempts. It wasn’t much, but enough to take the round 10-9
Crowd hating this feet. Several more takedown attempts by Maia, all blocked. Seemed like Woodley landed a few more punches than in the first. Total strikes were 15-5 at the end of the second and that was total in the whole fight. 10-9 Woodley, 20-18
Same story in the third. More failed takedown attempts by Woodley. Punches by Woodley and he mixed in leg kicks as well. Maia bleeding from a cut on his nose, swollen on both eyes and his knees are cut up from all the missed takedowns, 13 in total. 10-9 Woodley, 30-27
Maia now 0/16 on takedown attempts but he did land a few more strikes this round and Woodley did almost nothing but avoid takedowns. He did land the hardest punch of the round though and may have taken it. 10-9 Woodley, 40-36. Crowd loudly booing this fight
I think they may have said that Woodley had 26 takedown attempts in total, stuffed on every one. They also broke the record for fewest strikes landed in a welterweight title fight over 5 rounds. By a lot. This round was exactly the same as the rest. Woodley with a 45-23 advantage in significant strikes landed. Crowd chanted BORING and did the Bray Wyatt cell phone gimmick during the round and booed the hell out of it at the end.
RESULT – TYRON WOODLEY (18-3-1) by unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46 x 2)
Crowd booed the decision and every word of Woodley’s promo. He challenged GSP for November 4 in MSG. That fight will be terrible but should do business.
Rogan announced to the crowd about the breaking the fewest strikes record and crowd booed that too.
> Daniel Cormier (C, 19-1, 8-1 UFC) vs. Jon Jones (#1, 22-1, 16-1 UFC) UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
Jones outstruck Cormier in the round by almost a 2 to 1 margin but Cormier came on strong in the last 30 seconds, including a couple of combos that rocked Jones and he may have stolen the round 10-9. Great atmosphere with loud crowd both pro and negative for Cormier. Loud reactions whenever he landed anything in particular.
Cormier was actually starting to find his rhythm and land more strikes, closing the gap in strikes landed. Then Jones landed a head kick that rocked him and he never recovered. Jones then knocked him down with punches and finished him on the ground with punches and elbows to the head. John McCarthy gave Cormier a lot of time to recover, maybe too much time but finally stopped it.
RESULT – JON JONES (23-1) by TKO (punches and elbows) at 3:01 of Round 3 NEW LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION
Cormier refused to stand for the winner’s announcement, which drew loud boos. This was the first stoppage loss of his career.
Jones had an emotional promo. He said that for everyone that’s every let themselves down, this is what you can do. He said he had to do a lot of right things in his life to get to this point and he thanked all of his fans and also thanked the haters, who motivated him to prove them wrong.
Jones thanked Daniel Cormier for being his biggest rival and biggest motivator. Said he has been a model champion, a model father and a model person. Said he is a true champion for the rest of his life. He went over to embrace him.
Camera panned to Cormier, who was crying like crazy and the crowd booed him a little bit.
Rogan interviewed Cormier, who was still crying. Says the fight was going well and he didn’t know what happened.
Jones called out Brock Lesnar. “IF you want to find out what it’s like to get your ass kicked by someone 40 lbs lighter than you, get your ass back to the Octagon”. Announcers completely no sold this.
It’s the biggest UFC show of the year so far as Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier step into the Octagon in Anaheim to renew their rivalry. Jones won the first time out to retain the light heavyweight title, but his antics outside the cage cost him his belt.
DC picked up the slack in the meantime, and he looks to defend his belt for the third time against his biggest rival. In the co-main event slot, Demian Maia gets his long-deserved shot at the welterweight title and division kingpin Tyron Woodley.
Invicta FC bantamweight champion Tonya Evinger debuts for the company as she faces former Invicta and Strikeforce featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino. The winner claims the UFC women’s featherweight title, which was vacated by Germaine de Randamie.
Despite the other title fights, the second most anticipated bout on the card may very well be former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler taking on Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. This was originally scheduled as one of the featured bouts for UFC 213 during International Fight Week but was pushed back to this show due to injury.
Rounding out the main card, and likely kicking off the pay-per-view, is a fight that could determine the next challenger for the winner of the main event. 205 pounders Jimi Manuwa and Volkan Oezdemir will throw down in a war that promises to be quick and violent.
If you’re new here, our panel picks are listed below and listed alongside the fighter’s names are their worldwide FightMatrix rankings, as well as BestFightOdds.com betting odds. The panelists’ 2017 records are in parentheses, and we also have panel consensus picks along with a line where we show how the betting favorites did:
John Pollock (39-17; .696) — Fight Network analyst, Live Audio Wrestling co-host, MMA Report co-host
Favorites (37-19; .661)
Dave Meltzer (37-19; .661) — Wrestling Observer publisher
Consensus Picks (35-20; .636)
David Bixenspan (35-21; .625) — Deadspin pro wrestling columnist, Between the Sheets podcast host
Mike Sempervive (33-23; .589) — Wrestling Observer Live and Big Audio Nightmare co-host
Steve Juon (33-23; .589) — MMA Mania writer, Angry Marks publisher
Mike Sawyer (32-24; .571) — Tough Talk MMA publisher
Ryan Frederick (31-25; .554) — WrestlingObserver.com UFC writer
Paul Fontaine (30-26; .536) — MMADraws.com publisher, WrestlingObserver.com writer
Tom Lawlor (10-9; .526) — Filthy Four Daily co-host, pro wrestling undercard fighter, UFC enhancement talent currently suspended due to wellness violation
Front Row Brian (27-29; .482) — MMA newsbreaker, beloved internet personality, podcast host
Main event for the UFC light heavyweight title — Champion Daniel Cormier (19-1) vs. Jon Jones (22-1)
These two may hate each other more than any two fighters in MMA. Cormier needs this win to prove that he’s the real champ. Jones wants to regain the belt that he never really lost. It’s a simple story.
One of the compelling things about this fight is what’s next. Jones pretty much cleaned out the division during his title run, and Cormier hasn’t had much trouble with anyone besides Jones. There are heavy rumors that Jones might move up to heavyweight after this fight, with Brock Lesnar as his most speculated on first opponent in that division.
For the UFC welterweight title — Champion Tyron Woodley (17-3-1) vs. Demian Maia (22-6)
Maia won seven straight to earn this shot, most in dominating fashion. Woodley knocked out Robbie Lawler to win the title but escaped by the skin of his teeth after two fights with number one contender Steven “Wonderboy” Thompson that really didn’t settle anything.
What’s interesting here is that all three people who’ve beaten Woodley in his career have also beaten Maia — and by the exact same method. Rory McDonald and Jake Shields hold decision wins over both and Nate Marquardt has knocked them both out. Woodley is four years younger, which could end up being the deciding factor here.
For the vacant UFC women’s featherweight title — Cris “Cyborg” Justino (17-1) vs. Tonya Evinger (19-6)
Cyborg has already fought twice in the UFC, winning both of her fights via KO. She has not lost since her pro debut 12 years ago. Evinger’s run has been impressive as well, with 10 straight wins that took her to the Invicta bantamweight title (which she vacated in order to get the UFC shot).
Much has been made of the fact that Evinger wasn’t “good enough” for the UFC bantamweight division, but two of the women she successfully defended against were signed by the UFC after their fights.
Cyborg has rarely faced anyone the caliber of Evinger. Aside from Marloes Coenen and Leslie Smith, none of her opponents have done much of anything in MMA since facing her.
Evinger #7 at women’s bantamweight; +971 betting underdog — Fontaine
Robbie Lawler (27-11) vs. Donald Cerrone (32-8) (welterweights)
When Lawler was fighting for the middleweight title in Strikeforce and Cerrone was competing for the lightweight title in WEC, who’d have thought this fight was possible? Now they find themselves in the same weight class in UFC and it’s possibly the best fight on the card on one of the biggest shows of the year.
Cerrone hasn’t fought since January, which is like a decade by his schedule. Lawler is one year removed from losing his title to Tyron Woodley, with this being his first fight since. The winner here is probably one win away from a shot at the Woodley-Maia winner.
Jimi Manuwa (17-2) vs. Volkan Oezdemir (14-1) (light heavyweights)
These may be the two best light heavyweights in UFC who have never faced either Cormier or Jones, and this very well could be a number one contender’s fight. Manuwa has won two straight, both by KO, since being knocked out by former title contender Anthony “Rumble” Johnson.
Oezdemir thrust himself into title talk by stunning Misha Cirkunov and knocking him out in under 30 seconds. Both men also hold wins over top contender Ovince Saint Preux and a win here, especially if it’s impressive, is probably a ticket to the biggest fight in either man’s career.
Ricardo Lamas (17-5) vs. Jason Knight (18-2) (featherweights)
Lamas #4; +110 betting underdog
Knight #14; -112 betting favorite
Renan Barao (34-4) vs. Aljamain Sterling (13-2) (140 lb catchweight)
Barao #17 featherweight; +115 betting underdog
Sterling #11 bantamweight; -115 betting favorite
Bryan Ortega (11-0) vs. Renato Carneiro (11-0-1) (featherweights)
Ortega #11; +143 betting underdog
Carneiro #8; -149 betting favorite
Andre Fili (16-4) vs. Calvin Kattar (16-2) (featherweights)
Fili #38; -350 betting favorite
Kattar #130; +336 betting underdog
Jarred Brooks (12-0) vs. Eric Shelton (10-3) (flyweights)
Brooks #29; -141 betting favorite
Shelton #36; +130 betting underdog
Kailin Curran (4-4) vs. Aleksandra Albu (2-0) (strawweights)
Curran NR; +138 betting underdog
Albu NR; -151 betting favorite
Josh Burkman (28-15) vs. Drew Dober (17-8) (lightweights)
Burkman #82; +269 betting underdog
Dober #98; -300 betting favorite
Action begins with the Fight Pass prelims at 6:30 p.m. ET and moves over to FXX at 8 p.m. ET. The main card airs on PPV at 10 p.m. ET, and our own Dave Meltzer will be cageside covering the show. Check out the links below for more coverage:
Social media can be a strange, yet beautiful thing at times. It’s a place where a self-proclaimed tech geek with a soft spot for rescue animals can be confused daily with one of the best MMA fighters of all time who constantly finds himself in trouble.
As an aside from the usual UFC 214 coverage you’re getting (like my chat with Josh Gross from earlier this week), I wanted to take a slight detour and talk with someone who has found himself as the target of many a Twitter diatribe for things he didn’t do: “the other” Jon Jones.
In a fun 20-minute chat, Jon and I talked about how he found himself in the MMA world without having followed the sport, how he’s humorously dealt with all of the attention thrown his way, who he’s met from the MMA world, becoming friends with “the other” Daniel Cormier, and plenty more.
If you’re looking for a few laughs at a truly bizarre set of circumstances, this 20 minutes is for you.
Wrestling Observer Radio returns tonight with a packed show! We’ll talk the crowning of the newest UFC megastar, Jon Jones, who destroyed Shogun Rua in the main event of last night’s UFC 128! We’ll talk all the matches in detail, backstage notes, big upcoming fights, and more. Plus, a new ROH Champion, Dave’s thoughts from attending half the show live, some WrestleMania and Raw notes including some exclusive scoops, and more!
Finally, we have a huge UFC show to get excited for.
Saturday’s UFC 214 is the promotion’s biggest event since last November’s Madison Square Garden show, headlined by a blood rivalry between light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and former champion Jon Jones.
Previewing the show on the latest Punch-Out is The Guardian’s MMA writer, podcaster, and returning guest Josh Gross.
Josh and Josh talked for 40 minutes on a variety of topics:
– The resurgence in interest for the Ali vs. Inoki book given the buzz over Mayweather vs. McGregor
The promotional push for UFC 214 is in full swing which brings us to Wednesday: the official pre-event press conference.
Headlining a stellar PPV main card from the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA, is light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier vs. former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones in a rematch from January 2016. The two rivals were supposed to fight again at last summer’s UFC 200, but a USADA flag from Jones that week pulled him out of the epic encounter.
Starting at 4 PM EST, you can stream the presser below:
Also on the main card, welterweight champion Tyron Woodley faces Demian Maia in an interesting co-main event tilt while Cris “Cyborg” Justino will look to claim the vacant UFC women’s featherweight belt against injury fill-in Tonya Evinger.
Rounding out the main card is a dream match-up between former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler and fan favorite Donald Cerrone, in addition to a top light heavyweight battle between Jimi Manuwa and Volkan Oezdemir.
Brock Lesnar isn’t doing anything to quiet rumors about a potential return to the Octagon.
Speaking with the Associated Press, Lesnar responded to comments that Jon Jones had made on a Facebook Live session on Tuesday. Jones said that he would love to face Lesnar and called the matchup a massive draw, but noted that he didn’t think Lesnar would take a fight against him.
“Would I fight Jon Jones? Anytime, anywhere,” Lesnar told the AP. “Right now he should be worried about D.C. on Saturday night.”
Speculation about Lesnar fighting in the UFC again became rampant last week, with reports of him entering back into the USADA drug testing pool in anticipation of an eventual return. The UFC’s Jeff Novitzky then denied that Lesnar had officially entered back into the program.
The UFC would obviously be interested in Lesnar returning given their need for big attractions. Jones and heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic have been the two most speculated upon opponents if he were to make a comeback.
Lesnar is currently under a one-year suspension from USADA for drug test failures stemming from his win over Mark Hunt at UFC 200 last July. The suspension was frozen when Lesnar “retired” from MMA in February, and it’s believed he would have to be tested for at least five more months before being allowed to fight again.
That would place a UFC return at late December at the soonest but more likely in early 2018.
Lesnar is currently under contract with WWE through next year’s WrestleMania after signing a three-year deal in 2015, and the company would have to give him approval to fight while under contract. There has also been speculation that, in part, Lesnar is using a possible UFC return to gain more leverage in contract negotiations with WWE.
Jones is scheduled to challenge Daniel Cormier for the light heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 214 on Saturday. He would at least temporarily be moving up to heavyweight if a superfight with Lesnar were to come to fruition.
Fireworks erupted at today’s UFC “Summer Kickoff” press conference in Dallas, which included some key announcements of fights between now and the end of July.
Most of the focus was on UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones, who meet for the title on July 29th at the Honda Center in Anaheim. This time, Cormier was cheered more than Jones, and had the louder chants.
Jones talked about how Cormier’s belt is “a piece of sh*t” because he never beat him, and both talked about an incident that happened just before the event started.
“F*** no, he never beat me,” said Jones. “The belt he has over there is an imaginary belt. I messed up.”
Before it was over, Cormier made remarks about Jones doing steroids, cocaine, and “sandblasting” prostitutes, while Jones claimed that he had a great month a few years ago when he did cocaine all weekend and then beat Cormier a week later.
“Is he really going to be in Anaheim?,” said Cormier, who was embracing being a heel, only to get cheered, and even did the Chris Jericho “Drink it in man” pose. “Is this guy really going to be at the fight? Is he going to mess this up by doing steroids, doing cocaine, or sandblasting prostitutes?”
Jones then responded, “I beat you after a weekend of cocaine. I had great back-to-back weekends, cocaine one weekend and you next.”
Jones also said that Cormier has shown him nothing in his recent fights, saying Anthony Johnson handed him a win and he looked even worse against Anderson Silva.
Cormier did seem off over an incident that had taken place before the press conference. Cormier said that Jones said something about Cormier’s kids and he smashed him in the face with a water bottle. Jones claimed that Cormier was crying and hugging Cain Velasquez and that he’d better love the next 11 weeks as champion and make Christmas cards while holding the belt.
Later, when it came down to pose-offs, Cormier and Jones were kept far apart. Jones came out with a replica belt and was heavily booed by a crowd that chanted “DC” with light chants for Jon Jones.
The biggest announcement of the show was more weekly UFC fights. They announced a weekly five-fight show that will air every Tuesday night, starting on July 11th, called “Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series.”
This will finally culminate White’s dream from 15 years ago about redoing the Tuesday Night Fights show that was a staple of USA Network programming in the 80s and 90s.
The show will take place from the UFC’s Gym in Las Vegas, and air on Fight Pass.
There were a lot of verbal fireworks, but the only physical fireworks were between Kevin Lee and Michael Chiesa, who headline a June 25th event in Oklahoma City. Lee, dressed up like Jimmy Snuka and trying to play a badass from the hood, claimed Conor McGregor was trying to take from him when accused of copying McGregor. He talked about being a product of hood and hip hop culture, that he’s real and McGregor isn’t, and how there’s nothing better than being young, black, and rich.
Later, when Michael Johnson, who faces Justin Gaethje on July 7th, talked about how Gaethje needs to be ready to die, Lee said that Johnson has had 30 fights, lost half of them, and never killed anyone.
Chiesa said Lee “looks like some dork who got kicked out of Woodstock,” after Lee made fun of his mullet.
Lee mentioned Chiesa’s mother being at the fight, and Chiesa said “Don’t you ever talk about my mom.” After a few seconds of them yelling at each other, Chiesa got up and made a beeline toward Lee. Lee threw a punch when he got there and both were pulled apart and kicked off the stage. Later, they were brought out to pose for photos together and both said words to each other but security let them near each other, something they wouldn’t allow Jones and Cormier to do.
Chris Weidman vs. Kelvin Gastelum was announced as the main event for a FOX show on July 22nd at the Nassau Coliseum. Weidman said he wanted Gegard Mousasi, but was not going to turn down a main event at the Nassau Coliseum. Both were respectful to each other — really the only ones who were.
Weidman vs. Gastelum and Gaethje vs. Johnson were made official, as was a July 8th women’s bantamweight title fight with Amanda Nunes vs. Valentina Shevchenko that had been rumored. Nunes and Shevchenko went back-and-forth verbally with Nunes talking about how she had already beaten Shevchenko.
The scheduled July 8th main event with Cody Garbrandt vs. TJ Dillashaw for the bantamweight title is in jeopardy. The video package before the press conference hyped the fight with lots of clips and a storyline about Dillashaw leaving Team Alpha Male, but neither were there. An excuse was made for Garbrandt, but Ariel Helwani on Twitter reported that Garbrandt is dealing with serious back issues and the fight is in jeopardy.
Even though he’s on the shelf due to a USADA suspension, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones returned to a different kind of competition Sunday night in the main event of Submission Underground 2.
Jones faced recently retired UFC/Pride/Strikeforce veteran Dan Henderson in a grappling match, a bout originally scheduled for Jones’ UFC belt at UFC 151 but had to be scrapped due to a Henderson knee injury.
The two were jovial in the near 10-minute match that saw Jones controlling the much older Henderson up against the MMA cage they competed in.
With about three minutes to go, Jones got side mount and kept the action on the mat. Henderson tried to stay active from the bottom, but Jones’ size was too much for him. He eventually got full mount and secured an arm triangle for the quick tap and victory.
Jones challenged Chael Sonnen to a grappling match on January 29th that Sonnen accepted.
In the co-main event, recently retired Miesha Tate took on current UFC fighter Jessica Eye and defeated her on “escape time” after they went the distance and into overtime.
The show aired live on FloGrappling from Portland, OR, and is the brainchild of Sonnen and FloSports.
– We talk about the experience of Josh’s book and some news about its release in Japan.
– We touched on the U.S. presidential election and the unique MMA ties that our president-elect has.
– We discussed the Jon Jones one-year suspension, what it means for him and the sport, and whether the time off could actually help him long-term for his career.
– Then, we look at our top storylines for UFC 205 which include whether Conor McGregor can do what he says he’s going to do, the whole aura around welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, the buzz factor that NYC can provide, Chris Weidman’s big opportunity, and lots more.
