THE TORCH: THE #1 WORLDWIDE BRAND IN COMBAT ENTERTAINMENT COVERAGE - OVER 250 MILLION VIEWS & LISTENS PER YEAR REREACHING MORE FANS EVERY WEEK THAN ANY OTHER INDEPENDENT SOURCE • VIA THE WEB, MOBILE, PRINT NEWSLETTER, AND ITUNES
Jun 25, 2009 - 1:42:22 PM By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief "I think Machida is getting a lot of hype, and I know he has lots of big wins over a lot of big fighters, and a lot of experience over me...I honestly believe that a great Muay Thai champion will beat a great karate fighter any day; it's been proven on lots of occasions. If Machida has (the belt) by the time I get to that level, I'll be ready for him. I'll have a lot of game planning and a lot of strategy ready. I want to be that greater Muay Thai fighter to beat a great karate champion...I'm going to go out there and pull the trigger if I ever get to fight Machida. I respect him a lot, but I definitely think he's very beatable. I know I have a lot of time before I get to that level of fighting him, but when I do, I definitely won't be nervous or intimidated by him at all, and (I'll be) ready to fight him."
-Up and coming light heavyweight prospect Jon Jones on UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida in an interview with Sergio Non at USA Today.
Penick's Analysis: The entire interview with Jones is very good, but these comments definitely stick out. Jones is clear to point out that he knows he's not at that level yet, but once he gets there he thinks he's got the tools to defeat the elusive Champ. The 21 year old is coming up as the "next big thing" in the light heavyweight division after winning his first eight fights in the span of nine months, the most recent of which was a decision victory over Stephen Bonnar at UFC 94. He faces Jake O'Brien at UFC 100.
ALERT: Every Tuesday night, listen to the MMATorch Livecast from 9-10:30 p.m. ET or listen now to the most recent shows by clicking here. Listen live this coming Tuesday as Jamie Penick, Rich Hansen, and Matt Pelkey discuss the latest MMA happenings. Online listen at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mmatorch or call into the show at 646-716-8090 to either just listen or participate.
"There's still a large contingent of people, that they just want to see these guys almost die, or the other guy almost die and come back, and sometimes fights are like that. Certainly they are. But sometimes you get technical masterpieces too, and to hate a beautiful, technical fight - you're not really a fight fan...
Diaz has a granite chin, possesses perhaps the best recovery in the sport, his pace and conditioning are second to none and he sets records with the volume of his punches almost every time he steps into the cage. Nick Diaz is simply designed to fight the way he fights, and not many other fighters are...
"There was a lot of poison going on around there and I'm really disappointed because we had a good thing going. It was a good thing and I think people's egos got in the way. Well, not people just Javier, his ego got in the way, and too many cameras in the gym and him trying to build himself up and his brand, his AKA brand...