ATLANTA — The well documented animosity between Jon Jones and Rashad Evans had seemed to abate during the week leading up to Saturday’s UFC light heavyweight title fight.

Then came Friday’s weigh-ins at the Fox Theatre, where the two estranged friends and former training partners stepped on the scale — then came together for an intense staredown worthy of one of the biggest grudge matches in the promotion’s 19-year history.

With the 4,678-seat erstwhile movie palace nearly filled to capacity, Evans (204 pounds) and Jones (205) both came in under the division limit. Both fighters drew mixed reactions from a crowd that seemed evenly divided in their support.

“It’s been a bit different because of the media and everything, but at the same time, I enjoyed the process,” Evans told UFC commentator Joe Rogan. “It is a lot of emotion involved, but at the same time, I’m looking forward to stepping in the cage and fighting Jones.”

“It’s a gigantic fight. I’m excited to be here, baby,” Jones said, amid an uncommon chorus of boos. “I’m ready to tear some heart out.”

Every fighter made weight Friday except for John Makdessi, who came in three pounds over the lightweight limit of 155 pounds and will forfeit 20 percent of his purse to opponent Anthony Njokuani.

Yesterday, Evans had observed how a fight actually starts at the weigh-ins. ”It’s really the last time you see your guy before you see him in the cage,” he said. “You get to see his energy, feel his energy.”

If the hostility exuding from both fighters Friday is any indication, their light heavyweight title showdown Saturday at Philips Arena should be a cracker.

(Watch the entire weigh-ins here.)

– Bryan Armen Graham

Stephen Thompson won six world kickboxing titles and amassed a mark of 63-0 as an amateur and pro before joining the UFC. (Kevin C. Cox/Zuffa LLC)

ATLANTA — Of the six preliminary fights airing on FX before Saturday’s UFC 145 pay-per-view telecast, none is more intriguing than Stephen Thompson’s meeting with veteran Matt Brown.

A six-time world champion kickboxer, Thompson became an overnight sensation in February with a spectacular first-round knockout of Dan Stittgen in his UFC debut, a four-minute stoppage that earned the Simpsonville, S.C., native a $65,000 bonus for the Knockout of the Night.

“There is a little pressure [to follow up] a four-minute knockout in your first UFC fight,” Thompson, 28, said at Thursday’s open workouts at Georgia State University. “But you’re fighting better guys now. Matt Brown has been in the fight game for a very long time. He’s got a lot of experience. So I’m not expecting to go out and knock this guy out. If it happens, it happens.”

The 32-year-old Brown felt his knockout of Chris Cope on the same card as Thompson’s debut was more deserving the bonus, making no secret of it. Ultimately, he asked to face Thompson — a request Dana White, no enemy to drama, was happy to grant.

The media in Thompson’s native South Carolina have done their part to hype the fight. When Thompson appeared on a local radio station — “93.3 The Planet,” he recalled with a smile — Brown called into the station while his opponent was being interviewed on the air. (Brown confessed Thursday the radio station had orchestrated the dust-up by scheduling the call.)

Thompson trained with Rashad Evans for a week in Florida while preparing for Saturday’s sophomore outing. The two first met when Thompson was flown to Albuquerque to help Evans prepare for his May 2009 fight with Lyoto Machida. They’ve kept up a good relationship and Thompson has been training with him ever since.

And though Evans is a 5-to-1 underdog against Jon Jones in Saturday’s main event, Thompson is bullish on the former champion’s upset chances.

“The guy’s a monster man, he’s a beast,” Thompson said. “He’s so ready. Mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, he’s there. So I’m excited to see that one.”

– Bryan Armen Graham

Georges St-Pierre made an unscheduled visit to the UFC 145 open workouts Thursday at Georgia State University in Atlanta. (Kevin C. Cox/Zuffa LLC)

ATLANTA — Georges St-Pierre is the UFC welterweight champion and widely regarded as the biggest draw in mixed martial arts, having attracted more than 750,000 pay-per-view buys to six different events over the past four years.

But he’s also a fan. And no one is looking forward to Saturday’s light heavyweight title showdown between Jon Jones and Rashad Evans more.

“As a fan of the sport, it’s definitely a fight I want to see,” St-Pierre said Thursday at the Georgia State University Sports Arena, where several fighters on Saturday’s card held open workouts for media and fans. “Both of these guys are incredibly talented. I believe that a mistake from one of these two guys will be fatal.”

St-Pierre, who turns 31 next month, hasn’t fought since making his seventh consecutive defense of the UFC’s 170-pound title with a points victory over Jake Shields in April 2011. He pulled out of an October defense against Carlos Condit due to a knee injury suffered in training. Two months later, it was revealed St-Pierre would be sidelined 10 months after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

“I’m in good shape now, but I’m not in fighting shape,” said St-Pierre, who explained the graft in his knee needs more time to fuse before he moves on from light exercise. “In two months it’s going to 100 percent. I don’t want to mess it up. If I try to jump or go too fast, I will have to do it all over again.”

St-Pierre spoke highly of rising welterweight prospect Rory MacDonald, who fights Che Mills in Saturday’s co-feature bout. The 22-year-old MacDonald, who trains alongside St-Pierre at Tristar Gym in Montreal, says he wants to be a world champion within two years — in the division St-Pierre currently rules.

“I’m not interested in fighting him,” St-Pierre said, repeating himself multiple times. “There are a lot of welterweights. I don’t think we have to do it now. In two years, who knows? Maybe I will go to middleweight. Who knows what’s going to happen?”

Ever the diplomat, St-Pierre abstained from predicting Saturday’s winner — but he said it won’t take long to see who’s in the driver’s seat.

“After the first round, we will have a good idea of who will impose his dominance,” he said. “After the first round, we will see who will be the winner, who will be able to impose his game on the other guy.”

– Bryan Armen Graham

Jon Jones (left) and Rashad Evans (right) addressed the media Wednesday at a press event promoting their UFC title fight. (Kevin C. Cox/Zuffa LLC)

ATLANTA — For two fighters that are supposedly friends turned enemies, Jon Jones and Rashad Evans didn’t show much animosity when sharing a stage Wednesday.

Maybe they were just being civil. Or maybe the stifled smiles and occasional bursts of laughter hinted at something else — maybe the two don’t really hate each other after all.

For all intents and purposes, they have to this week. The former training partners’ bitter breakup and ongoing feud is the lifeblood of UFC 145 and one of the most anticipated championship bouts in years. But for all of the hype surrounding the pair’s dislike for one another, Jones and Evans didn’t exude much hatred when faced with the task of an intimate face-to-face meeting at the UFC 145 pre-fight press conference.

At first, the question-and-answer session carried a solemn tone, with the fighters avoiding eye contact and putting on stoic faces while the other spoke. But by the end, much like a five-round title fight, their defenses had weakened and the two were letting smiles and jokes slip.

There’s no denying that there are some hard feelings between Jones and Evans. The fighters have had to rehash the story of their feud countless times the past few weeks (and a few more on Wednesday). But after talking about it so much, the two agreed that the raw feelings that were once there have subsided a little bit.

Jones called the persistent discussion “therapeutic” and said that Saturday’s main event “will be like the last counseling session.”

Evans echoed his former partner’s sentiment, hinting that their relationship might not be in the tatters that it’s made out to be.

“We’ve talked about this to death,” he said. “When you talk about something over and over, you lose a little bit of the emotion behind it … we’ve been going back and forth, saying this, saying that. It’s been a long process. We both are just tired.”

The two even went as far as to acknowledge the possibility of rekindling their friendship after UFC 145. After all, the octagon has seen many fighters put aside their differences to hug it out after a bloody battle.

“Who knows what God wants for us in the future,” Jones said. “I was watching an Ali documentary, When We Were Kings, and it was so cool to see the guys who fought each other and hated each other were able to talk about the fight and laugh and say, ‘Oh, you got me with that one!’ and ‘You hit me hard with that one.’ So who knows what God wants for us.”

At one point, Evans was asked how much Jones has learned from him outside the octagon in conducting himself as a man. Evans downplayed the question initially, but couldn’t resist a friendly jab at the end of his answer — much like the ribbing you’d expect from two former partners.

“I can’t really answer that question — but I do know he wore a suit just like mine,” said Evans with a know-it-all smile.

With the ice broken and Evans laughing, Jones also let his guard down, possibly conveying his true feelings for his former teammate.

“To clear that up,” said Jones, “I think Rashad’s swagger is through the roof. Look at the guy, that’s why I didn’t put a coat jacket on (today), I’m not going to try and compete with Rashad in dressing. He’s a wonderful dresser. He just is.”

The light-hearted affair continued when Jones, 24, compared the 32-year-old Evans to his manager, who is similar in age, but little else.

“I’m very insulted,” Evans said in mock seriousness. “You cannot physically compare me to to Malki Kawa. Don’t ever do nothing like that again. That’s just disrespectful right there.”

“My bad,” laughed Jones. “I was out of line.”

Needless to say, the press conference wasn’t exactly hostile. But that doesn’t mean either fighter will give any less on Saturday. There’s nothing fake about their desire to win. In this rare case, bragging rights might actually mean more to Jones and Evans than the championship belt itself. But just because the two desperately want to beat the other doesn’t mean they hate each other, as we might have been led to believe.

“Let’s be honest here, it’s a fight,” Evans said. “When people fight, they don’t like each other. It makes it easier for people to root for somebody. You can never divorce the entertainment side of it and you’ve got to understand this is a sport and this is entertainment.

“People are not buying this because they want to see two guys who like each other and only have nice things to say about each other. They want to see two guys who don’t like each other.”

Which is why Jones and Evans will enter the octagon as enemies Saturday. There’s no other way to bill the event.

While the tale of the Jones-Evans split has been told endlessly, the truth has always been a little too murky for anyone to decipher. Jones blames Evans, Evans blames Jones, and we’re left wondering what’s really true.

What we do know is that the pair had a falling out, leading to a feud — temporary or not — that will be resolved this weekend.

“Somewhere in the middle lies the truth,” Evans said, “And the truth doesn’t really matter.”

– Matt Dollinger

Jon Jones went from prospect to contender to champion to the pound-for-pound short list within a 12-month span. (Hector Acevedo/ZUMAPRESS.com)

This time last year, Jon Jones was a 23-year-old prospect with fewer than four years training in mixed martial arts. Over the past 12 months, the Rochester, N.Y., native captured the UFC light heavyweight title — becoming the youngest champion in the organization’s history — while soaring up most outlets’ pound-for-pound ratings. (He’s No. 2 on SI.com’s list.) SI.com caught up with Jones, who makes his third defense of the 205-pound title Saturday against Rashad Evans at UFC 145 in Atlanta.

Who is your all-time favorite fighter in boxing or MMA?

Anderson Silva and Muhammad Ali. Both of them.

When was your first fight?

I was around nine years old. I lived in Rochester, N.Y., and I was at my elementary school outside hanging out. I think we were drawing on the ground with chalk. And this kid, he said something about my mom. And at the time when you’re a kid — especially in the neighborhood where I grew up — when someone says something about your mama, it’s on. I said, “Come over and say that to my face!” The kid came across the street, said it to my face, and then he lifted me up in the air, slammed me on the ground, hit my head on the concrete and I just kind of blacked out from there. I don’t think I won that one.

Did you have fear in that moment?

I don’t remember being afraid, I just remember feeling out of control. It was a terrible feeling, and it’s a feeling I’ll probably never feel again — and don’t want to feel again.

When did you realize MMA was something you could make a living with?

After my second pro fight [against Carlos Eduardo in 2008]. I got paid $1,200. At the time, that was life-changing for me.

Who is the toughest opponent you’ve ever fought?

It depends on what mood I’m in. It varies. A lot of times it’s Stephan Bonner.

What was your favorite subject in school?

Lunch.

What’s on your iPod?

Actually I don’t have an iPod right now. I don’t listen to music while training.

What is your favorite movie?

300.

What’s one misconception about MMA fighters?

That we are aggressive and violent and not civil. In reality it’s the complete opposite. We’re men of great integrity. I think we’re some of the most disciplined athletes there are.

What would you be doing if you weren’t fighting?

I’d be law enforcement in upstate New York.

What is your biggest guilty pleasure?

Eating unhealthy. I love greasy fast food. It’s not good for me, but I love it.

Favorite meal when you’re out of training?

Probably a Wendy’s triple stack hamburger with cheese.

What would you change in MMA?

Nothing. I love the sport as it is.

When is the last time you cried?

Recently. Doing the Primetime show for this fight. They asked me about my sister [who died of brain cancer when Jones was 12], and it brought tears to my eyes to think about how beautiful she was and how much I missed her.

What’s the biggest thing that’s changed for you since becoming champion?

More Twitter followers.

Name three people you’d like to have dinner with (living or dead).

I would invite Muhammad Ali, Bruce Lee and Michael Jackson.

What advice would you give to young fighters coming up?

Remain extremely passionate and have patience — but mainly to be extremely passionate. A lot of people want to be successful, but a lot of people don’t really want to put in that work and really be obsessive over success and obsessive over what they need to do to better themselves. We all know exactly what we need to do. You know where you [stink]. Work on it.

Favorite place to vacation?

Brazil. Rio de Janeiro.

What is your dream venue for a fight?

Madison Square Garden.

What sports do you watch outside of MMA?

Football.

Tell us something no one knows about you?

[Thinks for nearly a minute.] I’m not saying.

When’s it’s all over, how do you want to be remembered?

I want to be remembered as a great champion. I want to be remembered as someone who inspired the people around me to better themselves. I want to make people reach for their goals and to look at themselves in the highest regard possible. I want people to be cocky in a good way. I want people to be extremely confident, because you only have yourself.

What’s your prediction for Saturday night?

Mark my words, I’ll finish the fight before the third round.

– As told to Bryan Armen Graham

Jon Jones (above) made his first defense of the UFC light heavyweight title with a fourth-round submission of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 135. (AP)

SI.com analysts Ben Fowlkes, Loretta Hunt, Jeff Wagenheim and Jon Wertheim provide their predictions for UFC 140 on Saturday in Toronto.

Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida

FOWLKES: If I’m Machida, I’m hoping that a light falls from the rafters and knocks Jones out. Otherwise it’s going to be a rough night for the smaller, slower Brazilian. Life ain’t a karate movie, son. Jones by TKO.

HUNT: With the year Jones is having, it’s hard to pick against him. He has momentum on his side, having gained major confidence taking out ex-champions Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson with little fret. Jones’ speed, agility and reactionary instincts should be enough for any new tricks the crafty Machida might have up his sleeve. Jones by TKO. 

WAGENHEIM: Machida is an ex-champ who not too long ago was considered invincible. That was then. This is now. I just don’t see him hanging with Jonny Bones. Jones by KO.

WERTHEIM: Jon Jones has no real discernible weakness — possibly his chin, though he hadn’t been hit enough to make a judgment. He is the more versatile fighter, the more confident fighter and, maybe most important, has length. Hard to see how he doesn’t win his fourth fight of 2011. Jones by TKO.

Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

FOWLKES: Mir is too big and too technically sound for Nogueira, who might be surgically repaired but still moves like a rusty tin man version of his old self. Mir by TKO.

HUNT: His first-round summer knockout over Brendan Schaub aside, Nogueira’s performances have been inconsistent in the last few years — which is consistent with an age-accelerated 35-year-old who’s endured a particularly punishing 12-year, 40-fight career. It’s Mir’s race to win on points if his cardio is up to snuff. Mir by decision.

WAGENHEIM: The first time they fought, Big Nog was not in good health. But for Mir, that TKO win injected a healthy dose of confidence. The only difference this time: They go the distance. Mir by decision.

WERTHEIM: Mir beat Nogueira three years ago in a considerable upset. It would be less of surprise if he won again. He ground game remains fearsome and he’s younger and a lot less battled-scarred than his opponent. Mir by decision.

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SI.com analysts Ben Fowlkes, Steven Marrocco, Jeff Wagenheim and Jon Wertheim provide their predictions for Saturday’s UFC heavyweight championship fight between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos in Anaheim, Calif.

BEN FOWLKES

If Velasquez is just as quick and as sharp now as he was before his long layoff following shoulder surgery, he has all the necessary tools to beat Dos Santos. The Brazilian excels when he can stand on the outside and box, but if Velasquez succeeds at getting in his face and pushing him at a higher pace than he likes, it’s going to be very difficult for him to get comfortable. That is, of course, if Velasquez fights smart and resists the urge to get away from his strengths just so he can put on a show for the network audience. I think he’ll avoid that particular pitfall, and I think dos Santos will find out that it’s a different fight when a guy like Velasquez is right on top of you for every minute of every round. Velasquez by TKO.

STEVEN MARROCCO

Whatever disadvantage Cain brings into the fight with a year-plus layoff, he makes up in the ability to take Dos Santos down and gradually grind him down over 25 minutes. If he takes a punch, that’s just going to speed Dos Santos’ trip to the mat. If Dos Santos goes for the surprise and puts Cain on his back, it’s doubtful he’ll be able to keep the position. In all but one area of the fight, Velasquez has the advantage. Velasquez by TKO.

JEFF WAGENHEIM

Curious to see what the UFC and Fox, having committed to airing just this one fight, would do with the rest of the hour-long time slot, I’m almost rooting for a 10-second knockout. Almost. This clash is just too appealing to not want more and more — and I do expect to see more than a flash knockout. I foresee a little circling and stalking, then a few dangerously exhilarating exchanges, then a Velasquez takedown into ground control. Will Junior get up? If so, we’ll have a fight on our hands. Either way, I think Cain can do too much in too many positions for dos Santos to handle. Velasquez by TKO.

JON WERTHEIM

This has the potential to be a smashing network debut — a lively, multidemensional fight. Or a technical, stall-and-sprawl ground game special — “Wait, who’s doing what to who?” — that could confuse and turn off the casual fan. Obviously, if you root for the sport, you root for the former scenario. One of the best boxers in the UFC, JDS could score an early KO. But assuming Velasquez can avert danger and take the fight to the ground where his wrestling kicks in, I like him especially the longer the fight goes. Velasquez by decision.

Jon Jones (above) made his first defense of the UFC light heavyweight title on Saturday, dispensing of Quinton Jackson. (Hector Acevedo/ZUMAPRESS.com)

As expected, 24-year-old phenom Jon Jones is still the man after UFC 135. In the first defense of his title, he beat an in-shape and motivated Quinton “Rampage” Jackson to keep his strap, six months after he throttled Mauricio “Shogun” Rua to become the youngest champ in the UFC’s modern era.

Like all of Jones’ fights in the octagon, the fight was one-sided. At no point was there imminent danger and at no point was Jackson able, as he’d hoped, to test the champ’s untested chin.

Jackson had posited Jones would crumble to exhaustion in later rounds. Instead, it was he who crumbled and quit, overwhelmed in the fourth by a relentless procession of kicks, punches, and elbows. He tapped to a choke in that championship frame. But it was an afterthought; he checked out at the end of the third when he started clock-watching.

So begins the Jon Jones era. Or does it? A crew like The Usual Suspects is just waiting to cut the kid from his perch and take his gold loot. So far, he’s given us no reason to believe he won’t parallel, and perhaps eclipse, the rise of welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre. There are significant threats, but at the moment, Jones’ 84-and-a-half-inch wingspan casts a long shadow over the division.

Let’s take a brief look at the murderer’s row:

Rashad Evans: The former champ, who’s next in line, is in his physical prime and has the speed to get inside and do damage with quick hands. With his wrestling, he could be the first person to put Jones on his back. Moreover, he could keep the champ there. It’s the foundation of Evans’ confidence leading into the yet-unscheduled bout, a do-over from a ill-fated meeting at UFC 133 that fractured the camp in which both trained. What happened under Greg Jackson’s roof when they sparred, before Evans accused Jones of betrayal and flew the coop, is a truth that will only be uncovered if walls talk. Evans says he made Jones quit. Jones says he could have handled Evans had he gone full speed. Training partners won’t break the code of silence endemic to MMA gyms, at least for now. So we’re left to what we’ve seen thus far from Evans. And if that’s any indication of the damage he could do to Jones, he could make things interesting.

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The UFC is banking on the dynamic athleticism of light heavyweight champ Jon Jones to help take the organization to the next level. (Greg Nelson/SI)

Is the sports world ready for Jon Jones?

This is not a question that will be answered in the main event of Saturday night’s UFC 135 in Denver, a fight in which the 24-year-old will put his shiny new UFC light heavyweight championship belt on the line for the first time against Quinton Jackson. This is not a question about “Bones” the fighter.

OK, sure, what Jones does in the octagon does ultimately matter. This young man who breezed from phenom to champion in about the time it takes him to wheel through a spinning backfist could, with a loss or even an ordinary performance, instantly lose his mojo. But let’s not even go there. At this point, the mixed martial arts world is utterly transfixed by Jones, whose presence transcends his skills in striking and grappling. We’re going to assume, for the sake of argument, that that does not change this weekend.

But when we investigate the readiness of the sports world to latch onto the star of Jones, we’re not talking about the MMA world. We’re looking at the bigger picture, the sports world splashed across flat screens 24/7 showing enough flavors of sports channels to make Baskin-Robbins jealous. The UFC has been creeping onto that stage for a while now — a highlight clip here and a quick Q&A there. But emergence into the sports mainstream shifts into high gear in November when the Dana White Athletic Club makes its network TV debut on Fox.

Even though he’s fighting this weekend, not on the UFC on Fox 1 card Nov. 12 in Anaheim, Calif., Jon Jones is a big part of the push into the hearts and souls of the sporting public. He is an athlete unlike any who have come before in his sport. He’s not merely a skilled, dangerous fighter. You watch him perform in the cage and you get the feeling he just as well could be excelling on a basketball court or football field, as do both his older brother, who plays in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens, and his younger bro, who plays college ball at Syracuse. Heck, he’s from upstate New York, so hockey isn’t out of the question. Nor is baseball, really, with Cooperstown being a couple hours’ drive from where he grew up.

It’s not that Bones has demonstrated an aptitude for any of those sports. In fact, at a fan’s suggestion on Twitter that he’s got the body and athleticism to play wide receiver, Jones responded, “Haha I can’t catch.” But that’s OK. He doesn’t have to catch. He just has to perform and carry himself like enough of an athlete to be measured alongside the stars who shine in all of the other prominent sports venues.

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Jon Jones (above) is favored in his first defense of the UFC light heavyweight championship against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. (Greg Nelson/SI)

SI.com analysts Ben Fowlkes, Steven Marrocco, Jeff Wagenheim and Jon Wertheim provide their predictions for UFC 135 on Saturday in Denver.

Jon Jones vs. Quinton Jackson

FOWLKES: Jackson won’t even get within hooking distance of the faster, lankier Jones. If he lasts as long as Rua did before getting rolled up, I’ll be slightly amazed. Jones by TKO.

MARROCCO: Jones has three dimensions to Jackson’s two. Jackson fancies a knockout, but it’s doubtful he’ll ever get close enough to land. Jones by TKO. 

WAGENHEIM: “Rampage” trash talks a good game, but when the jawing stops and the jostling starts, “Bones” will have his say … and have his way. Jones by TKO.

WERTHEIM: Feels a bit like Evans-Tito (and Jones-Shogun): a versatile contender versus a thirtysomething name far from his prime. Jones is too young, versatile and athletic. Jones by TKO.

Matt Hughes vs. Josh Koscheck

FOWLKES: I just don’t see what tools Hughes has to threaten Koscheck with at this point. He’ll get out-Hughes’d in what could very well be his final UFC fight. Koscheck by TKO.

MARROCCO: The urgency isn’t there for Hughes, and his speed and power are on the decline. Could be curtains on Saturday. Koscheck by TKO.

WAGENHEIM: Five years ago, fighting Hughes would have meant a long night for Kos. But at this point he should make short work of the past champ. Koscheck by TKO.

WERTHEIM: Long layoff for two veterans and wrestling-based fighters. Though coming on short notice, Koscheck is younger and faster. Koscheck by decision.

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