Jones answers Jackson ?Spygate? allegations on Twitter

Jon Jones carries himself in a certain manner and the last thing he wants to be called is less than trustworthy or a cheater. That's what he is according to the bombshell dropped by his UFC 135 opponent Quinton Jackson. "Rampage" told Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole that he suspects Team Jones has a spy in Jackson's camp.

Jones responded Tuesday on Twitter:

Jackson first became suspicious following his UFC 114 fight against Rashad Evans. Evans employed the odd tactic of repeatedly punching Jackson in the knee. It was same knee that Jackson had injured in camp, yet it never went public.

Then Jackson got a recent tip from a Twitter follower that there was a spy in his camp so the veteran fighter tried a little experiment last week. He spread it around the camp that he'd injured his hand. A few hours later, Jackson claims he got a call from UFC matchmaker Joe Silva to find out about the injury. Said Jackson:

"How did he know about my hand injury that fast? It wasn't on the Internet, and yet he knew about my hand injury right away. The UFC people were in Brazil, which is why it probably took them four hours to call me. That shows me two things: They have spies in my camp, one, and two, they're dumb as hell, because they didn't know how to use the information correctly and to wait. He called right away, running to Joe Silva. Joe Silva called my manager right away."

Jackson points the finger of blame at Jones' manager Malki Kawa.

"One of my friends was talking to Jon Jones' manager recently, and Jon Jones' manager was saying that he knows everything that is going on in our camp," Jackson said. "He said he had spies in our camp and he knew everything that was going on. That got me thinking."

Kawa, who also worked with Rashad Evans in the past, denied any involvement. Clearly, Jones doesn't want his reputation sullied by this mini-scandal. Sadly, it already has been whether he had firsthand knowledge of the leak or not.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Jones-answers-Jackson-8216-Spygate-8217-alle?urn=mma-wp6430

Takanori The Fireball Kid Gomi Akihiro Gono Gabriel Gonzaga Lyman Good

After Facebook and sponsor threats, Sonnen won?t be helping Okami in Brazil

On Friday, Chael Sonnen appeared on ESPNRadio1100 in Las Vegas to talk about his relationship with Brazil. Sonnen answered by saying he wasn't even sure anyone really knows him in Brazil (13:56 mark). Apparently, he misread the situation. Brazilian MMA fans are well aware of who he is and for that reason he won't be heading to Rio de Janeiro to corner or help Anderson Silva's opponent, Yushin Okami.

[ Order UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami]

Earlier this week, multiple blogs unearthed a "Lynch Chael Sonnen" Facebook page. Speaking to MMAjunkie this week, Sonnen said he also got more word that he wasn't welcome in Rio.

Sonnen said friends in the country forwarded him a local-media report in which a police chief threatened to arrest him on sight if he showed. The official cited a law that makes disparaging the national identity a crime.

Over the last few years, the middleweight contender, who lost a tight fight against Silva at UFC 117, has made it his mission to call out every Brazilian fighter around 185 pounds.

The final straw sounds like it was a Brazilian sponsor who's backing Okami this weekend. The sponsor threatened to pull its money if Okami brought Sonnen along for the trip.

In the end, it's too much for Sonnen deal with and he doesn't want to become the story this weekend.

"I only want to be there to help him," Sonnen said. "I don't need to see the show. I can watch the show on TV. I was going exclusively in support of Yushin, and frankly, it's been headed this way for a long time. It's been headed the direction of, 'Hey, this is becoming a distraction.'" Sonnen said. "This fight isn't about me. I'm not involved. I'm here to lend you support. But I don't want things thrown at what will unintentionally be him while he's in the ring or we're going to the ring."

Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:
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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/After-Facebook-and-sponsor-threats-Sonnen-won-t?urn=mma-wp6199

Randy The Natural Couture  Dan Cramer Alberto Crane Marcio Pe de Pano Cruz

5 Oz. MMA Link Club

Welcome back to another edition of ?MMA Link Club?, Five Ounces of Pain?s weekly smorgasbord of offerings from our brothers and sisters in the MMA community. Enjoy? Carlos Condit Honored to Get Spot Against GSP (Fightline.com) Quinton Jackson Doesn’t Think Jon Jones Can “Bust a Grape” (LowKick.com) Cesar Gracie Thinks Nick Diaz Acted like a [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2011/09/08/5-oz-mma-link-club-59/

Tony Fryklund Kazuyuki Fujita Masakatsu Funaki Zelg Benkei Galesić

Koscheck already starting Hughes prefight hype saying a ?man would step up to take the fight?

Two hours had gone by since Josh Koscheck agreed to face Matt Hughes on short notice in Denver at UFC 135. That's all it took for the brash welterweight to roll out his first bit of mild trash talk.

"I'm a big-name fighter, so he can take that and run with it," Koscheck told USA Today. "I put it out there. I told UFC I'd do it, and if Matt Hughes is man enough, he'll step up and do it."

Diego Sanchez is off the card at UFC 135 because of a broken hand, so the UFC turned to Koscheck. The 31-year-old hasn't fought since having his orbital bone broken back in December against Georges St-Pierre. Koscheck versus Hughes (45-8, 18-6 UFC) has always been a dream fight for some fans. The brutal honesty spewed by Koscheck should be classic before this tilt on Sept. 24. Koscheck (15-5, 13-5 UFC) has been asking for a fight against the former UFC welterweight champ for years.

"It's a fight that I've been wanting for a long time. Now we've just got to wait and see if Matt Hughes will accept the fight. So we're waiting on him," Koscheck said. "I told them that I'm game and I'm in shape. I've been training so I'm ready to fight."

Koscheck was rumored to be considering a fight at 185 pounds in November at UFC 139 in San Jose.

"To be honest with you, the reason why I contemplated 185 is because everybody at 170 with a bigger name is tied up, and I don't want to just fight anybody. I want to fight big-name fights," said Koscheck.

Now he's got his big-name opponent. Let's hope Hughes accepts. The 38-year-old MMA legend has never ducked an opponent, we can't imagine he would here either.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Koscheck-already-starting-Hughes-prefight-hype-s?urn=mma-wp6627

Dan Bobish Vagam Bodjukyan Kotetsu Boku  Tony Bonello

MMA Marketplace: Cage Potato?s MMA Hairstyles shirt

Our friends at Cage Potato have come up with some great shirts in the past, but this one may be my favorite. They worked with illustrator Derek Eads to come up with a shirt that shows off some of MMA's best hairstyles.

From Roy Nelson's mullet to Fedor Emelianenko and his ice cream cones, this shirt captures many of MMA's best looks. It can be yours for just $22. You'll be the coolest kid on the MMA block.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/MMA-Marketplace-Cage-Potato-s-MMA-Hairstyles-sh?urn=mma-wp6455

Tony Bonello Stephan Bonnar Lorenzo Borgomeo  Kyle Bradley 

Nogueira hopes to answer the critics in his comeback fight

It seems like Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira went from contender to card filler overnight. That really hasn't been the case, but for many there's a lot of doubt over what the PRIDE fighting legend has left in the tank.

"Big Nog" is only 35 years old, but he's battled injuries over the last three years and gone just 1-2. Now he's facing one of the UFC's young lions in Brendan Schaub. It's been a long battle against knee and hip injuries.

"Besides my physical and technical performance, I have the will to do anything. See four months ago, I couldn't walk. I recovered for several months to take this challenge to fight at UFC Rio," said Nogueira.

Nogueira said his rapid return was made possible by his high level training partners like Junior dos Santos, Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, Rafael Cavalcante and Antonio "Big Foot" Silva.

Damon Martin from MMAWeekly and ProMMARadio's Larry Pepe joined Cagewriter to break down Big Nog's chances against Schaub.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Nogueira-hopes-to-answer-the-critics-in-his-come?urn=mma-wp6232

John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez

UFC headed to Land of the Rising Sun in February

After more than a decade away from the fight-friendly confines of the Far East the UFC has announced it will once again journey to Japan as the promotion did for a show in December 2000. According to official statements from UFC President Dana White and Zuffa?s area-head Mark Fischer, the Octagon will show up in [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2011/09/06/ufc-headed-to-land-of-the-rising-sun-in-february/

Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama 

UFC sounds ready to welcome back Henderson with possible fight at FOX/UFC debut

Dan Henderson's recent run has surprised many. When he left the UFC at the age of 39 to sign a deal with rival Strikeforce, there's was little chance he'd ever return to the bigger promotion. Never say never.

Hendo has put together an impressive win streak, is without a contract and the UFC is looking for a mega-fight to put on FOX. Henderson, now 41, may be in the right place at the right time. Reading this interview with Brazil's Tatame, UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta is sounds excited for a Henderson return:

What do you expect from UFC on FOX's first edition [Nov. 12]? Do you already have a main event set?

We don't have a main event set yet, we'll find out probably after this Saturday, these fights in Rio, then we'll set a main event. But it'll be something big. It'll be a big fight.

We reported this Monday that Anderson Silva could put his middleweight title on the line against Dan Henderson, one he beats Yushin Okami?

I would love to do that. Anderson just needs a win.

Silva defends his UFC middleweight title this weekend against Yushin Okami in Brazil at UFC 134.

Henderson is coming off three straight devastating Strikeforce wins over Fedor Emelianenko, Renato "Babalu" Sobral and Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante. The Fedor fight was at heavyweight while the Feijao/Babalu bouts were at 205 pounds.

Henderson is a small light heavyweight and it appears Zuffa would love to see him back in the mix at 185 pounds. Henderson (28-8, 5-2 UFC) fought Silva at UFC 82 on 2008. The former Greco-Roman Olympic wrestler dominated Silva in the first round, then strayed from his gameplan in the second and was choked out by the champ.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-sounds-ready-to-welcome-back-Henderson-with-?urn=mma-wp6171

Wagnney Fabiano Kevin Kimbo Slice Ferguson Paulo Filho Mirko Cro Cop Filipović