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View Full Version : Jon Jones 'definitely' eyeing late-2013 move to heavyweight



Kemal
31-10-2012, 07:54
It wasn't long ago that Jon Jones floated the idea of a move to heavyweight into the media, only to have it quickly shut down by UFC President Dana White. Jones, the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion, had work to do, White essentially said, and plenty of challengers were breaking down the door for a shot at his belt.

Fast forward to a current climate that sees Jones preparing to defend his title for a fifth consecutive time, against a man who hasn't fought at light heavyweight in seven years, and the notion of Jones moving up in weight no longer seems so far-fetched.

Participating in an online MetroPCS chat with fans on Tuesday night, White, with Jones by his side, posed the question to the 25-year-old champ.

"I'll definitely move up to heavyweight," Jones responded. "But it'll probably be around 2013. Maybe at the end of 2013."

Jones is currently filming The Ultimate Fighter 17 opposite former middleweight Chael Sonnen in advance of the pair's April 27th title fight.

After which, Jones made it clear he still desires a fight against Dan Henderson in order to wrap up the UFC 151 chapter of his life. Minutes later, "Bones" also expressed interest in fighting rising Swedish contender Alexander Gustafsson in order to quiet critics who complain about his reach advantage.

So while a move to heavyweight is obviously on his mind, Jones' reign at light heavyweight still has plenty of mileage left in the tank.

"Right now I have a nutritionist and I'm starting to take the career a lot more seriously than I used to, so my weight cuts are getting a lot easier," said Jones. "I walk around a lot thinner naturally. Right now I'm at, like, 225 (pounds). That's a 20-pound cut. That's really easy. So I might look bigger than most people when I'm fighting, but I'm really not."

Ulis-E
31-10-2012, 14:16
weightcut van 10 kg niet zoveel? damnz

kooivechter
31-10-2012, 22:17
Beter dat hij naa hw gaat. Hij heeft niets meer te zoeken op lhw

Naj85
13-11-2012, 00:57
Anderson: "I definitely won't be calling GSP out at UFC 154" (http://www.fightersonlymag.com/content/news/17525-anderson-qi-definitely-wont-be-calling-gsp-out-at-ufc-154q)


November 12th 2012 Anderson Silva has fought twice this year and doesn’t intend to return to the Octagon before 2013, he told Brazilian website GloboEsporte.com today at a promotional event for one of his sponsors.

“I am on vacation from fighting, I think I will return only in the end of the next year. I have personal projects ongoing. Tomorrow I’m embarking to Los Angeles to attend the arrangements of the academy we’re setting up there,” he said.

“I think this is the time for me to let my life in order. Being always worried and working makes me set my personal life aside. Now I want to work on that aspect.”

The Spider also commented that he will not be calling out Georges St-Pierre at UFC 154, despite that being widely reported in the past week.

“I will go to Los Angeles and then I will go to Canada for UFC 154. I’m going to stay there to film an action movie that me and Lyoto will participate in [along with Steven Seagal]. But it is not my character to step in there and call somebody out. So I think this won’t happen. I fact I don’t just think, I am sure!” he explains.

Silva has expressed his intention to put on a catchweight bout with St. Pierre and he is not bothered if the Ultimate Fighting Championship decides to promote an interim middleweight title due to the long absence this may cause Anderson from the 185lb game.

“My focus is on my personal projects and on the fight versus Georges St-Pierre. If the UFC wants to make an ínterim bout while I am away, it is up to them. I don’t know if it will have any meaning but they can do whatever they want. I am in a comfort zone, so I am not concerned about it,” he said.

Recently, Rickson Gracie stated that UFC-led MMA is damaging the purity of the component martial arts. Anderson would rather not oppose the words of the revered BJJ master, but he does have some thoughts to the contrary.

“I think the evolution of the mixed martial arts brought us to this stage, having competitors that increasingly have the opportunity to train other styles,” he said.

“Formerly we only had karate, Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu... but now we got athletes who are complete, who train all the styles and who acquired knowledge to be able to fight on the feet, on the ground, laid, on the side... each one has his own view but the evolution of the sport is so huge, and it is how it works.”

Kemal
13-11-2012, 20:23
With Anderson Silva wanting layoff, UFC's Michael Bisping wants shot at interim title

If Anderson Silva plans to sit out until late 2013 as reported, Michael Bisping doesn't want the division to be on hold.

So on Wednesday, Bisping took to Twitter to call for the implementation of an interim UFC middleweight title.

Bisping (23-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC), a longtime contender in the division, fights former title challenger Vitor Belfort (21-10 MMA, 10-6 UFC) in January in UFC on FX 7's main event.

"If Anderson wants to take time off to be a movie star make me and vitor for the interim title????" Bisping wrote in a tweet (https://twitter.com/bisping/status/268138204849389568) directed at UFC President Dana White.

As of Tuesday morning, White had given no response.

UFC on FX 7 takes place Jan. 19 in Brazil. Although no host city or venue has been confirmed, the FX-televised event likely will take place in Sao Paulo. Bisping and Belfort meet in the five-round headliner.

As MMAjunkie.com reported on Monday, Silva recently told Brazilian outlet Tatame that he plans to sit out until "the end of next year." That put a damper on recent news that Silva (33-4 MMA, 16-0 UFC) will be in Montreal for this weekend's UFC 154 event, where he was expected to call out UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre if he gets by interim titleholder Carlos Condit in the pay-per-view headliner. UFC President Dana White even recently went as far as giving some possible locations for a Silva vs. St-Pierre stadium-show superfight, which initially was expected to take place in the first half of 2013.

MMAjunkie.com could not reach Silva's representatives for confirmation of his plans for an extended layoff. Silva, of course, recently took a late-notice main-event booking at UFC 153, where he defeated Stephan Bonnar in a non-title light-heavyweight fight this past month. The 37-year-old Silva is currently on an unmatched 16-0 run in the UFC, and the rest of the division is lining for a shot at his belt.

Bisping vs. Belfort, of course, isn't the only upcoming middleweight fight with title implications. Undefeated Chris Weidman (9-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) meets Tim Boetsch (16-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) next month at UFC 155, and fellow contenders Yushin Okami (27-7 MMA, 11-4 UFC) and Alan Belcher (18-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC) fight at the same event.