Anthony Smith: ‘I think that Jon Jones is less dangerous than Volkan’

There’s a lot to be said for being in the right place at the right time. For Anthony Smith, the place is the light heavyweight division, and the time is now.

The longtime middleweight action-fighter came to the UFC with a reputation for living (and dying) by the sword. In his 44 professional fights, stretching all the way back to his pro debut as a 19-year-old in 2008, Smith has only seen the judges 3 times – win or lose. And he seemed more or less settled in to the role of mid-card attraction up until early this year when he made jump from 185 to 205, following a defeat at the hands of Thiago Santos.

Since that loss, Smith has gone 3-0, defeating former champions Rashad Evans and Shogun Rua, and now former contender Volkan Oezdemir. It’s that most recent win that has Smith suddenly at the front of the line as a potential title challenger himself, and seems to have ‘Lionheart’ feeling that his most “dangerous” fight may already be behind him.

“I think that Volkan is one of the tougher matchups for me in the entire division,” Smith said in a recent interview with the MMA Hour (transcript via MMA Fighting), “just because of the way that he fights. I think that Jon Jones is less dangerous than Volkan is — Jon Jones isn’t one-punch knocking out anybody. It’s just, that’s not his style.

He’s super crafty, he’s dynamic, I think he has a high fight IQ, but I think that he’s hittable, and I think that I match up with him size-wise pretty well. Obviously he’s got a longer reach than everybody in the entire UFC, but I think that Jon Jones beats a lot of people in that short range with the elbows and stuff. And I think that I’m just as dangerous in that elbow fighting range as anybody in the division.”

Smith added that out of the three potential options in the immediate title picture (Jones, Gustafsson, and Cormier) he’d rather face Jones than either of the other two men. If for no other reason than Jones’ relatively unblemished record, and the opportunity to make history by beating him. And, even if he has to wait for his opportunity, it sounds like Smith could use the time off.

“I would imagine that [title] fight would have to be on a pretty big card, so maybe May or June,” Smith said. “I’d be fine with waiting until July for International Fight Week or something like that, I think that’d be a lot of fun. But I definitely need a break. I need to sit back and I need to be a dad for a little while. I think I had five fights in 13 months, and that’s just a lot of traveling, and I missed out on a couple vacations I was supposed to take my kids on, so I’ve got a lot of making up to do.”

Jones vs. Gustafsson is booked to go down at UFC 232 on December 29th in Las Vegas, NV. Once both men step in the Octagon, the will officially be for the then-vacated light heavyweight title currently around Daniel Cormier’s waist. A superfight between Cris Cyborg and Amanda Nunes has been set for the co-main event. Stay tuned to Bloody Elbow for more news and updates as fight night approaches.

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Beef Wars! The Very Best Jon Jones Vs. Daniel Cormier Trash Talk

Daniel Cormier: ‘When you’ve got names like Khabib and Georges… Let those guys fight’

What is the UFC going to do with Khabib Nurmagomedov now? The holder of their lightweight title is coming off what could have (and may still have) been a star-making performance at UFC 229, where he bested combat sports superstar Conor McGregor to retain the belt. Their battle became the biggest selling PPV in UFC history.

But, where does the UFC go from here?

From a sporting achievement standpoint, Tony Ferguson would appear to be the man of the hour. ‘El Cucuy’ is fresh of a thrilling win over Anthony Pettis on the Khabib-McGregor undercard and is riding a stunning 11-fight win streak in MMA deepest division. But, he’s not the biggest money fight around. That position, argues UFC light heavyweight & heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier belongs to former two-division champion Georges St-Pierre.

“Matchup wise, Tony, tough, GSP, super tough; but the history and the matchup of a GSP fight, at 165. . .” Cormier said in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani (transcript via MMA Fighting). “It doesn’t have to be for a belt. This is a big enough fight that it doesn’t have to be for a title. Make it a catchweight fight. When you’ve got names like Khabib and Georges, it can be for anything. Let those guys fight.”

Of course, being teammates with the unbeaten Dagestani, Cormier can only see the fight going one way, with Nurmagomedov getting his hand raised.

“Khabib wins but this is his closest fight ever because you don’t just control Georges St-Pierre,” concluded Cormier. “But you’re asking me a loaded question because I’m never gonna say Khabib’s gonna lose.

“I think it’s a five-round decision. You don’t finish Georges St-Pierre, unless you are Matt Serra.”

At the moment, the ‘Eagle’ is under “indefinite suspension” by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, as the result of a massive post fight brawl between Nurmagomedov’s corner and supporters and Conor McGregor’s corner and supporters in the wake of Khabib’s victory on October 6th. The NSAC has yet to hand down a final verdict on either man or any of the other fighters and MMA adjacent figures involved.

Even if the commission doesn’t suspend Nurmagomedov for long, however, UFC president Dana White doesn’t seem all that bullish on the idea of GSP stepping straight into a fight with the lightweight champ.

“How does Georges St-Pierre jump over all the guys fighting in that division to face Khabib?” White said in a recent interview. “Just because all of a sudden he wants to come out and fight this guy — he doesn’t get to do that. If Georges St-Pierre is serious, listen, I’ll give you a fight with one of these guys in the top five. If you win, you’ll be in position for a title shot.

”We don’t even know if Georges St-Pierre can make 155 pounds. You know what I mean?”

Until the NSAC is done with their investigation, potential matchmaking can’t amount to much more than talk. But after that, who knows? The potential money involved may bring about a sudden change of heart.

Dana White says Demetrious Johnson never got the ‘love and respect’ he deserved from fans

It’s no secret that Demetrious Johnson was never a popular UFC champion. In his record setting run atop the flyweight division, he headlined 4 PPV events. The top selling among those? His title defense against Chris Cariaso at UFC 178, which still only drew a paltry estimated 205,000 buys.

Why it is he never clicked, however, is a topic up for a bit more debate. Many fans and pundits have laid the blame at the UFC itself and their seeming inability to turn obvious talent into a marketable headliner. In a recent interview with TMZ sports, however, president Dana White put the focus squarely on the fans themselves.

“Yeah, I mean if you look at it,” White said, when asked about Johnson’s legacy, “the kid broke the record for most title defenses. And I feel like he never really got the love and respect that he deserved from the fans. And I don’t know if he was always thrilled being here. So, hopefully he’s a lot happier where he’s headed now. You know, his longtime trainer and coach is an executive over there, so maybe he’ll be happier over there, yeah.”

To White’s point about ‘Mighty’’s possible unhappiness, recent reports cite DJ’s self described disinterest in what staying in the UFC could offer him and his career.

Demetrious Johnson says there was ‘nothing there’ to go back and fight Henry Cejudo for a third time. He beat him once already. He knew if he went back and won the belt again, he’d have to stay in the UFC.

— Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) October 29, 2018

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

And it’s hard to shake the memory of Dana White’s comments during the UFC’s negotiations to set up a fight between Johnson and Dillashaw when both men were title holders. “Let’s see what your PPV does, you’re a partner, let’s see what you make,” White chided Johnson over reports that he was looking for a large guaranteed fight purse.

“The media claims he’s the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world,” White told TMZ back in 2017, “I think Conor McGregor is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. If you look at what that really means, what pound-for-pound means, and Conor doesn’t give a sh*t, he’ll fight anybody, anywhere, anytime. And if Demetrious is the pound-for-pound best guy in the world, then fight T.J. Dillashaw. Fight somebody that people will actually care about and be interested in, and there you go.”

Whether the blame ultimately lies with fans, the promotion, or Johnson himself, it seems like both White and the AMC Pankration talent will be happier to see the back of one another.

Andrei Arlovski vs. Walt Harris added to UFC 232

Last winter it seemed that Andrei Arlovski had found his groove again. The former UFC heavyweight champion navigated the worst losing streak of his career (5 straight) over 2016-17 to pick up wins over Junior Albini and Stefan Struve. What’s more, he seemed to have improved his notably crack-able chin.

But, while he still hasn’t been KO’d since June of 2017, his winning ways seem to have once again abandoned him. Now coming off losses to Tai Tuivasa and Shamil Abdurakhimov the still top 15 ranked 265er is looking for another chance to rebound.

The UFC is giving him that chance against Walt Harris on December 29th. Officials announced the matchup between the ‘Big Ticket’ and the 39-year-old current ATT fighter on Sunday, October 28th.

Harris enters the bout off a win over Daniel Spitz last June in Utica, NY. The victory brings the Champions MMA talent to 4-6 in his UFC career, with all of his wins coming by way of knockout.

It should make for another major test of Arlovski’s improved resiliance, as well as an opportunity for Harris to climb toward a .500 record in the UFC and a spot in the rankings.

UFC 232 is set to go down in Las Vegas, NV at the T-Mobile Arena. The event is expected to be headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson. A women’s superfight between featherweight champion Cris Cyborg and bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes is scheduled for the co-main event.

UFC Moncton: Oezdemir vs. Smith – Fights to make

The UFC’s first trip to Moncton had its moments, but overall, what looked like a potential slog of a card on paper became a slog of a card in reality. Anthony Smith made his case to be the next light heavyweight title contender, and Don Madge announced himself as a new potential hot prospect, everyone else just kind treaded water.

With that in mind, however, is Smith really the best option for the Gus/Jones winner? And what can we take away from Sean Strickland and Calvin Kattar flipping the switch on their respective opponents? Does beating Artem Lobov really tell us anything new about Michael Johnson?

To answer all these questions – and maybe a couple more – I’ll be using the classic Silva/Shelby matchmaking model of UFC years past. That means pitting winners against winners, losers against losers, and similarly tenured talent against one another. If you’d like to take your own shot at some fantasy fight booking, drop a comment below starting with, “Let’s be honest, we’re all winners after a performance like that.” I’ll pick one winner (sorry you’re not all winners, actually) out of the responses to join me next time.

This week’s winner is BE mod Ben Kohn:

Hi BElitists, Ben Kohn (the nice mod) here and I’m joining Zane once more to help him figure out who in the wide world of MMA these guys should be fighting next. I appreciate being brought on once more and hopefully my picks aren’t eviscerated for their faulty logic and reasoning. Be gentle.

ANTHONY SMITH

Ben – Well shit, Smith is fun as all hell. He’s now beaten the #2 ranked LHW and is on a 3 fight win streak since moving up from MW (and a loss to Thiago Santos, who has also moved to LHW so….). To be realistic, Jones/Gus 2 is for the #1 contender spot so Smith will likely be an alternate for that while being booked for another fight. I think Blachowicz makes the most sense. Both are on win streaks and Jan should be ahead anyway, but the UFC will not want to give Jan the fight, so this makes the most sense for me. Anthony Smith vs. Jan Blachowicz.

Zane – It’s hard to imagine Anthony Smith as a legit contender to Jon Jones in the UFC, even after a grueling come from behind win like this one. But, then again, it’s hard to imagine any of the top contenders at 205 competing with Jones. Assuming ‘Bones’ regains his title against Gustafsson, then the top contenders become Blachowicz, Smith, and the winner of Santos vs. Manuwa, with Dominick Reyes bringing up the rear. I’m tempted to say that the UFC should just throw Smith in for the belt, but on the off chance Gus wins and prompts a rubber match, or Jones wins and runs off to do something else (or just gets suspended again) I’ll assume Smith needs at least one more bout. Since he’s already lost to Santos, why not let him fight Blachowicz. Winner has a great claim for a title fight. Anthony Smith vs. Jan Blachowicz is my fight.

VOLKAN OEZDEMIR

Ben – Well then, now 3-2 in the UFC with 2 straight losses. While he’s likely never going to contend again, he is still a solid name and fighter. He should fight another former elite on the downslide, and that man is Glover Teixeira. One of two things happen, Glover wins and sticks around the top 10 or Volkan still retains some value with a win. Granted Glover is recovering from an injury so I don’t know when it can be booked, but I’m fine with waiting. The fight will also likely be quite fun too. Volkan Oezdemir vs. Glover Teixeira.

Zane – Rough loss for Oezdemir. He looked decent early, but by a similar token, he never really took over the fight – even while clearly winning the first two rounds. Smith slipped a lot of shots, and when Oezdemir got top control, he didn’t exactly crush Smith with GnP. He let Smith hang around and Smith made the best of it. Misha Cirkunov called him out after his fight earlier in the night, and that rematch would still make some sense right now. But… what about a fight with Nikita Krylov. Glover is injured, Reyes is coming off a big win, and it’s not like Krylov is less experienced than Oezdemir. Make the fight, it’d be a fun one; Niki Thrillz vs. Volkan Oezdemir.

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Is Anthony Smith 205’s top title contender?

MICHAEL JOHNSON

Ben – I’m not too impressed with Johnson at FW and I think it was a mistake to drop, but he’s now 2-0 so keep on going I guess. To me, I think it’s time to pull the trigger on Johnson at FW. He’s only 32 but 10 years into his career with 32 fights too. Throw him at Josh Emmett, someone else who’s explosive, but he also won’t really present the same issues that historically break Johnson either. I want to see how Johnson handles someone comparably fast and explosive. Michael Johnson vs. Josh Emmett.

Zane – This was more a fight Johnson had to win than it was a fight that moves him up the division for winning. Beat Artem Lobov and you’re still a UFC level talent, that’s about the limit of what it says though. And since most of the top of 135 is coming off a loss, there’s only one fight that really stands out for Johnson right now: Alex Caceres. Like the ‘Menace,’ ‘Bruce Leeroy’ has made a UFC career out of winning and losing exciting action fights trending toward a .500 record. And like beating Lobov, Caceres taking out Martin Bravo just doesn’t tell us that much. Put them in the cage together and see which of these action-fight vets can keep winning. Caceres vs. Johnson should be a fun fight. If that doesn’t work, he can always fight Volkanovski or Magomedsharipov to see if either prospect can use him as a potential name win.

MISHA CIRKUNOV

Ben – Now having snapped his 2 fight losing streak, Misha is back on track and his grappling is still dangerous as hell. While beating Cummins isn’t a huge deal, it is nice to get that confidence back, I imagine. With Manuwa scheduled to face Thiago Santos, I think the winner of that fight makes sense for him, especially if it’s Santos. I’m going with Misha Cirkunov vs. Manuwa/Santos winner.

Zane – A great return to form for Cirkunov, but in a fight he was expected to win anyway. Question now is, does the UFC throw Cirkunov back in to a challenge fight, or do they give him another forgiving matchup? He could fight OSP in a winner/loser battle, or Lil’ Nog off Nog’s win over Alvey. Or he could take on Dominick Reyes. I say be a bit forgiving, let him build a little momentum, and then maybe throw him back at another top tier LHW to see what he can do. Misha Cirkunov vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira is the right next fight.

SEAN STRICKLAND

Ben – Back on track after the first KO loss of his career, Strickland has kept on knocking on the door to the top 15 and getting pushed back. Maybe we can stop matching him with young prospects and give him shots against older veterans? Maybe UFC? Anyway, to me, a bout against Sergio Moraes, another fringe guy, makes divisional sense. Sean Strickland vs. Sergio Moraes.

Zane – If Strickland is ready to get back in the cage in a hurry, Li Jingliang needs an opponent for the upcoming Singapore card and Strickland would be just right for it. Otherwise, welterweight is neck deep in highly talented under-regarded fighters like him, and his seeming willingness to fight anybody should make for a lot of easy to book match-ups. There’s Danny Roberts, Bryan Barberena, Sage Northcutt, Vicente Luque, Leon Edwards, Sergio Moraes, Jordan Mein, James Krause… almost too many options. Of all those, I actually think I’d be most interested in the James Krause fight. Seems like a fun matchup of the crafty veteran vs. the young veteran. Krause vs. Strickland is good stuff if Strickland can’t make the turnaround for Jingliang.

NASRAT HAQPARAST

Ben – Well he’s certainly still raw as all hell. Nasrat is a potential elite fighter but he still has a ton to work on before getting there. I think the broken hand explains a lot about his performance, but not everything. I think he needs more time at the bottom to feed and grow as a fighter, and with that in mind, I want to see Nasrat Haqparast vs. Vinc Pichel. There really is no need to rush him right now and while isn’t bad, he’s certainly nowhere near elite.

Zane – Part of me says go ahead and throw Haqparast in with David Teymur or Gregor Gillespie and see what happens, or (if his hands heal up quickly) take on Scott Holtzman in an all action fight. Instead of all that though, what about a matchup against Nik Lentz? Lentz has, by turns, been a good stepping stone for prospects like Teymur, and Makhachev, and a competitive winner over notable vets. If Haqparast can take him out, he’s stamped himself as a streaking prospect at 155. If he can’t, then this is how he gets to find out he’s not ready. Nasrat Haqparast vs. Nik Lentz is a make or break fight for the prospect.

CALVIN KATTAR

Ben – Damn, well that was certainly a nice finish. Considering that was the last fight on his contract, I imagine making a statement like that must be good for his wallet. Now 3-1, Kattar is seemingly digging himself in as a legitimate fringe top 15 right now and I think there’s a lot to say about that at FW. I think a bout with the Ricardo Lamas/Darren Elkins winner would be pretty damn good and that’s my pick, assuming he re-signs. Calvin Kattar vs Lamas/Elkins winner.

Zane – There are plenty of potential options for Kattar. Fights with Makwan Amrikhani, Alex Volkanovski, or even Wang Guan, and Raoni Barcelos. But, he wants a fight in the top 15, and there’s one that’s too good to pass up: Zabit Magomedsharipov. At this point, fans know that Zabit is an electric talent with a diverse arsenal. But, he’s also looked like a fighter that can be tagged up a bit by tough brawlers willing to eat shots to land shots. Kattar is as tough as they come, and actually has a fair amount of nuance to his action-kickboxing style. He’d present a great next step challenge for Zabit, and it would also give Kattar the kind of higher profile fight’s he’s asking for. Perfect fight to make right now; Calvin Kattar vs. Zabit Magomedsharipov.

DON MADGE

Ben – Don Madge: Holy shit that kick finish was awesome. With guys coming from EFC, you kind of have to speculate about their abilities as a fighter, but that was a hell of a statement to make. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t see any reason to expect huge things from Madge but I think we can expect a fun guy to watch in the future. I’d like to see him fight the winner of Luis Pena vs Mike Trizano. Pena would be extremely fun, just saying. So Don Madge vs Pena/Trizano winner.

Zane – This is a big ‘pump the brakes moment’ for the UFC. Madge looked great tonight, but he also looked great against a fairly inexperienced prospect who had never won outside of round 1 before. Let’s give Madge another chance or two to prove himself before we start calling for him to take a big step up. Fights against recent signings Devonte Smith or Sodiq Yusuff would probably be good moves to that end. Fights with Felipe Silva, Jason Gonzalez, or Christos Giagos would also be fine if the UFC wanted to go with a winner/loser matchup. In fact, Silva was kind of clubbering Claudio Puelles before getting tapped in the third round. Should make for a fun action fight with a high danger potential. Don Madge vs. Felipe Silva would be good n’ violent.

OTHER BOUTS: Lobov vs. Davis, Cummins vs. Alvey, Soukhamthath vs. Dvalishvili, Martinez vs. Jin Soo, Villante vs. Cutelaba, Herman vs. Ledet, McGee vs. Mein, Garcia vs. W. Alves, Taleb vs. Price, Fishgold vs. Bessette, Bernardo vs. Pudilova, Moras vs. Mazany, Edwards vs. Moret, Bhullar vs. Sakai, Golm vs. Spitz, Ray vs. Dober, Ayari vs. Gonzalez

UFC Moncton: Oezdemir vs. Smith 6th Round post-fight show

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The MMA Vivisection – UFC Moncton: Oezdemir vs. Smith picks, odds, & analysis

The UFC returns this week with… a card? UFC Fight Night: Oezdemir vs. Smith has some fun bouts dotted all up and down it, but for the most part it feels like just an event to keep everyone’s contractual obligations fulfilled. Most notably, if Volkan Oezdemir gets a big KO over Anthony Smith in the main event, he probably has a title shot coming against the Jones/Gus 2 winner. Otherwise, nobody on the event seems especially on the cusp of anything more than another chance to showcase their talent.

The main card breakdown is posted up above, via SoundCloud, but we’re splitting things with our Bloody Elbow Presents YouTube channel. So if you’re interested in the prelims, you can find those below.

The MMA Vivisection is brought to you by Combat Wombat, makers of combat sports themed artwork featuring MMA’s legendary fighters and legendary fights. Visit chrisrini.com for the latest pieces and commissions.

As always, if you enjoyed the show, give us a “like” over on YouTube & SoundCloud and subscribe to our channels, either there or on iTunes. That way you’ll always be among the first to get the latest in BE podcasting.

FS1 MAIN CARD | 10PM/7PM ET&PT
Volkan Oezdemir vs Anthony Smith – 3:55
Michael Johnson vs Artem Lobov – 14:55
Misha Cirkunov vs Patrick Cummins – 23:40
Andre Soukhamthath vs Jonathan Martinez – 32:47
Gian Villante vs Ed Herman – 39:36
Alex Garcia vs Court McGee – 51:48

FS2 PRELIMS | 8PM/5PM ET&PT
Nordine Taleb vs Sean Strickland – 2:20
Thibault Gouti vs Hasrat Haqparast – 10:14
Calvin Kattar vs Chris Fishgold – 16:51
Sarah Moras vs Talita Bernardo – 24:48

UFC FIGHT PASS EARLY PRELIMS | 6:30PM/3:30PM ET&PT
Te Edwards vs Don Madge – 33:25
Arjan Singh Bhullar vs Marcelo Golm – 41:07
Stevie Ray vs Jessie Ayari – 47:39

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Randy Couture’s ‘only concern’ about Liddell vs. Ortiz III is that ‘Chuck hasn’t been competing’ recently

If anyone could say that age is ‘just a number’ Randy Couture would be the man to say it. The former multiple-time UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion last fought in 2011, at UFC 129. And while he lost the bout – via Karate Kid-esque crane kick – to Lyoto Machida, the defeat snapped a 3-fight winning streak for the then 47-year-old.

Over the long run, Couture may not have won all his fight. But, with a fighting career that only got started in his mid-30s, he became the poster boy for defying common wisdom about what an ‘athletic prime’ is supposed to look like – and when it’s supposed to happen. That said, he’s still got at least one reservation about the upcoming trilogy bout between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz.

Despite Liddell going 2-0 over Ortiz over his career, Couture’s concerns lie squarely with the ‘Iceman’’s chances on November 24th in the headliner of Golden Boy Promotions’ inaugural MMA event. But, it’s not Chuck’s age, nor his chin, that has the ‘Natural’ worried. It’s all his time off (transcript via MMA Fighting).

“I’m not too concerned about the age, honestly,” Couture said in a recent interview on the MMA Hour. “I fought right up until where Chuck’s at right now, at a high level. My only concern with that is that Chuck hasn’t been competing, hasn’t been sparring, hasn’t done anything in the fight realm other than regular strength and conditioning for the last eight years, since he retired.

“So that puts the pressure on him to get back up into fight shape, back up and get the timing back to where we’re used to seeing Chuck have going into a fight. He had that style where that timing was very, very important. It wasn’t that he was the biggest, strongest or best athlete. He had a very unique timing, to find you right on the end of one of those long levers and make it a short night. Now, whether he still has that timing, that’s the question.”

“Tito has been way more active,” he added, after downplaying Liddell’s potential edge from winning the first bouts between them, “had some big fights. Will he be able to go out and implement his game plan? Which has gotta be getting in Chuck’s face, finding a way to get Chuck on the ground and take some gas out of Chuck. Certainly not standing and trying to trade with Chuck and find out if he does have that timing. I think it’s gonna be interesting.”

Liddell vs. Ortiz III goes down one month from now at the historic Forum arena in Inglewood, CA. The event is expected to include UFC veterans Gleison Tibau vs. Efrain Escudero, as well as Walel Watson, Jay Silva, Tom Lawlor, Albert Morales, and Kendall Grove. Stay tuned for more news and updates as fight night approaches.

Jon Jones: It’s been proven ‘scientifically’ that drugs USADA found in ‘no way possible’ affected my performance

At this point it’s hard to imagine that Jon Jones’ legacy in MMA won’t always carry some sort of asterisk. The former multiple-time light heavyweight king has still never meaningfully been defeated in the Octagon – sporting only a DQ against Matt Hammill as the lone loss in his 22-1 (1 NC) record. However (along with various legal troubles) two failed drug tests have seen him stripped of championship titles, have seen one win overturned, and have thoroughly derailed the last few years of his career.

But now, once again, he’s back.

Jones is preparing his return to the cage, finishing up the last few days of his latest USADA suspension – ending on October 28th. And once that’s officially behind him, he’s already got a championship fight lined up. Jones is scheduled to face former foe Alexander Gustafsson on December 29th in Las Vegas, NV, at UFC 232. The winner, per UFC announcement, will be awarded the title belt currently wrapped around Daniel Cormier’s waist.

As such, and with a myriad of controversies trailing behind him, Jones seems intent to clear at least some part of his reputation. Most notably, in a recent guest appearance on the JacksonWink Raw podcast, ‘Bones’ looked to shed the label of “cheater” in regards to his failed drug tests. From his point of view, the results of both USADA investigations entirely cleared him of any intent to enhance his performance in the cage (transcript via MMA Fighting).

“I would say that those would be people looking for an excuse not to give it to me, not to give credit where it’s due,” Jones said. “Because in the first situation, it was proven — well, in both situations, whatever was in me chemically was proven scientifically that the amounts were so small that there was no way possible to affect my performance in a positive or a negative way.”

“The dick pill situation, that was proven that it was a mistake,” Jones explained. “Who takes a male enhancement pill expecting to fight better? I mean, nobody. We actually found the company, we found the exact pills, we ordered the pills and the pills came back with stuff in it that wasn’t supposed to be in there. Such a small amount that it’s not going to make you fight any better or make you stronger.

“Then in the second situation,” he continued, “we just found out to have USADA say ‘the amount of steroids we found in your body Jon, it was like taking a pinch of salt and throwing it in an Olympic size swimming pool’. It was such a small amount that it’s pretty obvious that this was an accident. And then for this to be something that got into your body two weeks before the fight — so two weeks before the fight, you took a pinch of steroids and threw it in an Olympic size swimming pool. It’s very clear that this is nothing that helped you knock out Daniel Cormier.”

Eventually he called out those fans who would still label him a cheater, despite USADA findings, telling them, “…you just don’t want to admit that I’m pretty f-ing good at this.”

Jones’ bout with Gustafsson will be his first since his overturned knockout of Daniel Cormier in July of 2017 – a win that initially saw him regain the 205 title, before having it stripped again. It will also be the second time that he and Gustafsson have met in the cage – having initially competed in 2013, during Jones’ first championship run.

Their first fight has been considered by many to be the most difficult contest of the Team Jackson-Wink athlete’s career – one that some even suggest he lost. A superfight between featherweight and bantamweight champions Cris Cyborg and Amanda Nunes is set for the co-main event.

MMA Depressed-us: Fedor vs. Fabio & Janes vs. Berish

It’s been a couple weeks without a UFC event, which means that, once again, we’re paying penance for all the good fights we get to watch throughout the year. With Fedor’s run through the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix, there’s no better time to revisit one of the worst fights of his career, his (extremely) questionably majority decision win over Fabio Maldonado, under the Fight Nights Global banner.

And, while we’re at it, the retirement of Ryan Janes seems like a perfect opportunity to take a look at the start of his UFC career, where he took on Keith Berish in an absurd 3-round war.

As always, we’re watching both of these bouts on Fight Pass, so you can find them there and sync up with the show as it goes along. We’ll count down the start of each fight and tell you when round 1 kicks off, just so you can keep time.

And of course, if you enjoyed the show, give us a ‘like’ and subscribe to our podcast over on SoundCloud and iTunes under the Bloody Elbow Presents banner.