...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Jon Jones almost didn't get his shot at UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. According to Shogun in an interview with Tatame.com, Jones was the second choice for the UFC when Rashad Evans pulled out with a knee injury.
The first? Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. But Shogun says that Rampage declined to take the fight.
"The UFC thought in other alternatives, but it didn’t worked out. For some reason he (Jackson) didn’t accept it," Shogun said.
Now, he's turning his attention from training for Evans to Evans' teammate in Jones, and though there is a disparity in experience, Shogun's not taking his 23-year-old challenger lightly.
"I'll have to change my training because he's a lot different from Rashad, much taller, and it'll be a great challenge," Shogun said of Jones. "He's been surprising everybody in the UFC, defeated everybody with ease, and it'll be a tough fight for me."
Penick's Analysis: I'm slightly surprised that Rampage turned that fight down if that's what happened. It may have been an issue of him wanting more notice and not wanting that fight on six week's notice, as it is a loss he's wanted to avenge since 2005. He may have felt he'd need more preparation for that fight, but who knows. Regardless, Shogun now gets an exciting up and comer in Jones, and Rampage likely keeps himself next in line with a win over Thiago Silva.
[Rampage Jackson art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
DON'T GO YET... WE SUGGEST THESE MMATORCH ARTICLES, TOO!
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
Interested in joining MMATorch's writing team? Send idea for a theme to your column (for Specialist section) or area of interest (i.e. TV Reporter) along with a sample of writing to mmatorch@gmail.com.
