Jon Jones Has Next UFC Title Defense Set, Ronda Rousey On CM Punk & Raw, Anderson Silva Update

By Dana Becker

- UFC female bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey continued to express her devotion to WWE superstar CM Punk during a recent media luncheon in which Fight Hub TV attended.

Rousey, who was on hand to promote her UFC 170 championship match with Sara McMann, was updating Daniel Cormier on the recent old-school edition of Monday Night Raw. After explaining that she is a fan of Roddy Piper because of her use of the "Rowdy" nickname, Rousey talked about Punk – which you can hear in the video above.

"CM Punk could be my new-age name," Rousey said. "I totally watched old-school Raw. Everybody came back. CM Punk came out and defended (Piper); that's when I was like, 'CM Punk's the man.' That's it. He's the man."

- UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will return to action this April against Glover Teixeira at UFC 172. Officials confirmed the bout for April 26 from the Baltimore Arena in Maryland. It will serve as the main event, and mark the first time the UFC has visited the city of Baltimore.

Jones (19-1) should receive a strong ovation, as his brother, Arthur, is a member of the Baltimore Ravens defensive line. Jones and Teixeira (22-2) have been rumored for bouts several times in the early portion of 2014, being originally scheduled three times.

Late in 2013, Jones set a new record for title defenses at 205 pounds within the UFC, besting Alexander Gustafsson. Teixeira is a perfect 5-0 since signing with the promotion, including wins over Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Ryan Bader.

- The Nevada Athletic Commission will have a new executive director soon, as Keith Kizer has stepped down from that position – effective late this month.

Kizer told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, "It's time to move on. It's time to go back to being an attorney."

Kizer, 47 years old, will head back to the state attorney general's office where he worked prior to becoming executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission in 2006. During his time, Kizer has held court over several important decisions in the MMA world. One, though, that he will miss out on is the expected upcoming decision on whether to grant Vitor Belfort use of testosterone before his rumored UFC middleweight title fight with Chris Weidman.

- UFC president Dana White took a visit to see former middleweight champion Anderson Silva earlier this week, updating us on the status of "The Spider."

"Visiting Anderson Silva he is doing AMAZING," White wrote on Twitter. "Leg is healing fast, he will be walking without crutches in 30 days."

Silva appears set on making a return to action after suffering a broken leg in December vs. Chris Weidman.

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