Welcome to my first article, and piece of coverage on Canadian Pro Fighter! This will be the first of many more, I'm sure.
Today, I took on the duties of representing this website on UFC's conference call in support of their upcoming show, UFC on Versus 2 featuring up and coming Jon "Bones" Jones vs Vladimir "The Janitor" Matyushenko.
Today's call started at 2pm, and featured the two fighters participating in that evenings main event. UFC boss, Dana White was not on the call today.
Both men started out by answering the standard questions of how ready they were, and how they felt about the upcoming fight. Jon Jones was in the middle of explaining that he would be willing to take on anyone, and any style, when very shortly into this call, the moderator interrupted and explained that there was a fire drill going on in the office, and that they would need to evacuate the building! While Jones and Jen from the UFC who was on the call sat in an awkward silence, mixed with giggles, an audible was called, and we were going to have to email our questions in.
After quickly emailing my questions in, approximately 20 minutes into the call Jen was able to ask my questions. The first was to Jon Jones. I asked Jon how he felt about being compared to Anderson Silva, and if a fight with Anderson at 205 pounds would be something he would be interested in taking in the future?
Jones replied by saying that it was an absolute honor to be compared to Anderson, and that Jones studies Anderson's striking techniques, so he is thrilled that there is a comparison. Jones says that his mind set on a possible fight with Anderson is that it would be an honor. Jones goes on to mention that he takes the mentality of "fear no man", and that "every man can be beat", and that he will fight anyone. I know I'd love to see it happen!
My line of questioning then turned over to Vladimir Matyushenko. I asked The Janitor how he felt knowing that in the grand scheme of things, he is the veteran in this fight, yet everybody seems to expect the younger Jones to roll right over him, and that this is a "warm up fight" for Jones. The Janitor light heartidly laughed it off saying "older guys CAN fight!". Matyushenko goes on to mention that he feels good, and that he is in great shape, so why not? I like that answer. Why not?
The call continued on, and Jon Jones went on to mention how much he felt his game has really picked up since joining Greg Jackson's camp out in New Mexico. They have brought in striking coach, Phil Nurse, and feels that not only does Nurse make his striking more crisp, but helps his creativity, because Phil Nurse embraces Jones' spinning techniques.
Jones also goes on to tell a recent story about a reporter who recently reported he had turned down a fight with Lil' Nog due to "not training". Jones was so offended he ended up getting a meeting with the reporter because he felt his image could have really been damaged at such a young age. Jones claims he was never offered a fight with Lil' Nog, but was honest in saying he probably would have turned it down anyway, but not for those reasons, and only because he feels he has areas in his game he would want to improve before taking a fight of that magnitude. Note to reporters: Don't lie about Jon Jones. You'll upset him, and quite frankly, you don't want to eat those elbows do you? Come on reporters...
Before wrapping up the call, the Russian Vladimir Matyushenko got a chance to speak his mind, as he stated that he knew what this fight meant to him. He has been around this game a long time, and has never even been recognized to this magnitude before, so he can only imagine what a win over Jones would do for his career. It would certainly put in him the mix.
To finish the call, both fighters were given a chance to hype the fight, and you know what happened? They showed nothing but respect for one another as mixed martial artists, and as men. This one of those fights were there is no beef, no issues, no rivalry. Just two extremely talented mixed martial arts warriors who will step inside the cage and see who the better man is for those 15 minutes.
Make sure you go out of your way to check out this great card! UFC on Versus 2 on August 1st!
For More info on this card or other UFC news check out UFC.com
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