UFC 165: Jon Jones Scandal – ‘Bones’ Exposed

YOU SHOULD SEE THE OTHER GUY. Jon 'Bones' Jones got busted up worse in one fight, courtesy of Sweden's Alexander 'The Mauler' Gustafsson, than in all of his previous 13 UFC fights put together. Jones won by controversial unanimous decision on the judges' scorecards. (Image from: www.gannett-cdn.com)

FIGHTING someone his size, light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones retained (he shouldn’t have) his title while losing a lot of blood and prestige in the MMA community. In the post-fight interview inside the Octagon with color-commentator Joe Rogan, Jones tried to show a brave face despite the numerous cuts on it, referring repeatedly to his “warrior spirit” and referencing Bruce Lee’s “be water” philosophy. There was plenty of water, all right, after a hard-fought bout with all the sweat and blood that both combatants expelled.

Judges’ decisions have been a sore point in the Ultimate Fighting Championship for a long time. Alexander Gustafsson should have been given the win for the first three rounds at least, with his accurate sniping, fleet-footed defense in the standup battle, and his amazing takedown defense. For the record, the Swede is the first UFC fighter to have taken down Jones, scoring two, while stuffing 10-of-11 takedown attempts by the defending champion.

Round 4 was clearly won by Jones as his elbow finally landed squarely on a (sitting) ducking Gustaffson, who remarkably survived follow-up strikes by Jones. Round 5 could have gone either way as the candidate for Fight-of-the-Year honors went all five rounds.

The Air Canada Centre audience made their sentiments known after the winner was announced. All three judges scored it all for Jones (48-47,48-47, and 49-46!). Gustaffson, with good grace, refused to criticize the judges’ decision or said anything suggesting that he got a bum call, only saying that it was an honor for him to fight the champion.

The end of the first round saw Jones with a familiar look in his mug, the worry etched reminiscent of the way he walked back to his corner after Round 1 when he fought Lyoto Machida in UFC 140. Against Machida his main concern was how to tag the Brazilian; against Gustafsson he had to contend not just with the difficulty of landing a solid strike on the Swede, he also had to avoid The Mauler’s accurate striking.

The same pattern followed in Rounds 2 and 3. Jones kept missing with his patented spinning elbow, hitting Gustafsson once but merely grazing him. Gustafsson’s defense and chin were superb all throughout the fight. It wasn’t that it was just The Mauler who punished Bones; the defending champion gave as good as he got but the challenger had the edge in the initial three rounds. In Round 4, Gustafsson stayed down low too long, exposing his head on which Jones finally hit with a solid spinning elbow. Jones smelled blood and went for the kill but he couldn’t finish Gustafsson despite a knee, an elbow, punches, and the kitchen sink.

YOU KNOW I BEAT YOU, JON. Alexander Gustafsson talks with Jon Jones inside the Octagon after their UFC 165 lightheavyweight championship fight at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.(Image from: www.gannett-cdn.com)

THIS is one of those big fights that will almost always have the adjective “controversial” attached to it with people demanding a rematch which will most likely still be a close fight but with Jones more prepared for a beating. Snicker. The last time a rematch was conducted due to the controversy involved; the challenger did in the “undeserving” champion via first-round KO. We know that The Mauler has enough power to do what Mauricio “Shogun” Rua did to his fellow-Brazilian Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida. But will Dana White’s Las-Vegas mafia allow a Gustafsson-Jones II? Of course they will. It’s all about the money after all despite White’s mouthpiece Joe Rogan repeatedly extolling the ultimate virtues of the UFC’s current moneymaker “the greatest talent to ever enter the Octagon” Jones who now has to rethink his ego and his future plans. Yes, plans, as in moving up to the heavyweight division.

As a 206-and-above pounder, Jones can comfortably allow his weight to balloon on the condition that it doesn’t go beyond 265lbs, and take on the likes of Alistair Overeem who will probably break Jones’ spindly legs like matchstick. Even gatekeeper Frank Mir will give Jones fits should Mir get Jones to the ground or hit him with a punch courtesy of his improved boxing.

We knew all along that Jones was “dominating” his division because he was fighting below his proper weight, same as the recently dethroned hype-machine Anderson “The Spider” Silva. Jones and Silva are authentically extremely-talented athletes who have brought excitement and loads of income into the UFC, but one of the major reasons they have ruled the ranks is size disparity, their physical edge over majority of their opponents. Silva couldn’t have that against Chris Weidman and paid for it. Sure, Silva shot himself with his kooky taunting ways, too, but at 6-feet-2, the same height as Weidman, he couldn’t look over his opponent. Jones, at 6-4, is actually shorter than Gustafsson officially by an inch.

The Fertitta brothers are shrewd businessmen whose financial acumen has been honed in the gambling paradise of Vegas. With the ouster of Silva and the relative popularity of Georges St. Pierre, the UFC only has Jones to nurture and milk because of the championship title he holds…but barely. Despite being robbed of a victory, the loss is a moral victory for Gustafsson who confidently declared before the fight that he could beat Jones any day. He did, unfortunately, the judges didn’t see it that way. And for those waiting for the man to beat Jones, Gustafsson is it, disproving the words “NOT QUITE HUMAN” emblazoned on Jones’ Nike sponsored-walkout shirt.

Many are of the opinion that Jones should not be the UFC light-heavyweight king anymore. In the post-fight press conference, Dana White played it safe after being asked as to who he believed should have gotten the judges’ nod. White cried, “I stopped scoring the fight…” Sure you did, Dana, and if the judges were more enlightened, you would have cried for the right reason.

There’s only one way to settle this controversy – rematch. Glover Teixeira was promised a shot at whoever won Jones-Gustafsson I, but except for Teixeira and his supporters, everyone would rather have Jones-Gustafsson II as soon as possible.

UFC 104: The Dragon’s Soft Underbelly

Machida retains light-heavyweight title in controversial decision over Rua

Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida keeps his light-heavyweight belt against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua but barely. In five rounds that can either be seen as too close to call so the decision goes to the defending champion, or Dana White has set his mind to make Machida the next rock star of the UFC after Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell, so unless Rua knocks Machida out – let the slick Japanese-Brazilian keep his belt.

Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida according to hype (parts of which are true) is “very elusive” and virtually “invincible” that for many MMA observers, it has to take a heavyweight like Brock Lesnar or an RPG to beat him.

As it turned out, all it took was Shogun. And even that was not enough.

“Everybody was expecting him to destroy Shogun like he destroyed Rashad Evans, and he didn’t destroy him,” said Cecil Peoples, one of the three who judged the Machida-Rua fight last Sunday. “It was a close fight. So people think: (Rua) did good. If he did that good, he must have won the fight.”

Machida retained his title with a highly-controversial unanimous decision win over Rua. MMA writers and the Internet fan sites are still smoking over arguments as to whether Rua should have been declared the winner. Those who think so are armed with a plethora of arguments and a colored photo of Machida with split upper lip, cuts on the bridge of his nose, blood sprinkled on his mouth and cheeks, and redness on his left torso.

MMA forensic experts are eager to show video and photographic evidence of Machida’s supposed defeat. There’s only one problem: the cageside judges don’t agree. It’s their opinion that really matters. Fans can howl until Christmas that Rua got robbed and may even drop their contributions in the kitty to help keep Rua solvent until he gets a rematch. The rematch is justified. It was a close match, there were no knockdowns (a knockout of either fighter would have saved us of all this strife) and UFC president Dana White is of the opinion that Rua rightfully should have been declared the winner and more importantly he announced an immediate rematch.

Rua’s loss is not a complete waste. He has made a minor note in MMA history. He is the first losing fighter to move up in the rankings of a pound-for-pound-best list, tying for No.7 in Yahoo! Sports with Miguel Angel Torres, the former WEC Bantamweight champion, himself the loser in his last fight – and he got coldcocked by Brian Bowles, a notch higher above him in the same rankings.

Machida-Rua II should be a doozy. Rua has already found the antidote to the poison of Machida’s MMA-flavored karate. Likewise, Machida has realized that he is not untouchable in the cage. Rua could stick to his fruitful if unsuccessful formula, and Machida will surely tweak his strategy.

Rua did very well attacking Machida’s legs and staying away from Machida’s vaunted left straight punch and Thai-plum-knee combo. Rua was less successful in defending against Machida’s high kicks and multiple punches to the head, but Shogun more than made up for it with his aggression throughout the fight and accurate striking.

It is said that to judge a fight fairly on TV, one must turn off the audio to avoid being prejudiced by the commentators’ commentary. Joe Rogan’s shouts of “oh!” every time Shogun landed a blow on Machida, albeit not that damaging, helped sway TV viewers that Rua was really doing well. Even Mike Goldberg’s “You can just see Shogun looks in better condition, Joe,” helped make the case that Rua performed better than he really did.

Judges Peoples and Marcos Rosales gave rounds one, two and three to Machida, while Nelson “Doc” Hamilton had given rounds two, three and four to Machida. The disparity makes naysayers insist that the judges got it wrong for being unable to agree. Albeit they all gave the fight to Machida on similar scores of 48-47.

Those who disagree with the UFC 104 judges’ decision are not judges themselves. The judges were specifically chosen for their expertise, for their thorough knowledge of the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. The UFC is big and rich enough to afford professional judges to go along with professional fighters. They all do this for a living. The fighters hurt each other, while the judges see who gets the edge hurt-wise in the exchanges. The judges don’t get hurt that much unless most everybody disagree with them and accuse them of being in the hip pocket of UFC demi-god Dana White. This is not the first time that UFC judges or judges from other organizations have been accused of being manipulated by executives in rigging matches. As long as there will be fights like Machida-Rua I, the voices will not be stilled. Even then, there is no guarantee that a rematch will settle this issue once and for all, even if a knockout will show who the best light-heavyweight MMA fighter in the world is.

Quinton goes on a rampage…quits

Jackson leaves MMA for the movies

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is not the first UFC fighter who smacked down on the organization. Years ago, Jens “Little Evil” Pulver slammed the UFC for not taking into account his loyalty to the organization despite fighting for it exclusively even though he had offers from other MMA groups. Pulver claimed that the highest amount he ever got paid by the UFC was $60,000; and to think that he was once the lightweight champion. In today’s UFC, that amount is a mere bonus for Fight of the Night.

The UFC could justifiably claim to be the savior of mixed martial arts. If Dana White had not convinced the Fertitta brothers to sink millions into buying out the UFC from SEG and developing the organization by taking it to Las Vegas and producing The Ultimate Fighter reality show, MMA would have stayed at best a fringe sport.

MMA fans and investors recognize White and the Fertitta brothers’ role in putting MMA on the international sports map, but the hubris that White has maintained – unfairly criticizing competitors and talking his butt off like he’s the god of the sport – has gained him as much vitriol as credit.

Jackson’s diatribical statement in his official website has blown the lid off White’s hairless pate. Not many have dared talk back to the great White trash talker.

Roger Huerta, another UFC contracted fighter who decided to give the movies a stab, is another victim of White’s machinations. After refusing to extend his contract with the UFC, it is widely believed that Huerta was set up to fight the formidable Gray Maynard. The fact that Huerta lost to Maynard is all the proof some suspicious minds need to confirm their theory that the UFC simply needed to send Huerta out of the organization on a losing note. A risky strategy but if it worked out it would be brilliant. Incidentally, Huerta has also branched out into the movies. He is said to play Matador in the movie version of the video game Tekken.

The loss of Jackson will impact not just the big daddy of MMA federations, but the sport as a whole. Despite or because of his loquacious ways, Jackson was one of the sports best envoys. His amusing patter even though sprinkled with plenty of profanity, was and still makes for good PR. It didn’t harm that Jackson was as strong as two welterweights put together and had the courage of Royce Gracie on steroids. Oops! Bad example. Strength and courage are Jackson’s strong suits.

So, it was ridiculous for White to order the Big Black Rampage to feign intimidation of Machida. The great Brazilian karate expert might be too fast and crafty for Rampage, but you never know what will happen once Jackson has Machida in his grasp. The fight against Evans would have been explosive. Like two silverbacks vying for the amorous attention of a simian supermodel, Jackson and Evans would have torn each other into shreds in the Octagon like two King Kongs in the African jungle. They hated each other, and still do.

White responded to Jackson’s move in atypical manner – he wishes him happy trails instead of mocking him. “He’s acting like a baby,” White said. “He’s acting like a baby right now but he’s a grown man. He wants to be in the movie business? Rampage, good luck to you, man. I hope you make it big — and I’m not being sarcastic because Rampage Jackson is a guy that I do like. But Rampage Jackson is a guy that doesn’t always make the best decisions.”

That doesn’t sound so bad does it? By saying this and if he stands by it without adding anything to put his foot in his big mouth, White will come out smelling like freshly-washed jockstraps.

Jackson does not deny the good things the UFC has done to his MMA career. “The UFC has done a lot for me, but I think I have done more for them,” Jackson admitted. But if he is really leaving MMA for the movies for whatever reason (Rampage as B.A. Baracus in the The A-Team movie is good casting), it’s his decision. If he later on changes his mind, finding Hollywood or independent cinema just as troublesome and painful as MMA, he should find a promoter willing to take him in and arrange for him to fight again.

The Last Emperor Holds On To His Throne; Spider Snares Sandman

Fedor Emelianenko drives over another heavyweight hump in Tim Sylvia; Spider Silva puts Sandman Irvin to sleep...early

OK, allow us to cram before the results filter in. Let’s go straight to prediction time. Free-For-All doesn’t see anything wrong about conventional wisdom -- Fedor Emelianenko may struggle against Sylvia, but despite…oh, man. Sorry about that. Thank God for wikipedia.com (sherdog.com was mysteriously offline, or just too difficult to log on to at the time I was writing this piece), I just found out Fedor did win over Sylvia via rear-naked choke, in a record thirty-six fragging seconds! This is 10 seconds slower than Emelianenko’s submission-by-strikes win over the just-as-huge Zuluzinho in Pride Shockwave 2005, and three times as long as the Ukrainian’s fastest win, a 12-second wipeout of Hiroya Takada in Sept. 5, 2000 in RINGS -- Battle Genesis Vol. 6.

Starting with a left hook followed by a left uppercut in the clinch, Emelianenko launched nine head shots on Sylvia, knocking him down, before pouncing on the Maine-iac on the ground with more punches, eventually controlling Sylvia’s back and sinking in deep a rear-naked choke.

Emelianenko, the 31-year-old balding accountant-looking Ukraine-native has proved that he is (arguably) still the best heavyweight MMA fighter in the world, bagging the first-ever WAMMA (World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts) heavyweight title. Emelianenko lost more sweat in the dressing room than in the ring with Sylvia. This is the second consecutive time that Sylvia has lost by choke (he tapped out to Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Noguiera by guillotine choke in UFC 81 just last Feb. 2). This proves, most especially in Sylvia’s mind, that to defeat someone bigger and taller than you is by taking him down and choking him out. Much like cutting down tall trees; even tall trees that hit back.

Who’s next for “The Last Emperor” Fedor? Bring on Randy Couture!

Or, if Dana “Kill ’Em All and Let the UFC Sort ’Em Out” White insists that Anderson “The Spider” Silva is the world’s pound-for-pound best MMA fighter on the planet, let The Spider eat more flies and bloat to 215lbs. Then Silva will be heavy and tall (at 6-feet-2 to Emelianenko's 6-0, the Brazilian is even taller) enough to take on Emelianenko. How about that, Dana dear?

Toughest

Then we can finally settle this who’s-the-toughest-mother-on-the- planet-or-at-least-in-the-MMA-firmanent argument. And in effect, find out who’s tougher, UFC or Affliction.

Sorry for digressing. Now back to our regular programming.

At the UFC, middleweight champ Anderson Silva proved that his knockout power has not been diminished with added poundage, as he took out James Irvin in a second over one minute. Irvin foolishly kicked Silva on the leg, opening up his defense to the opportunistic Spider who caught Irvin’s leg with one of his elongated arms (two not eight) and struck Irvin down with a right straight punch. More strikes on the ground and referee Mario Yamasaki was convinced enough to put an end to the punishment.

Much like Fedor proving that he is still worthy of the Last Emperor title, Silva is still one of the UFC’s supreme strikers (Quinton Jackson and Chuck Liddell might have something to say about that). Silva’s venture into the light-heavyweight ranks might be deemed successful with the knockout of Irvin, but that doesn’t really prove anything…yet. The inconsistent Irvin (remember his KO loss to the just-as-inconsistent Mike Kyle and submission by Kimura to the diamond-in-the-rough Stephan Bonnar?) is not in the league of either Jackson or Liddell, or mayhaps Kyle and Bonnar.

Don’t let it go to your bald head, Spider. Go back to the middleweight ranks and clean it up some more, maybe rematch with Dan Henderson (Hollywood Dan’s loss via rear-naked choke was decisive but you can always rumble again as HD is still good to go, and you know it), or Yushi Okami (whom you stupidly kicked on the head while both his knees were still on the mat, earning you a loss by disqualification). And there’s also Ryo Chonan, whose spectacular flying-scissor heel-hook submission win over The Spider almost broke one of his two (not eight) legs.

The Spider Silva is the current almost-unanimous pound-for-pound best MMA fighter right now in most lists, but we all know what that means. It only means he is ripe for the picking, if the 33-year-old UFC champ doesn’t retire now, in the next few years (nah!, make that in the next few months or even within a year) he will find someone stronger, faster, smarter to beat him.

In MMA, it doesn’t take much to pop a bubble or penetrate an armor. After Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell became champions and convinced everyone they were invincible, they came up against the rather lightly-regarded and definitely older Randy Couture to learn humility and respect for elders. Weren’t Ortiz and Liddell also pound-for-pound best in MMA before? Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Noguiera also held that title while still fighting in Pride FC, that is until he went up against a stoic Ukrainian named Fedor Emelianenko and was pounded near senseless, the Brazilian’s excellent submission attempts brushed off by Emelianenko like Brazil’s national debt to the World Bank.

History

Speaking of the Last Emperor, he could also learn from history. If he hasn’t yet, he should watch the Oscar-winning film, he was named after. The real-life last emperor, Pu Yi, was eventually dethroned not by another pretender to the throne but by the rush of history. Emelianenko, most likely, realizes his place in MMA history and its accompanying precariousness. Maybe the smartest decision he has made in his career was not to sign up with the UFC and be just another of Dana White and the Fertita brothers’ high-profile slaves. Instead, Emelianenko became an Affliction slave. That’s too harsh a term, actually. Emelianenko and all who make their living fighting would prefer to be called modern-day gladiators. Learn from history again. All those ancient gladiators who shed blood in the Roman Colosseum and elsewhere were either captured enemy soldiers or slaves who preferred killing other humans over lifting rocks in some remote quarry.

That’s enough on history.

The fighters who were expected to win won. But the real battle wasn’t really in the ring or Octagon; it was fought in the ticket gates and pay-per-view ratings. Affliction: Banned would have been more aptly titled Affliction: Stacked, because the T-shirt giant’s initial venture into mixed-martial-arts promotion was just that, stacked to the ceiling. Rumor has it that Affliction spent $2 million to put up Banned. If Affliction broke even, it would be glad. If it turned a profit, it would be ecstatic. If it lost its baroque T-shirts to promote Banned, it can always go back to the drawing board and concentrate on selling shirts.

But whatever the financial results of Affliction’s initial MMA fight promo venture, you have to give it to Affliction; it truly was a great night of fighting. Banned, my derriere! Tanned is more like it. That’s what you call a healthy MMA fight card. Stacked and credible. What more can you say when you have Emelianenko and Sylvia, the top two heavyweights in MMA. Sure, only Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Noguiera fought that night, not his twin brother, Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro,” the better fighter of the two. Couture was there. He shook Fedor’s hand after Emelianenko won. Fedor’s brother (MMA brothers everywhere!) Aleksander was banned by the California State Athletic Commission from fighting Paul Buentello (hence, Gary “Big Daddy” Goodridge as replacement fighter) for health issues, a heart condition according to the grapevine.

Banned, indeed.

UFC, on the other hand, had a lame name for its lamer promotion -- UFC Fight Night 14: Silva vs. Irvin. How can that match up with Affliction: Banned? The UFC started this whole MMA thing on PPV cable TV, more is expected of them. In the first place, if the UFC wants to drive Affliction out of the MMA fight promotion business, why not schedule one of their flagship fights like Aug. 9’s UFC 87: Seek & Destroy with Georges St. Pierre defending his welterweight belt against Jon Fitch; or more appropriately, UFC 88: Breakthrough, with Chuck Liddell and Rashad Evans headlining the event when they battle for higher vantage point in the 205-pound division?

Only the all-wise Dana White knows. Well, the UFC is the UFC and Pride FC is Pride FC. Oops, forgot, UFC swallowed up Pride. Monopoly used to sound good to Mr. White, until Affliction: Banned, that is.

NEXT: The undercards.

UFC 86: Rampaging Forrest Fire

Strikefest: Jackson-Griffin I

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s brute strength and Forrest Griffin’s not-to-be-scoffed-at physical gifts and aggression make today’s UFC 86 light-heavyweight championship bout very exciting. “Styles make fights” is a boxing dictum that applies to all sports, fighting or not. The Jackson-Griffin brawl (it is hoped) is no different.

Many are of the opinion that Jackson beat erstwhile lightheavy king
Chuck Liddell with a lucky punch. The right hook that fell Liddell was followed by more punches on the ground forcing John McCarthy to put a stop to the fight and award a TKO win to Jackson. It took Jackson only a minute and 53 seconds in the first round to dethrone Liddell, now claiming a 2-0 edge in their match-up extending back to the old Pride tournament in Japan. This will be Jackson’s second defense of his UFC belt, and technically and by extension, his first defense of the defunct Pride middleweight crown he wrested from Dan Henderson 10 months ago.

The inactivity may have put some rust into the well-oiled pumping machine that is Jackson. Griffin, on the other hand, has also been away from the Octagon for 10 months, two weeks shorter than Rampage’s absence. The difference is Jackson came off a less-than convincing win over Henderson, while Griffin choked out one of his weight division’s strongest and most talented fighters, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Although, it can be said that Rua was not at full strength when he lost to Griffin, having ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament but still decided to push through with the fight.

But Jackson-Griffin I will not be won on who they last beat. Both have their formidable strengths and subtle weaknesses. Jackson is freakishly strong but is a sucker for a fast and strong striker. He lost to brutal Wanderlei Silva, the former Pride middleweight champ, not once but twice. Griffin is a warrior through and through. His three-round unanimous-decision win over Stephan Bonnar in the Ultimate Fighter I Finale is one of the most definitive examples of an all-out striking contest between two great competitors who won’t take a draw for a result. Griffin won by UD, but barely. UFC top honcho Dana White was so elated with the slambang show the two put on that he decided to reward not just the winner, Griffin, a UFC contract, but also Bonnar.

In today’s UFC 86 main event, if Jackson risks striking with Griffin, he just might be at the wrong end of a lucky punch (or kick or knee or slam) like he did Liddell.

Let the carnage begin, Rampage…and Fire. (N.B. I Googled Griffin’s mixed-martial-arts nickname. He currently doesn’t have one. Someone in a www.ultimate-fighter.ca forum suggested in jest that since Griffin resembles the image of a gremlin or Firby, that he should have the moniker Gremlin or Firby. Surely that name-caller will change his mind if he gets a taste of Griffin’s punch. Just one weeny teeny punch. While Rampage is aptly nicknamed.)

Yes, just one well-placed punch on Rampage’s hard head and muscle-bound body can give Griffin the chance to pound the champion with more strikes. Still, Griffin is the underdog to the junkyard-dog Jackson. See him howl on the way to the Octagon, with that mean look of his, huge chains around his neck and all. Henderson offered a gentlemanly hand to Rampage before the bell rang for their fight, but Rampage was too busy with dagger looks at Henderson, incidentally, a very good friend of Rampage. Rebuffed, “Dan Hollywood” Henderson quickly lost his grin and tightened his girders.

Prediction time: Griffin by KO in Round 3. I wish! Being almost always for the underdog, I would like Griffin to win in three but the odds are stacked against him. Although, the good thing about the UFC and MMA in general is that surprises and shocks are never wanting.

Let’s get it on!