Tag: UFC 285

Henry Cejudo: ‘No more excuses,’ Jon Jones greatest mixed martial artist of all time after UFC 285

“Jon Jones just cemented himself as the greatest of all time. No more excuses.”

[autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] says the debate is over on who the greatest of all time is after UFC 285.

[autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) was able to quickly submit Ciryl Gane in Round 1 after an over three-year long layoff to capture the vacant heavyweight title in this past Saturday’s headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Already widely considered as one of the greatest fighters of all time, the longtime UFC light heavyweight champion added even more to his legacy by capturing a second belt, which Cejudo says separated him from the rest of the sport’s greats.

“Jon Jones did what he had to get done,” Cejudo said on his YouTube Channel. “He executed the game plan. He did very, very well. His leg kicks, the way that he delivered his takedowns, the way that he was able to have that tenacity to control a guy like Ciryl Gane, and how he did it.

“Jon Jones just cemented himself as the greatest of all time. No more excuses. No more (Georges) St-Pierre. No more anybody. His name is Jon Jones, and he is the greatest pound-for-pound fighter. The greatest mixed martial artist of all time.”

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Cejudo played a part in Jones’ successful heavyweight debut. The former UFC dual-champ and Olympic gold medalist wrestler talked Jones through the exact wrestling exchange which led to the fight-ending sequence during their last training session before the fight. Cejudo has now assisted Zhang Weili, Deiveson Figueiredo and Jones in capturing UFC gold.

Check out the video below courtesy of Cejudo’s YouTube channel.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 285.

Henry Cejudo warns Bo Nickal to take his time after UFC 285, says he needs at least six more fights before top 10

“Bo Nickal, I hope you’re listening, you’re gonna need about six fights like this before you start getting up to like the top 10.”

[autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] thinks UFC 285 showed that [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] may not be ready for top-ranked opposition just yet.

Although Nickal (4-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) scored another first-round submission by tapping out Jamie Pickett in this past Saturday’s main card opener at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Cejudo wasn’t too confident in what he saw.

Nickal had to work for his initial takedown before an apparent low blow which wasn’t caught by the referee assisted in him landing it. Once Nickal got Pickett to the mat, he secured an arm-triangle choke which took him a while to adjust and synch in. The standout wrestler has supreme confidence that he can take out top contenders now, but former Olympic gold medalist and two-division UFC champ Cejudo says rushing will cost him.

“There’s a huge hype train going around with Bo Nickal,” Cejudo said on his YouTube channel. “I did see some – obviously, he did win, but I also saw a little difference in the two because he did struggle to get that takedown. MMA wrestling, it is different than NCAA Wrestling. They have to continue to keep building Bo Nickal. If they don’t build Bo Nickal, when they give him somebody tough, Bo Nickal is going to struggle because I saw what I had to see within those first two minutes.

“I was curious to see if he didn’t get the arm triangle, how was it that he was going to come back in that second round because there’s a lot of squeezing, there’s a lot of blood, that you’re constricting through you trying to submit somebody. But other than that, again, I had it first-round submission, it happened. But moving forward, Bo Nickal, I hope you’re listening: You’re gonna need about six fights like this before you start getting up to like the top 10.”

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Cejudo pointed to his own personal experience, where he challenged flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson in just his fifth UFC fight. Cejudo was finished by TKO in Round 1, which was an eye-opening experience for him. H would get a rematch years later with more experience, though, and would defeat “Mighty Mouse” in a rematch.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 285.

Video: How stunning was Alexa Grasso’s upset of Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 285?

Valentina Shevchenko seemingly was pulling away from a game Alexa Grasso at UFC 285 until one big mistake led to a stunning finish. 

[autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] seemingly was pulling away from a game [autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag] in the fourth round of their UFC 285 title fight until one big mistake led to a stunning finish.

In the final minute of the fourth round, Shevchenko whiffed on a spinning back kick, leading to Grasso immediately jumping her back and taking the fight to the mat. From there, Grasso was relentless as she sunk in a rear-naked choke until Shevchenko tapped out, making Grasso the new women’s flyweight champion and first Mexican woman to ever claim UFC gold.

Just how stunning was Grasso’s upset, and what do we think of an immediate rematch? That’s what we asked this week’s “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Farah Hannoun and Dan Tom, who weighed in on the topic with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.

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Check out their discussion in the video above and don’t miss this week’s full episode below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 285.

“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Monday LIVE on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch this week’s episode in the video above.

UFC champ Jon Jones opens as sizable favorite to beat Stipe Miocic

Oddsmakers are favoring Jon Jones to retain his UFC heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic.

Oddsmakers are favoring [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] to retain his heavyweight title against [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag].

After running through Ciryl Gane with a first-round submission in this past Saturday’s UFC 285 headliner, newly crowned heavyweight champion Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) is expected to defend his title against ex-champ Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) at UFC 290 on July 8.

According to FanDuel, Jones has opened up as a -290 favorite, meaning a $290 bet would be needed on the champion to return $100. Meanwhile, Miocic is a +235 underdog, meaning a $100 bet on the challenger would win $235.

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Jones looked in top form against Gane after over three years away from the octagon. The longtime former light heavyweight champion was successful in his heavyweight debut, and will be making his first title defense against the consensus greatest heavyweight of all time in Miocic.

A former two-time UFC heavyweight champ, Miocic holds the record for most title defenses at three, and will look to reclaim the belt he lost to Francis Ngannou two years ago at UFC 260. Prior to that, Miocic scored back-to-back title wins over Daniel Cormier.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 285

Marc-Andre Barriault wants on the UFC’s return to Canada – whenever that happens

Marc-Andre Barriault’s UFC tenure started with three straight losses, but he’s bounced back, including a UFC 285 stoppage of Julian Marquez.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Marc-Andre Barriault[/autotag] beat Julian Marquez with a second-round TKO Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 285 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Barriault, who has gone 4-2 since an 0-3 start to his UFC tenure.

Tabatha Ricci ready for UFC’s rankings after win over Jessica Penne

With a big submission win over a UFC women’s pioneer like Jessica Penne now on her resume, Tabatha Ricci is ready to be ranked.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Tabatha Ricci[/autotag] beat Jessica Penne with a second-round submission Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 285 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Ricci, who became the first fighter to submit Penne in the UFC.

Video: Did Jon Jones settle the MMA GOAT debate at UFC 285 once and for all?

Can the likes of Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva still claim GOAT status, or is it unquestionably Jon Jones after UFC 285?

[autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] returned from a three-year layoff to claim the vacant UFC heavyweight championship with ease by running right through former interim champ Ciryl Gane and adding to what was already one of the most decorated resume’s in mixed martial arts history.

Jones, 35, needed just 2 minutes and 4 seconds to push Gane up against the cage and make him submit to a guillotine choke to win a title in a second division at UFC 285. Jones’ history of repeated drug-test offenses and suspensions, as well as his explanations, have been well documented in years’ past, yet they don’t seem to deter many folks from lauding him as the greatest fighter of all time.

While some might still consider the likes of Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva to be greater, did Jones settle the GOAT debate once and for all with his impressive return at UFC 285?

That’s what we asked this week’s “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Farah Hannoun and Dan Tom, who weighed in on the topic with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.

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Check out their discussion in the video above and don’t miss this week’s full episode below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 285.

“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Monday LIVE on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch this week’s episode in the video above.

Israel Adesanya reacts to Jon Jones’ ‘shocking’ win: ‘I wanted more, but f*ck, that’s impressive’

“I wanted more, but f*ck, that’s impressive.”

[autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] was mind blown by [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]’ win over [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] at UFC 285.

Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) made quick work of Gane 11-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) in this past Saturday’s headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, submitting the Frenchman with a first-round guillotine choke to capture the vacant heavyweight title.

Adesanya picked Gane to win, pointing to Jones’ three-year layoff as a main factor. But even “The Stylebender” couldn’t help but praise Jones for his impressive performance.

“Oh, what the f*ck?” Adesanya was seen reacting to Gane tapping out. “Yo, what did he do? That was so subtle. He might have just used his chest on him or something. Wow. Pressure on the head. I wanted more, but f*ck, that’s impressive.”

“I did say if Gane got it done, it would be f*cking shocking,” Adesanya added. “But that, the way he (Jones) did it, easily that was shocking.”

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Adesanya and Jones have traded plenty of barbs in the past as the former middleweight champion was angling for a super fight. Adesanya will look to reclaim his 185-pound title when he rematches Alex Pereira in the UFC 287 main event on April 8 in Miami. When Jones was asked for his prediction for the fight, he picked against Adesanya.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 285.

Stipe Miocic motivated by underdog role vs. UFC champ Jon Jones: ‘I’m the guy that puts a big dagger in that’

“I love being told something is not gonna happen because I’m the guy that puts a big dagger in that,” Stipe Miocic says of his future showdown with Jon Jones.

[autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] relishes being underestimated against [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag].

Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) is expected to get the next shot at newly crowned heavyweight champion Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC), and has opened up as a +290 underdog for their fight.

A former two-time UFC heavyweight champ, Miocic holds the record for most title defenses in the promotion’s history at three. But with Jones having never lost in the octagon, oddsmakers are favoring him to beat Miocic.

“Hell yeah it does (motivate me),” Miocic told TMZ. “I love being the underdog, I love being told something is not gonna happen because I’m the guy that puts a big dagger in that.”

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Jones quickly submitted Ciryl Gane in this past Saturday’s UFC 285 headliner to claim the vacant heavyweight belt. It took the former light heavyweight champ just over two minutes to get the finish, which made it tough for Miocic to gauge his performance.

“He won, good for him,” Miocic said. “That’s about it. It didn’t last long so I can’t really say much, but he got the win. That’s all that matters, and the finish.”

He continued, “I don’t really have much to say because it wasn’t that long of a fight.”

Miocic, 40, is already widely considered the greatest heavyweight of all time. A win over Jones would further solidify that, but Miocic isn’t ready to put an end date for his career just yet.

“I don’t know,” Miocic said. “We’ll see. I think about retiring after every fight since my first one. We’ll see. Right now just gonna keep getting better, getting stronger, make myself finally tuned ready for that fight in July.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 285

Jon Jones picks Alex Pereira to beat Israel Adesanya again at UFC 287 – but who is he rooting for?

Jon Jones thinks Alex Pereira has Israel Adesanya figured out and will beat him again when they rematch at UFC 287 in April.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] has [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] figured out.

Pereira (7-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) notched his third win over Adesanya (23-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) when he dethroned him to become middleweight champion this past November at UFC 281. Prior to that, “Poatan” beat Adesanya twice in kickboxing, including once by knockout.

Although Pereira had to rally in two of those wins before he stopped Adesanya, Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) thinks he’ll come out on top again when he rematches “The Stylebender” in the UFC 287 main event April 8 in Miami.

“I believe Pereira is going to win again,” Jones told reporters at the UFC 285 media day on Wednesday. “There’s some athletes that just have other athletes’ number. I see he works hard and I’m rooting for him. I believe he’s going to do it again.”

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Jones’ pick may not come as a surprise, given he and Adesanya haven’t seen eye-to-eye over the years and have traded barbs on numerous occasions and expressed interest in a superfight.

Jones, the former light heavyweight king, returns after a layoff of more than three years in Saturday’s UFC 285 headliner to take on Ciryl Gane (11-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) for the vacant heavyweight belt at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 287.