Dana White interview - Rampage or Machida next for Jon Jones, disappointed with Nelson AND Mir
video.aol.com/video/dana-white-ufc-130-post-f...Posted May 29, 2011, 5:47 PM UTC
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video.aol.com
I thought Mir did pretty good. Nelson has an iron chin
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Yup, I don't know how anyone can beat Big Country other than by decision. Nobody can knock him out and he's to big and fat to lock in a good submission.
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The thing that surprised me, considering how tired Roy Nelson looked, was that Mir didn't try and exploit him gasping for air more. He blocked his mouth a few times, but wasn't riding his stomach, choking him, or really forcing him to work from the bottom...
Kinda sad, 'cause I was kinda hoping that Big Country take home the 'W'.
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Not sure I've got this right.
Rashad was set to fight Jon when Jon pulled out for surgery, so Rashad was set to fight Phil Davis instead on Aug 6. I assumed that fight was to be for the no1 contender.
Jones is expected to fight again by the end of the year, so it'd give Evans/Davis enough time to rest after their bout.
Now Dana says Rampage is next and if he can't then it's Machida, bypassing Evans/Davis completely? I do think Machida is the most interesting match up for Jones, but that doesn't seem fair to Rashad who was once set to fight Jones.
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I think it went down like this: When Jones thought he needed surgery Rashad got the option of fighting or waiting (again). Rashad chose to fight and then he gets booked into a fight with Davis for the #1 contender. Turns out Jones doesn't need surgery, and can fight sooner than they thought, but now Evans is booked in a match. For Jones' next fight it's healthy-Rampage or backup-Machida, and the winner of Davis/Evans is next in line for the title-shot.
It's a minority opinion, but I think Jones' medical issues were genuine. Rashad chose to wait on the title before and got screwed because of it, and now might get screwed again because he chose not to wait... It's tough luck, but the call was his. Besides, if you were coming off a long absence (1.5 years? more?), would you want your first fight back to be with Jones? :)
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Machida vs Jones will be very interesting.
I think Machida is probably the best match up going for Jones. A counter striker who is good at quickly closing distance with heavy hands.
I really think Machida could be a possible challenge for Jones, well more so then Rampage or Evans who I think would meet the same fight as Jones other past opponents.
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It seems like an unfair title shot to give when Machida is one win off a loss to Rampage, in a fair and balanced world they would give Jackson the extra few months to recover. Saying that I don't mind because Machida Jones is a far more interesting match up.
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I totally agree..Rampage is the more rightful choice on Paper, but I honestly think Rampage with this style would get picked apart by Jones.
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A "loss" to Rampage? Even Rampage didn't think it was a "loss to Rampage".
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But it was, and Rampage was the only one who thought it wasn't. By the rules of the sport Rampage won that fight 29-28 any day of the week.
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Rampage looked completely mediocre against Hamill, and Hamill looked pitiful with those take down attempts. I don't get any reason why Dana would think Rampage would still be a good draw against Jones. Especially how Jones manhandled Hamill.
Lyoto is an interesting match-up if he can be quick enough, but either way it's a shitty day for Rashad Evans.
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Mir was more impressive than JDS against Nelson, and yet JDS received no criticism.
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rewatch that fight. JDS kept it standing, as opposed to getting that gorgeous hip throw and takedowns. But otherwise JDS completely picked Roy apart. There was nothing wrong with the way JDS fought that fight.
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I think JDS wore his arms out a little too much in the first... Towards the end he was landing soooo often on Nelson, I gotta believe that if he was landing close to his full power that he woulda finished Big Country a couple times over.
[not trying to say JDS didn't fight a pretty flawless fight, just that he might have been a touch eager in round 1]
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Didn't watch the video bc I'm at work but I will imagine the phrase "We're gonna have to sit down and look at everything..." came up a lot.
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If Mir wants another shot at the title, he had better come out hungry and not put on a performance like tonight. He couldn't stop a gassed out Nelson, and didn't showcase anything that would be problematic for someone like JDS or Velasquez. A judo throw, and some knees aren't impressing anyone. I'm with Dana on this.
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I don't know how dana can be upset with Mir - he went out there and whooped some ass for 15 minutes. He was a bit winded by the third, but he had a broken jaw and a broken rib. Give the guy a break.
I also think Nelson, while he did gas out, wasn't as 'bad' as everyone made him seem. The announcers just decided not to call any of the substancial strikes that Roy landed - and it was pretty clear from the get go that they were biased against the rotund roy.
I'm not saying Roy doesn't need to hit his cardio hard for his next fight, he does, but I think he's getting about 2-3 times the amount of crap for gassing than someone who was "in shape" would get. Shane Carwin anyone?
Roy has been criticized for his figure by Rogan even in fights where he doesn't gas. Unfortunately, people do seem to link bodybuilding looks with being in good shape when there's clearly little relation (Shane Carwin, Phil Baroni, Mark Kerr, etc.).
I'm sure Roy would benefit from losing some of that weight, but it's likely he'll receive criticism until he sports a six pack and bulging biceps, which I don't see ever happening.
I'm a fan of Roy Nelson, and I think the body-type is/would be awesome if he can make it work in high level MMA. I look at someone like Fedor, or even Dan Henderson, and I see a lot of value for them not having to cut much, their bodies being full of fluids and energy stores come fight night...
I don't care about Roy Nelson's body fat percentage - but the combination of a big belly and poor gas tank is no fun for anyone.
He's got a meeting coming up later this week with Dana White. Something tells me that he's going to show up for his next fight with cardio to spare ;)
Yeah Dana white came back and said he was being too harsh with Mir. He was just in a bad mood because of the lack luster main events. Mir always seems to be held under more scrutiny for some reason. IMO he looked better in his win against country than JDS and jDS got little or no official criticism.
Maybe because he is a former champ or because he usually has fast exciting fights. Or because his mouth.
I thought Mir looked really solid. That trip/hip throw into immediate mount was hella sexy.
The only thing I found 'disappointing' was that even though Mir managed to get Nelson down, mount him, or even get his back it seemed like he wasn't too interested in even trying to finish the fight on the ground.
I don't know if Frank Mir was hunting for a knock-out finish, or if he just didn't want to take the risk since he was doing so well on his feet, but I seem to remember 4 or more times in the fight where Nelson looked like he just rolled over onto his knees and slowly stood up without really having to work for it.