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Jon Jones might have lost his abs, but he’s gained a lot of strength. He’s been on a 4000-4500 calorie per day diet plan since deciding to become a Heavyweight. He’s deadlifting 640 lbs and squatting 520 lbs.
Charles Oliveira will never watch his fight with Islam Makhachev back.
Luke Rockhold will fight Mike Perry in a bare-knuckle fight on April 21st.
Eddie Alvarez predicts Conor McGregor will knock out Michael Chandler.
Sergei Pavlovich is the backup fighter for Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane.
Francis Ngannou says Jon Jones has multiple personalities.
Tatiana Suarez wants to fight Rose Namajunas next.
Dricus Du Plessis is upset about fighting on the prelims and not the main card.
Paddy Pimblett believes Makhachev was hanging on for dear life against Volkanovski.
The UFC generated record revenues in 2022 including the best sponsorship year ever.
Georges St-Pierre acknowledges his physical abilities are diminishing.
Nate Diaz has planted the seeds for a potential fight against Logan Paul.
- Jon Jones is bringing David Goggins to fight week
- Darren Till has been released from the UFC
- Dana White tried to overturn Jon Jones’ DQ loss to Matt Hamill
Jon Jones says he lacked motivation in his last few fights, which made for dull performances. Many questioned whether the dull performances were caused by a regression in skill or if Jones was truly unmotivated. After stepping away from the Octagon for more than 3 years, Jones says his passion for the sport has been reinvigorated. He’s moving up to a weight class 65 lbs heavier than the weight class he once ruled. He’s entered a weight class where he doesn’t hold a significant size advantage, which has forced him to be at his best. To add to his motivation, Jones is bringing in ultra-marathon runner David Goggins to his fight week for extra fuel.
Goggins is a former US Navy Seal that became famous for his intense fitness regime and attitude of never quitting. He has over 6 million followers on Instagram and has appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast multiple times. In addition to being an ultra-marathon runner, Goggins once held the Guinness World Record for pull-ups completing 4,030 in 17 hours. If you ever need extra motivation, having David Goggins with you during the week of your Heavyweight title fight will certainly do the trick.
In what came as a surprise to many, Twitter bot account UFC Roster Watch revealed this week that Darren Till is no longer a member of the UFC roster. The release comes 3 months after Till was submitted by rising contender Dricus du Plessis at UFC 282. Till later clarified on Twitter that he was the one that asked the UFC to be released and that he still has a good relationship with Dana White and Hunter Campbell, who is the Chief Business Officer of the UFC.
After Till finished Donald Cerrone in October of 2017, many expected him to be a future UFC Champion. Dana White even posted a picture of Till on his Instagram after the fight with a caption that read “The Future”. Dana has never since posted about a fighter in a similar context. Till was undefeated when he challenged Tyron Woodley for the UFC Welterweight title in September of 2018 and lost the fight by submission. Till never looked the same and went 1-5 in his last 6 UFC fights.
A few hours after tweeting about his UFC release, Till tweeted a bunch of boxing glove emojis along with money bags signaling that he would be competing in boxing next. This could be a great fit for Till because he has name value that promotions outside the UFC would pay a lot for, and he wouldn’t need to worry about grappling, which is something he’s struggled with.
Jon Jones has only one loss on his professional record, and that came against Matt Hamill in December of 2009. However, this wasn’t a fight that Jones actually ‘lost’. He was disqualified for hitting Hamill with illegal 12-6 elbows by referee Steve Mazzagatti. This was during a fight that Jones was dominating. In fact, while Jones reigned down strikes against Hamill while in full mount, he looked at referee Steve Mazzagatti to see why he wasn’t stopping the fight. After Jones threw a few 12-6 elbows, the referee paused the fight to take a point away from Jones. However, Hamill couldn’t get up because he was battered. The fight was waived off, and it was ruled as a disqualification loss for Jones.
This was highly controversial at the time, as many believed the fight should have been called off way before the 12-6 elbows or be ruled a no contest instead of a loss. 14 years later, this remains as the only official loss on Jones’s record. Dana White confirmed to Jim Rome this week that he tried to speak with the Nevada State Athletic Commission to get the DQ overturned to a win, as he believes Jones should have a professional record of 27-0.
As a promoter, there’s nothing better than promoting a fighter as undefeated. When most people think about Khabib Nurmagomedov, the first thing they think about is his perfect record. You’ve got to wonder how much more popular Jones would have been throughout the years as a mainstream star if he had been promoted as an undefeated fighter.
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