Weekend Recap: Jon Jones, Michelle Waterson Rank Up, Max Holloway Gets Ink
Weekend Recap: Jon Jones, Michelle Waterson Rank Up, Max Holloway Gets Ink
Jon Jones got his blue belt, Vitor Belfort called out two fighters, and Max Holloway got inked.
With UFC Long Island going down on Fox and Valor Fights vs. Conflict MMA: Worlds Collide and Fury FC 18 right here on FloCombat Saturday, plenty of news got somewhat lost in the shuffle of live events.
Here are some things you may have missed.
Jon Jones received his blue belt--woo!
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BW3gtlkjXZf/?taken-by=jonnybones" hide_caption="0"]
The 30-year-old light heavyweight title challenger has already submitted Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort during his bonkers run inside the Octagon, but now he can officially say he's no longer a white belt.
We think if he just trained in the gi more, this would've happened a little sooner. Call it a hunch. Regardless, Jones gets to flex his skills July 29 against Daniel Cormier at UFC 214--and that's good enough for us.
Those JacksonWink MMA fighters are ranking up all over the place. UFC strawweight Michelle Waterson received her purple belt from Gracie Barra New Mexico.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BW3XkjYDfl1/?taken-by=karatehottiemma&hl=en" hide_caption="0"]
"The Karate Hottie" possesses a lethal ground game, earning nine of her 14 career victories via submission. She's 2-1 in the UFC, with both wins--and the loss--coming via rear-naked choke.
The UFC returns to the Steel City Sept. 16, bringing a loaded Fight Night card with it. In the main event, top middleweights Luke Rockhold and David Branch will throw down.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/lthomasnews/status/888930512315789312" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Elsewhere on the card, the UFC announced Hector Lombard vs. Anthony Smith, Kamaru Usman vs. Sergio Moraes, Krzysztof Jotko vs. Uriah Hall, Gilbert Burns vs. Jason Saggo, Justin Ledet vs. Dmitrii Smoliakov, and Anthony Hamilton vs. Daniel Spitz (h/t MMAFighting.com).
Max Holloway earned a shiny championship belt at UFC 212 in June, and now he's got some fresh ink to go with it.
The newly crowned featherweight king showed off the work via Instagram:
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BW33B-vBHR-/?taken-by=blessedmma&hl=en" hide_caption="0"]
"Blessed," indeed, Mr. Holloway.
Vitor Belfort is ready to eat.
The Brazilian legend took to his Instagram to call out two opponents: Derek Brunson and Kelvin Gastelum. While Gastelum just lost to Chris Weidman Saturday at UFC Long Island and will likely drop back down to welterweight, Belfort essentially claims Brunson is ducking him in the post.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BW3uCpBldIO/" hide_caption="0"]
Brunson is coming off a ferocious knockout of Dan Kelly in June, while Belfort is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Nate Marquardt at UFC 212.
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Here are some things you may have missed.
1. Jon Jones levels up
Jon Jones received his blue belt--woo!
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BW3gtlkjXZf/?taken-by=jonnybones" hide_caption="0"]
The 30-year-old light heavyweight title challenger has already submitted Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort during his bonkers run inside the Octagon, but now he can officially say he's no longer a white belt.
We think if he just trained in the gi more, this would've happened a little sooner. Call it a hunch. Regardless, Jones gets to flex his skills July 29 against Daniel Cormier at UFC 214--and that's good enough for us.
2. Michelle Waterson one-ups Jones
Those JacksonWink MMA fighters are ranking up all over the place. UFC strawweight Michelle Waterson received her purple belt from Gracie Barra New Mexico.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BW3XkjYDfl1/?taken-by=karatehottiemma&hl=en" hide_caption="0"]
"The Karate Hottie" possesses a lethal ground game, earning nine of her 14 career victories via submission. She's 2-1 in the UFC, with both wins--and the loss--coming via rear-naked choke.
3. UFC Pittsburgh takes shape
The UFC returns to the Steel City Sept. 16, bringing a loaded Fight Night card with it. In the main event, top middleweights Luke Rockhold and David Branch will throw down.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/lthomasnews/status/888930512315789312" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Elsewhere on the card, the UFC announced Hector Lombard vs. Anthony Smith, Kamaru Usman vs. Sergio Moraes, Krzysztof Jotko vs. Uriah Hall, Gilbert Burns vs. Jason Saggo, Justin Ledet vs. Dmitrii Smoliakov, and Anthony Hamilton vs. Daniel Spitz (h/t MMAFighting.com).
4. Max Holloway gets some new ink
Max Holloway earned a shiny championship belt at UFC 212 in June, and now he's got some fresh ink to go with it.
The newly crowned featherweight king showed off the work via Instagram:
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BW33B-vBHR-/?taken-by=blessedmma&hl=en" hide_caption="0"]
"Blessed," indeed, Mr. Holloway.
5. Vitor Belfort calls out Derek Brunson, Kelvin Gastelum
Vitor Belfort is ready to eat.
The Brazilian legend took to his Instagram to call out two opponents: Derek Brunson and Kelvin Gastelum. While Gastelum just lost to Chris Weidman Saturday at UFC Long Island and will likely drop back down to welterweight, Belfort essentially claims Brunson is ducking him in the post.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BW3uCpBldIO/" hide_caption="0"]
Brunson is coming off a ferocious knockout of Dan Kelly in June, while Belfort is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Nate Marquardt at UFC 212.
Do you wanna see that one? Let us know on Twitter, @FloCombat.
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