Larry Brown Sports

Vitor Belfort beat Luke Rockhold in the first round of their middlewight fight at UFC on FX 8 on Saturday with an absolutely stunning spinning heel kick to the head.

Belfort knocked Rockhold down with the kick then jumped on him for a few punches before the referee stopped the fight with 2:32 left in the round. The win improves Belfort’s record to 23-10 and gives him four wins in his last five fights, with his loss coming to Jon Jones.

“I’m stronger than ever … as I was before,” Belfort said after the fight.

When asked if he felt he deserved another shot at the UFC middleweight title, Belfort deferred comment.

“I’m here to fight. I don’t pick fights, I accept fights. The fans decide it, Dana White,” he said.

Rockhold, who drops to 10-2, praised Belfort for the spinning heel kick.

“I take my hat off. He landed a spinning heel kick to my head. I didn’t see that one coming … what can I say? He caught me with a spinning heel kick to my head. Kudos to him.”

Here’s another look at the knockdown kick from the other angle:

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Jon Jones and Floyd Mayweather Jr. are among the best pound-for-pound fighters in their respective sports. Jones might be the best MMA fighter in the world — Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre could also make arguments for the top pound-for-pound spot. In boxing, the Klitschko brothers and Canelo Alvarez are top pound-for-pound fighters, but few would dispute the undefeated Mayweather being listed at No. 1.

While boxing is one of the elements of mixed martial arts, it is not exactly Jones’ specialty. He is a wrestler who crushes his opponents with Muay Thai techniques such as vicious knees and elbow. Still, Jones, who is 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, thinks he could compete with Mayweather in a boxing ring.

“It would probably be a pretty competitive match,” Jones told Power 105.1 recently.

But Jones doesn’t think such a fight would feel right because boxing restricts so much of what is allowed in MMA competition.

“Fighting Floyd Mayweather wouldn’t even be right. Nobody would want to see that.”

Jones also explained why he prefers MMA to one single discipline.

“It’s the true art of fighting to do everything.”

I know that Jones is an awesome MMA fighter and that he has a significant size advantage over the 5-foot-8, 147-pound Mayweather, but let’s be real: Mayweather is one of the best boxers in the planet. If we’re talking strictly boxing, Jones is probably considered below average. Regardless of size, Floyd would win that fight. And don’t even get me started with how it would go in MMA. As we saw with James Toney, the UFC is no place for a boxer. Not unless you’re also competent as a wrestler and schooled in practices like Jiu-Jitsu.

Glove touch to Black Sports Online

Jon Jones destroyed Chael Sonnen at UFC 159 on Saturday to retain his UFC light heavyweight title, but he did get injured in the process.

Jones won by first-round TKO — the fight was stopped after Jones pummeled Sonnen with elbows — but the champion broke his big toe.

Below is an image of Jones’ toe, and beware — it is graphic:

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Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen spent the day at ESPN Tuesday to promote their upcoming UFC 159 fight on Saturday in Newark. They each joined multiple shows and spent time conducting multiple interviews. Jones was his typically reserved self, while Sonnen was obnoxious like usual. However, one thing we did notice that was atypical of Sonnen was an expression of self-doubt.

“I don’t know if I can beat Jon Jones,” Sonnen said during an interview with Sage Steele on “SportsCenter.”

“I don’t if I will beat him. I know I can beat him, but I know he can beat me too,” Sonnen continued. “I may go down, but I will go down like a gangster and I will empty my chamber before I do.”

It was surprising to hear such a braggadocios individual allow for the possibility of defeat. Generally, someone entering a title fight will be full of confidence and the belief that they will win. That does not seem to be Sonnen’s mentality.

Jones picked up on that.

Jones said that he’s learned not to be bothered by Sonnen’s big mouth. Instead, he lets his counterpart talk a big game because it serves them both well for purposes of promoting the fight. But Jones also said on “SportsCenter” that he noticed Sonnen’s lack of confidence in interviews. Jones said hearing Sonnen say he doesn’t know if he can win means that the challenger is already “half-beaten.” Jones said being around his opponent has allowed him to see where the challenger is mentally weak. Jones also said Sonnen ranks toward the bottom compared to his last five opponents because he is not a former world champion. He did admit that Sonnen is a “worthy opponent.”

Though Sonnen has been talking a big game, there is an obvious size and ability mismatch here. Couple that with Sonnen’s self-doubt, and I’m expecting this to be an easy win for Jones. If that happens, Dana White likely will not be able to trot out Sonnen for another big fight until he wins some more.

MMA referee Josh Rosenthal is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty in January to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana and possession with intent to distribute — all felonies, according to reports.

Rosenthal is one of the most well-known referees in MMA and has been noticeably absent from major UFC events recently. This likely explains why.

According to MMA Junkie, which obtained a copy of Rosenthal’s plea agreement and first reported the news, federal agents raided an Oakland warehouse owned by Rosenthal and an associate last year and found 1,356 marijuana plants. MMA Junkie says the estimated street value of the weed was greater than $6 million.

MMA Fighting also obtained the legal documents and says the bust was one of the biggest pot-seizures ever in the city.

According to MMA Fighting, documents describe the warehouse in this way:

The warehouse was heavily fortified with reinforced steel doors and surveillance cameras, and four handguns, two assault rifles, two sets of body armor and masks and helmets were also recovered at the scene.

Because of the scale of the operation, the case was referred to the DEA.

MMA Fighting reports that Rosenthal did not renew his refereeing licenses in California or Nevada — two of the most popular states for hosting large-scale MMA fights — after 2012, likely because of his legal problems.

Rosenthal was facing 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine, and five years of probation prior to his plea deal. He is due in US District Court on May 17. The government reportedly is recommending 37 months in jail and five years of probation. The sentencing will be determined by the judge hearing the case.

Rosenthal served as the referee for the notable Dan Henderson-Shogun Rua fight at UFC 139, Anderson Silva’s comeback win over Chael Sonnen at UFC 117 in 2010, and Brock Lesnar’s win over Shane Carwin at UFC 116.

And you thought Sam Hurd was the biggest drug kingpin in sports? Looks like Rosenthal had him beat.

Jon Jones accused Chael Sonnen of using steroids his entire career and only seemed to give a light-hearted apology for making the statement.

Jones and Sonnen will face each other on April 27 in New Jersey for Jones’ UFC light heavyweight championship belt. During an interview with “UFC Tonight” on Tuesday, Jones was asked why he hasn’t talked much trash leading up to the fight. He then was asked about his lone trash-talking remark about Sonnen, in which he said the challenger lacks a “champion’s soul.”

“Chael Sonnen is a guy who people know he’s done steroids throughout his whole career,” Jones told host Dominick Cruz. “It’s probably why his testosterone is low now and I don’t think that’s the heart or attitude of a champion. So that’s what I meant when I said he lacks ‘championship soul’.”

Jones tweeted a similar thought on Monday:

Take steroids in your prime testosterone levels drop then you take TRT to get in your prime again.. Maybe I should just join the team $$$

— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) April 15, 2013

In case you’re unfamiliar, TRT stands for testosterone replacement therapy. Fighters can be granted waivers by the UFC to receive testosterone if they’re medically proven to have low levels. Sonnen is one of those fighters, and he had a controversy after his fight with Anderson Silva in 2010. Sonnen tested positive for high levels of testosterone and was later suspended by the California State Athletic Committee for not taking the steps to receive an exemption for TRT usage. Though Sonnen says he needs the TRT to treat hypogonadism, many believe that fighters end up with low testosterone levels because of past steroid abuse (as referenced in Jones’ tweet).

Jones tweeted Wednesday to say he was apologizing:

I had no right to accuse chael of being a career long steroid user I apologize. See what had happened was….

— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) April 17, 2013

Jones never gave an explanation for what happened, leading me to believe he wasn’t really apologizing.

Below is an interview where Sonnen talks about steroids, but be prepared to get dizzy from all the circles he talks in:

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Miesha Tate lost to Cat Zingano by third-round TKO at The Ultimate Fighter Finale 17 on Saturday and complained afterwards that the fight was stopped too early and that she was struck by an illegal knee.

Tate was in control most of the first two rounds of the fight. She repeatedly sought submissions in the second round — either by heel hook or armbar — but was unable to land either one. In the third round, Zingano came out and immediately got a takedown, and then dominated from top position. She nailed Tate with blow after blow to the face and body.

Halfway through the round, after receiving several blows to her face and nose, Tate fought to stand up. Just as she was standing up, Zingano nailed her with a knee that dropped her back to the ground. Tate fought to get back up again, but Zingano crushed her with three straight knees and an elbow to the head that forced the referee to stop the fight.

Tate may have felt the stoppage was too early, but I don’t. She was hardly able to defend herself and she was getting pummeled. I thought it was a good stoppage.

As for the potentially illegal knee, that’s a more legitimate point.

Under the “Fouls” section of the UFC’s rules, it states that you are not allowed to knee the head of a grounded opponent.

One could argue that Tate’s finger tips were touching the canvas at the time she was kneed, which would make the knee illegal. If it was illegal, it was by the slightest margin. I thought the rulings were fine.

To me, the biggest issue for Tate is her strength. She wasn’t strong enough to submit Zingano, and she struggled to get out from under Zingano in the third round.

Tate and Zingano earned Fight of the Night bonuses while Zingano will be a coach opposite Ronda Rousey on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter. Zingano will face Rousey in a UFC title match.