UFC 145 Preview
The UFC has seen its fair share of bitter rivalries over the year and all have led to some great fights and some great storylines. Whether it is Shamrock-Ortiz, Liddell-Ortiz, or Sonnen-Silva rivalries drive the sport with fans divided and debates started. At UFC 145 the UFC may introduce the next great rivalry in the sport when Jon Jones will defend his Light Heavyweight Title against his now archrival Rashad Evans. The hate between these two is very real and emerged only recently for a very real, although somewhat childish, reason. When Jon Jones broke into the UFC he trained at Jackson’s MMA and found a type of big brother figure in Rashad Evans. Evans was getting ready for his title shot in the UFC when Jones first arrived at Jackson’s MMA and he acted like a mentor for the young fighter. As Jones began climbing up the ladder Evans remained one of the top fighters in the division leading to a possibility of the two friends fighting. This is where it gets foggy as Evans claims they made a promise to each other that they would never fight each other if the UFC put them together. Jones claims that he never promised but did say he never wanted to fight Evans as bit would be tough to fight his friend. Then Jon Jones reached one of his goals as he beat Ryan Bader at UFC 126 and was informed that his next fight would be for the title against Mauricio Rua. With the media storm around the young fighter, who many saw as the future of MMA, Jones was seen in many interviews and profiles. There were plenty of interviews but one with NBC Sports as jones was asked if he would ever fight Rashad Evans. Jones stated that if it came down to them needing to fight or losing their jobs he would consider fighting him. When Evans got a hold of this he immediately took it as a broken promise and the friendship was essentially over. Evans decided to leave Jackson MMA as he could no longer trust that the coaches would give both of them the focus they needed to be great. Instead he created his own team named the Blackzillians and immediately began talking trash about Jones and his broken promise. Jones has defended himself and gone the extra step in claiming Evans is full of himself and let his ego get in the way of their friendship. The hate is real in this rivalry as these two former friends simply do not like each other and have spent the last few years telling everybody what they think. The rivalry is only made better by the fact that both fighters are at the top of their game in the UFC. Jon Jones is the face of MMA as a young talented and well spoken fighter that the UFC loves to put out to represent the organization. He is also one of the most creative fighters in the UFC throwing anything from anywhere at any time. This is what makes him great as Jones is very unpredictable and has the ability to force other to fight his fight. Evans is not the same type of public figure as Jones but is still one of the most recognizable fighters in the UFC. An NCAA wrestler and former UFC champion Evans can dominate fighters standing or on the ground. He prefers to be on the ground where he is most comfortable but he has the power to earn the knockout. Both fighters will be looking to make a statement in the fight as they want to prove that they are the best and will do so by winning the title. Overall Jones seems too good to beat right now and will be able to get past Evans to keep his title. It will not be easy for Jones though as they will put on a great fight and Evans will finally succumb to a wild shot in the 4th round. Jones will remain the Light Heavyweight Champion by KO but it will not be the end to this rivalry even if both fighters do make up after the fight.
Before the big grudge match will a number of great fights with some great stories behind them as Atlanta will be treated to a great card. At the beginning of the Main card Mark Hominick will look to get back to the top of the featherweight division. After two disappointing fights in Toronto Hominick will be looking to get back to the top of the division. He will look to do this against Eddie Yagin as Hominick hopes to get another title shot in the division. After that attempted comeback will be another one as Miguel Angel Torres will look to make a comeback after a long road. Torres was on the fast track to the Bantamweight title as one of the best fighters in MMA. Then Torres had a lapse in judgment making a comment about rape, a joke from his favorite TV show that saw him get cut from the UFC. Torres has been out since November of 2011 but got a second chance after refocusing and doing everything he could to prove he was a mature fighter. White believed him and he will take his first step back to the top of the division at UFC 145 against a young up and coming star in Michael McDonald. Just before the main event comes another comeback story in Rory MacDonald. MacDonald did not have as long a path as Torres but it has been a rough patch. MacDonald was one of the brightest stars in the welterweight division and seemed destined to rise fast up the ladder. Just as he was getting going he was injured forcing him to the sidelines for 7 months. MacDonald will be yet another fighter looking to get back on track in Atlanta as he takes on Che Mills in a welterweight battle. All three of these fighters have something to prove this weekend as all will be looking to make their comeback in the UFC. These fighters plus the rest of the card make UFC 145 a fight card not to be missed as the Light Heavyweight Title will be on the line after a number of fighters look to make an impression in Atlanta.
Fight Card:
Main Event:
Jon “Bones” Jones vs. “Suga” Rashad Evans [Light Heavyweight Title] (PPV)
Main Card:
Rory “Ares” MacDonald vs. “Beautiful” Che Mills (PPV)
Brendan “The Hybrid” Schaub vs. Ben Rothwell (PPV)
Miguel Angel Torres vs. Michael “Mayday” McDonald (PPV)
Mark “The Machine” Hominick vs. Eddie “The Filipino Phenom” Yagin (PPV)
Mark Bocek vs. John “The Natural” Alessio (PPV)
Undercard:
Travis “Hapa” Browne vs. Chad “The Grave Digger” Griggs (Sportsnet)
Matt “The Immortal” Brown vs. Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson (Sportsnet)
John “The Bull” Makdessi vs. Anthony “The Assassin” Njokuani (Sportsnet)
Mac Danzig vs. Efrain “Hecho en Mexico” Escudero (Sportsnet)
Keith Wisniewski vs. Chris “The Menace” Clements (Facebook)
Marcus “The Bama Beast” Brimage vs. Maximo Blanco (Facebook)
The Sport Addiction 