Welcome to MMATorch’s new Daily Top Five. Every weekday, tune in for a new Top Five list on a variety of topics; some will be regularly updated, some will be one offs, but we hope you enjoy them all throughout the week! If you’ve got an idea for a Top Five list you’d like to see, email mmatorcheditor@gmail.com and we may fit them into the weekly mix!
4/29/16: Top Five Stories of the Week
In our new regular Friday feature, we list out the most newsworthy stories/articles from the past week in MMA.
5. Reebok uniforms getting color boost in July: The first year of the UFC’s deal with Reebok has been a homogeneous mess of black and white, leaving every broadcast and every fight looking identical from an apparel standpoint. That will be getting some minor and welcome changes in July starting during International Fight Week, as an injection of color options will allow for a bit more variety. It’s a very small change, but it’s a needed step as they gear up for an overhaul in 2017.
4. Junior dos Santos undergoes shoulder surgery, out 12 weeks: Fresh off his best win in years in April, the oft-injured former UFC Heavyweight Champion JDS had to go under the knife once again this week, repairing a torn labrum and a severe issue with his rotator cuff. He expects to be back training by the end of 12 weeks, but whether or not this becomes a significant setback after the progress shown earlier this month remains to be seen.
3. Benson Henderson loses Bellator debut: Whether Henderson’s welterweight prospects were over-inflated by his destruction of a now much more vulnerable Brandon Thatch and a 170 lb win over fellow lightweight Jorge Masvidal, or whether Andrey Koreshkov was just completely over-looked, Henderson’s Bellator debut did not go as planned. He looked like he belonged back at lightweight, and got fairly dismantled throughout the 25-minute fight. It was a highly impressive win for Koreshkov, and a setback for the former UFC Lightweight Champion in his new fighting home.
2. Demetrious Johnson demolishes Henry Cejudo: Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson has been elite for years, but this may have been his best performance to date, firmly reiterating the fact that he’s as good as it gets at 125 lbs. His improvements have continued to be exponential, and he’s now making a realistic argument for the top spot in the best pound for pound fighter conversation.
1. Jon Jones beats OSP in return, meets Daniel Cormier at UFC 200: Though it wasn’t his most flashy or impressive victory, Jon Jones made fairly easy work against an over-matched late notice opponent in Ovince Saint Preux, and now has a July 9 date ahead of him for the Daniel Cormier rematch. That new main event gives Jones the chance to take back the official UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, and he appears poised to do just that after shaking off any issues following a 15-month hiatus.
[Photo (c) Mark J. Rebilas via USA Today Sports]
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