MMA Nation - UFC 135: 'Rampage' Jackson Outs Ex-MusclePharm Employee As Spy

UFC 135: 'Rampage' Jackson Outs Ex-MusclePharm Employee As Spy

2011-09-23T18:22:06Z

The ongoing back-and-forth "Spygate" allegations between UFC 135 headliners Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Jon "Bones" Jones appears to have finally reached a conclusion, albeit a bizarre one. In an interview with ESPN on Friday morning, Jackson put all claims to rest by unveiling the first name of the supposed mole, "Leonard," and stating that he was a former MusclePharm employee who recently resigned. Immediately after the interview Jackson backed up his assertions with this tweet.

@Rampage4real
Quinton Jackson I just outed the spy on Sport Center,its come on top who he is but out of respect 2 #mucslepharm I won't tweet his name,he's done f**k em!
Sep 23 via Twitter for BlackBerry®FavoriteRetweetReply

MusclePharm is one of the primary sponsors for UFC 135. According to a Security and Exchange Commissions report filled on September 16th, the corporations former Executive Vice President -- a man by the name of Leonard K. Armenta -- resigned from the company around the same time the rumors were flying. The release states that "his resignation was not the result of any disagreements with the Company on any matters relating to the Company's operations, policies or practices."

After the interview Jon Jones responded with a tweet of his own.

@Jonnybones
Jon Bones Jones Sucks some poor guy at musclepharm got fired over rampages paranoia
Sep 23 via TweetList ProFavorite RetweetReply

So while we may never know the truth about "Spygate," it does finally appear to be behind us. Check out the original ESPN interview below and see which side you believe.

MMA Nation Round-Up: Jon Jones' British Accent, ADCC 2011, And Victor Ortiz On TMZ

2011-09-23T11:00:53Z

MMA Nation Round-Up provides you with daily coverage of the latest in news, multimedia, and analysis throughout the world of combat sports. Today we bring you oodles of UFC 135 coverage, tidbits from the debut of TUF 14, and Victor Ortiz's TMZ demands.

- If you're into baseball, you've probably heard the phrase "Manny being Manny" to describe how people handled precarious All-Star slugger Manny Ramirez. Well UFC President Dana White is taking the same approach to Nick Diaz.

- Larry Merchant is still the talk of the town, and Dana White was the latest to get in on the conversation, referring to the longtime HBO commentator as "senile."

- Michael Bisping and Jason "Mayhem" Miller are competing coaches on the fourteenth season of "The Ultimate Fighter." Now they're also competing to see who had the better UStream chat.

- Speaking of "The Ultimate Fighter 14," featherweight competitor Akira Corassani weighed-in on MMA Nation with his take from the debut episode.

- MMA Mania's Brian Hemminger predicts the main card of Saturday's Bellator 51 event.

- Ben Thapa delivers a superb preview of the ADCC 2011 Submission Grappling Championships over at Bloody Elbow.

- Dallas Winston breaks down UFC 135's darkhorse for fight of the night -- Nate Diaz vs. Takanori Gomi -- over at Bloody Elbow.

- Keeping with UFC 135, Compustrike released the latest simulations for Jon Jones vs. Quinton Jackson. Their prediction? Jones is better than a 4-1 favorite.

- Has the pressure finally cracked Jon Jones? Who knows. Nonetheless, the scene was bizarre on Thursday as the young UFC light heavyweight champion spoke in a British accent for the entirety of his interview with Luke Thomas, and admitted (perhaps in jest) that Spygate was a reality.

- Quinton "Rampage" Jackson has come a long way in his thirteen year career. MMA Mania travels back in time to the scene of his first professional knockout at Pride 17.

- Jon Jones and "Rampage" Jackson continued their whirlwind media tour, stopping by the set of Fuel TV's The Daily Habit, where Jones again admitted to the veracity of Jackson's spy allegations. (HT: MMA Mania)

- TMZ tracked down recent sucker punch victim Victor Ortiz going out to dinner. Needless to say, the fighter had quite a bit to say about the combination that ended the fight and his demand for a rematch.

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UFC 135 Interview: Jon Jones Talks Funny, 'Admits' To Spying On Rampage

2011-09-22T17:37:39Z

It's been an interesting week for UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones as he prepares to make his first title defense against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 135 in Denver. He's done a lot of press, including yesterday's pre-fight press conference and a Monday night appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live alongside Jackson.

Perhaps the pressure is starting to show. In this interview with MMA Nation's Luke Thomas, Jones insists on speaking in a British accent for the duration of the interview. Wow.

When asked about Jackson's previous allegations that Jones had placed a spy in his camp, things get really weird:

Luke Thomas: On a scale of one to ten, one being you didn't even notice it, ten being you couldn't sleep at night, rate the level of distractions in this camp.

Jon Jones: Well, you know, I'm British, so being a double agent is what we do. So, it wasn't a distraction. I simply got caught.

Luke Thomas: ...right. You got caught spying?

Jon Jones: Yeah, he caught me. It was his chef. Chef kinda put me out there a little bit. I'm comfortable with it, too late now.

Check out the complete transcription below.

Luke Thomas: The one and only Jon Jones joins us now. Jon, how are you sir?

Jon Jones: (in U.K. accent) I've been doing well mate. How are you?

LT: (laughs) I'm doing very well. You know Jon, I was at the press conference yesterday and I want to talk about what's going on, in terms of your assessment of "Rampage" Jackson's game. You say it's stagnant. It's a claim that I think is largely true, but what makes you say that? Why, in your judgement, is "Rampage" Jackson's game unevolved?

JJ: Well I don't know mate. I think part of it is that he's surrounded himself with a lot of yes-men. You know, he's in a camp that makes him extremely comfortable, with no one to push him, and really I think that's just going to be the biggest step in the fight.

LT: Are you going to do this whole interview in a British accent?

JJ: Well, this is for all my U.K. fans. Yes.

LT: Alright. I guess we'll roll on. The inability of "Rampage" Jackson to put Matt Hamill away; you blew through him, then Alexander Gusstafon blew through him. Can people read to much into that win? He dominated, but the fact that he was unable to put him away, does that say something about Jackson's game?

JJ: Well no, I don't think it says much about his game. Maybe about his punching power. Styles make fights, and "Rampage" definitely has an awesome style to finish the fight, but he wasn't able to do it. So it doesn't tell me much about the game plan, but his punching power seems to be suffering.

LT: Is it annoying to you that he, and others, suggest your win over "Shogun" Rua came at a time when "Shogun" -- in their judgement anyway -- is believed not to have been 100 percent, hadn't really fully recovered from knee surgeries. Does that annoy you at all?

JJ: No, it's not annoying at all. I think "Rampage" needs to tell himself certain things to reassure himself that I'm not, maybe, what I'm hyped up to be.

LT: Relative to other camps, and we can go back to the Brandon Vera camp and other camps you've had, this is the most high-profile one. Certainly new for you, it's your first title defense, but at the same time there were a lot of distractions, particularly with the Spygate thing. On a scale of one to ten, one being you didn't even notice it, ten being you couldn't sleep at night, rate the level of distractions in this camp.

JJ: Well, you know, I'm British, so being a double agent is what we do. So, it wasn't a distraction. I simply got caught.

LT: ...right. You got caught spying?

JJ: Yeah, he caught me. It was his chef. Chef kinda put me out there a little bit. I'm comfortable with it, too late now.

LT: Alright. You've trained with Carlos Condit, you know GSP well. What chance do you give Carlos Condit and his chance to take the title at UFC 137?

JJ: Well both Georges St. Pierre and Carlos Condit are my mates, and I really don't want to see them fight each other, but they have to. I'm going to stay neutral and say may the best man win.

LT: You have a huge adoring fanbase but you've also developed a polarizing effect, almost unintentionally, between fans. You've got a lot of them that hate you and a lot that love you. But what's strange to me is that you don't go out of your way, like Mayweather, I believe. Why do you believe you have this polarizing effect?

JJ: Well, you know, it's sports. I've got the greatest fans, and I'm just like the Patriots. That's just the way it is.

LT: When you look at champions in other sports, you can pick combat sports or whatever, are there any you decide to model your behavior after, in terms of out of competition. Not so much in the Octagon, but out of it.

JJ: I guess the person I (inaudible) the most is (inaudible). He said a lot of things and he's quite fascinating of a man.

LT: And are you going to do your post-fight interview, should you win, in this British accent?

JJ: Absolutely mate. Maybe I might even go France.

***

UPDATE: For any doubting the validity of this bizarre interview, Jones' manager Malki Kawa confirmed via Twitter that it was in fact the young light heavyweight champion.

@malkikawa
malki kawa Jon just did a interview in a british accent... Lol it was classic... Just for his uk fans!!!!!
Sep 22 via UberSocial for BlackBerryFavorite RetweetReply

UFC 135: Is Jon Jones Spying On Quinton Jackson?

2011-08-30T16:01:04Z

They have faced a near constant stream of scrutiny. No less an august personage than UFC President Dana White has questioned their decision making. But teammates like Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch have stayed strong in their resolve. They will not fight. Not ever. In their primes, teammates Keith Jardine and Rashad Evans had the same vow.

Looking into the latest debacle in Quinton Jackson's camp, it's easy to understand why those relationships might seem so sacred. Teammates at the American Kickboxing Academy and (until recently) Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA formed a real bond and a trust. They could share their best techniques, their insecurities, their lives, with the other members of the gym, without fear that one day down the road the man they are showing their best stuff would end up staring at them from across the Octagon.

Rampage Jackson doesn't have that trust in his professional life. He believes, rightly or wrongly, that there is a mole in his camp. He first saw signs during his UFC 114 fight against Evans. It was punches to the knee that triggered his gut reaction that something wasn't right. Who punches the knee? Almost no one is the correct answer, but Evans was doing it in their fight. Jackson believes because he had been tipped off to a training camp injury.

Preparing for his UFC 135 light heavyweight title shot against Jon Jones, Jackson decided to put his team's integrity to the test. He floated the claim during training one day that he had injured his hand. Four hours later, Joe Silva, one of the most powerful figures in the UFC was calling Jackson's manager about the hand injury. Silva's source? Jones's manager Malki Kawa, who adamantly denied to Yahoo Sports that he has a man inside Team Rampage:

"I promise to God, I have no spy in that camp," Kawa said. "It's completely and totally untrue. There is nothing to it at all. It's funny he said that, though, because we've heard he has had old training partners of Jon coming in to work with him. We don't care and it's kind of hilarious he's doing this. But I can guarantee you there is nothing at all that is true about this other than that I called Joe Silva after someone put out a thing on Twitter that Rampage was injured and pulling out. I wanted to know what was up, but it was no more than that. That is it."

It's a puzzling situation. It's common for fighters to bring in guys who have trained with their opponent, guys who have fought their opponent, and guys who can mimic their opponent. But I don't recall a fighter ever accusing an opposing management team of planting a source in their camp.

The worst part for Rampage? Whether it's true or not, it's in his head. When he's working on his gameplan, the doubt will be there lingering. If he suffers a minor injury, something that happens to almost every fighter in the lead up to a big bout, there will be fears of opposition foreknowledge. Will Rampage eschew his carefully crafted plans the first time he believes Jones may have been tipped off?

Suddenly, the level playing field looks a little slanted in Jones' favor. And the guys at AKA are smiling a little wider. There are reasons to build trust, camaraderie, and a safe environment for a fighter. Rampage's situation makes that reality starker than ever.