Jon Jones says UFC on Versus 2 opponent tougher than his previous two

Jon Jones likens his instant stardom to surfing a wave. The key to staying upright is to not think about where the water is taking him.

“That whole ‘next big thing’ stuff, it sounds cool,” Jones told MMAjunkie.com. “But it doesn’t change anything about me or my family and my personal life. It doesn’t hold that much weight.”

And while many critics say his next opponent, Vladimir Matyushenko, is a lightweight obstacle, the 23-year-old fighter believes “The Janitor” is a better fighter than previous opponent Brandon Vera, whom he defeated in March.

UFC’s Jon Jones gets first-pitch honors at Friday’s San Diego Padres game

UFC on Versus 1 headliner Jon Jones will throw out a ceremonial first pitch prior to Friday’s San Diego Padres game.

Jones, a top UFC light-heavyweight contender, meets Vladimir Matyushenko on Sunday at the San Diego Sports Arena.

A couple days prior to the fight, he heads to PETCO Park and tosses a pitch prior to the Padres 7:10 p.m. PT game with the Florida Marlins.

President: Announcement of Shark Fights 13 broadcast plans coming next week

Now that officials have booked some big names and marketable matchups for its star-studded Shark Fights 13 event, the first question is obvious: How do fans watch it?

Brent Medley, president of the successful Texas-based promotion, today told MMAjunkie.com Radio that fans can expect an announcement shortly.

“It’ll be available for people to see,” he said. “I wouldn’t stack this card and not show it to essentially the world.”

Shark Fights 13 adds champion Evans, Larson, Herman, Spratt, Mann, Hicks

The biggest card in Shark Fights history just got some additional starpower.

After already announcing four fights for the Sept. 11′s main card, the Texas-based promotion unveiled a near-complete 10-fight lineup that includes a surprisingly deep preliminary card.

Notable additions include Bellator heavyweight Dave Herman vs. Aaron Rosa, WEC vets Karen Darabedyan vs. Marcus Hicks, and UFC vet Pete Spratt vs. Eric Davila.

With opponents scarce, Strikeforce’s Daniel Cormier heads to Australian XMMA show

With a meager 2-0 pro mixed-martial-arts record, Daniel Cormier, a two-time JUCO national wrestling champion and NCAA Division I national runner-up, needs more fights and cage time.

Of course, that’s easier said than done.

That’s why the Strikeforce heavyweight prospect, who also fights at next month’s Strikeforce Challengers 10 event, heads to Australia this weekend for an XMMA fight with heavyweight champ Lucas Browne.

MMAjunkie.com Radio: WEC’s Shane Roller, UFC’s Todd Brown, Shark Fights CEO

MMAjunkie.com Radio today welcomes to the show in-studio guest and WEC 50 co-headliner Shane Roller, who meets Anthony Pettis in a likely No. 1 contender’s bout.

Additionally, promotional newcomer Todd Brown discusses his UFC 117 fight with Tim Boetsch, and Shark Fights CEO Brent Medley discusses the upcoming and star-studded Shark Fights 13 event.

MMAjunkie.com Radio airs from 12-2 p.m. ET (9-11 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. Listen to and watch a video stream of the two-hour show at www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

Phil Davis vs. Rodney Wallace official for UFC 117 preliminary card

A light-heavyweight bout between Rodney Wallace and replacement fighter Phil Davis is now official for next month’s UFC 117 event.

As MMAjunkie.com reported this past week, Davis took the fight when Stanislav Nedkov was forced off the card due to an undisclosed injury.

UFC officials now have formally announced the new matchup, which takes place Aug. 7 at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif.

Jeremy Horn vs. tourney runner-up Bryan Baker targeted for Bellator 30

A middleweight bout between MMA iron man Jeremy Horn and season-two tournament runner-up Bryan Baker is expected to be part of September’s Bellator 30 event.

A source close to the event told MMAjunkie.com the fighters have agreed to the Sept. 23 matchup but that bout agreements haven’t been signed.

Horn, who makes his Bellator debut in his 111th career fight, posted the news via Facebook but mistakenly referred to a Sept. 28 date.

Mark Miller meets Josh Shockley at Bellator 25 in Chicago

Bellator Fighting Championships has added a fourth fight to the preliminary card of the already star-studded Bellator 25 event, which takes place on its home turf of Chicago.

Lightweights Mark Miller and Josh Shockley are set to meet at the event, a source close to the event confirmed with MMAjunkie.com.

Bellator 25 takes place Aug. 19 at the historic Chicago Theatre in Illinois. As is typical with Bellator, the preliminary-card matchup includes area talent that’s meant to draw local fans.

Daily Archives: July 28, 2010