J-Mac gives his UFC Fight Night Live picks and suggests there’s less serious concussions in MMA than in other sports.
Once again, I underestimated Jon Jones and now he is the UFC light-heavyweight champion. I never thought he was out of his league fighting for the title against Mauricio (Shogun) Rua, I just thought he was taking a huge step up. But he proved he could take the big step up.
I thought it was a great performance -- he dominated from bell to bell, but I personally thought Shogun looked completely off. He was not the same Shogun we saw in Montreal who totally dismantled Lyoto Machida.
But I’m not sure who in that division is going to beat Jones right now. The big talk now is the fallout; that he’ll be facing former teammate Rashad and all the drama that has taken place at Greg Jackson’s camp. I’ve said many times in the past, there comes a time when teammates must face each other. But it’s difficult when you share coaches because it divides a team as to who’s going to coach who.
The good thing here is Evans had already separated himself a bit from Jackson’s main base in Albuquerque. He’s now training up in Denver at Grudge training, where Nate Marquardt is based, and Rashad hasn’t been using trainer Mike Winklejohn.
For all the guys in the division, I think Rashad stands a chance against Jones, because he’s fast, transitions very well from his striking, and he knows Jones because he’s trained with him. When you train with a guy regularly, you know how strong they are and how they feel when you’re wrestling or grappling and you know their range when sparring. It makes it easier for him to put together a strategy. Of course that goes both ways. I think it’s going to be an exciting one.
There’s been a lot of talk lately about concussions and athlete safety not just in fighting but in other sports such as football and hockey. I was speaking with a doctor friend of mine today because I need a new CAT scan for my fight next month in Toronto. Every year you need to get a new one.
Also, every four years you need an MRI, which is more in-depth, if you’re going to be licensed in Nevada or California and some other commissions require it. I’m only due for a CAT for Toronto, but would need an MRI for the other states. So I asked him what I should do.
He asked me, "Do you really want me to look that in-depth into the damage you’re possibly doing to your brain? Do you really want me to do the MRI and get a good look at what’s going on in your melon?"
It seemed like a strange question, because I personally would want the deepest look to see what is going on, especially if there is any damage. But he said you wouldn’t believe how many athletes don’t want to know how much damage they’re doing.
In hockey, I doubt many players have any idea about the health of their brains. I’m not sure they’re required to even get scans on an annual basis. We’re required, but we’re regulated. So it wouldn’t surprise me if there are a lot of players who have suffered serious trauma and don’t even know it.
There’s a lot of physicality in MMA, but let’s not forget in sports like hockey and football, you’ve got large athletic men running (or skating) and colliding with motorcycle helmets on. You can’t tell me that doesn’t cause damage. Just imagine how badly that hurts. You’re planting a guy into solid boards or making open-ice (or open-field) hits where people aren’t looking and they get annihilated at centre ice. You want to talk about brutality? And I’m not even talking about slashing and elbows and cross-checks to the face. So it doesn’t surprise me to be talking about concussions.
I venture to say -- and I have no scientific evidence to prove this -- you would come up with a much smaller number of mixed martial artists with serious head issues than athletes in other sports.
I’ve personally only been concussed -- actually diagnosed with a concussion – once, and it wasn’t even from a fight. It was from a head kick from Denis Kang in training, many, many years ago. He even had shin pads on and I had head gear on, but just the way it hit me, I suffered a concussion and it also blew out my eardrums.
I have a cousin who’s 22 and was in his second year of university and was a great athlete. He was a high-school football standout, and also did high-level wakeboarding and played hockey but he was forced to retire from all competition because of the concussions he suffered in all three sports. He wouldn’t even think about wakeboarding or snowboarding without a helmet, because once you suffer one concussion, you become prone to more, because it’s accumulated damage.
Bottom line: I would say there are less serious concussions in MMA than in the NHL and NFL.
Watch UFC Fight Night 24: Davis vs. Nogueira, live on Sportsnet, Saturday at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.
Now for some UFC Fight Night picks:
Phil Davis vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Davis went from a scheduled fight in Toronto against Jason Brilz, a short stocky wrestler, to a main event fight against a tall boxing, jiu-jitsu fighter in Little Nog, and left-handed at that. There have been a few changes for him, but I think he’s going to take this fight to the ground and grind out a decision. I’m going with Davis.
The biggest question here is not who’s going to win but is Johnson going to make welterweight from 230 pounds? Well, we didn’t see him on this season of the Biggest Loser, so I’m going to say no. That’s quite a stretch for him. I think that a weight cut or attempt of that amount takes a serious toll on your body. That being said, he’ll be too big for Hardy, who’s a little undersized at 170 and never comes in super ripped. So while I don’t think Johnson will make weight, I think he’s going to win.
DaMarques Johnson vs. Amir Sadollah
I’m going to go with Johnson. He’s got great submissions and I definitely think that’s Sadollah’s weak area. He’s got great Muay Thai, but weaker in the jiu-jitsu department. Johnson by submission.
Chan Sung Jung vs. Leonard Garcia
This is the big rematch of last year’s fight of the year candidate. Their first meeting was a slugfest along the lines of Grififn-Bonnar. Who wouldn’t want to see another edition? I’m going with Garcia again.
Editor's note: Johnson did make weight Friday, hitting the scale at 171 pounds on his first attempt, as did Hardy. In the main event matchup, both Nogueira and Davis weighed in at 206 pounds.
