Jon Jones Injured: Cormier Fight Rescheduled

The injury bug has hit the UFC yet again.

Jon Jones had to be pulled from the UFC 178 card due to an unknown injury, putting his bout against Daniel Cormier off until January 3, 2015. This news coming after the heated on and off air verbal exchange between the two fighters. A flyweight title fight between current champ Demetrious Johnson and Chris Cariaso which was expected to serve as the co-main of this month’s UFC 177 event, will now be the main event of UFC 178.

I am happy that Dana White didn't get a replacement for Cormier to fight, and instead moved the fight so we could still see this highly anticipated fight.

Whatever Happened to Diego Sanchez?

A question some UFC fans have been wondering is what ever happened to Diego Sanchez? I always have to wonder if they mean literally, or if they mean, where did his fight and drive go? This guy has had a rough road. His last fight with Ross Pearson, he won by a split decision that left the arena and viewers at home scratching their heads. Sanchez will be in the record books as having defeated Pearson by split decision. UFC president Dana White, however, stated that the UFC will treat this fight as a win for Pearson informally. Not only did he say that, but White also awarded Pearson a $30,000 win bonus even though...you know...he didn't win. That is the ultimate low blow to Sanchez. Countless times we see fighters fall victim to terrible judging scorecards, and we lose our heads about it. In case you don't remember, let me name a few:

Jon Jones vs Alexander Gustafsson (Jones won by unanimous decision)

Georges St. Pierre vs Johny Hendricks (St. Pierre won by decision)

Michael Bisping vs Matt Hamill (Bisping won by decision)

But how many times have those listed in defeat been awarded the post-fight win bonus? None. There are many good things about being the president of the UFC. There are also some miscues that happen because of having so much power, and giving a losing fighter the post-fight win bonus is one of those miscues. If he's going to do it for one, he needs to do it for all, or better yet, not do it at all. It's called a "win bonus" for a reason. If you win by KO, congrats, here's your bonus. If you win because of favorable judging, it's still a check in the W column, so here's your win bonus. How do you feel about the win bonus being awarded to a losing fighter? Did Gustafsson deserve the win bonus in his defeat more than Pearson did? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Mark Hunt Released by UFC

Looks like someone got the best of his Twitter followers!

Mark Hunt took to Twitter to announce his release from the UFC. After a majority draw decision against Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva which won Fight of the Night honors (all $100,000 award money was paid to Hunt after Silva failed his post-fight drug test), this left many fight fans, including myself with their jaw dropped. I found myself asking the question, "if he isn't safe from the cuts, who is?!"

It was a hard thing to try and rationalize what he would've possibly done to get cut from the UFC. Was there something behind the scenes we're not being told? Did he say something that rubbed UFC president Dana White the wrong way? Did he read picture books to children in an offensive way? How about none of the above?

Mark must have been really bored or just wanted to play a cruel joke on us all. When asked if Mark Hunt was released from the UFC, president Dana White simply responds, "Hell no!"

Glad to see Hunt is still employed and is still on track to take on Roy Nelson in Saitama, Japan next month. Did you like the prank Hunt played on us? How would you have reacted if the news were true? Are there fighters still on the UFC roster you think need to be cut because of performance? Let us know in the comments below!

Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier Scuffle

Usually when I read headlines about fighters having an "altercation" during a face off, it's usually a finger pointing, chest jabbing, war of words that are just out to get a shock and awe effect to build hype for a fight. That's exactly what I thought when I read that Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier had a "brawl" during a UFC 178 media  session. Knowing I was going to fall into another misleading headline, I fell into the trap anyway.

I couldn't have been more wrong. I first read a few sentences of the article before being shown an Instagram video. The video shows the two fighters walking towards one another. Jones gets in Cormier's face, as he does with all challengers he has faced thus far. Apparently, Cormier did not appreciate that, and grabbed Jones by the throat to push him away. Jones then retaliated and shoved Cormier before taking a swing and the two ultimately falling off of the stage to continue the scuffle before being separated. I was blown away! It was even more interesting to see the two try and calm themselves before going on ESPN to give their thoughts on the brawl. Jones, in true champion form, apologized to his fans, the UFC, Dana White, and the MGM Grand for what happened. Cormier, on the other hand, put all blame on Jones and continued by saying, "the whole incident, I don't care about the incident. I care about Sept. 27, becoming the UFC light heavyweight champion, whatever. He's weak. He's a punk, he's a liar, he's dishonest. He's a whole bunch of things that he should not be proud of being." 

Were you surprised that the brawl took place? Was Jones right in retaliating the way he did? What do you think of Cormier's verbal response in the interview? Post your thoughts below!