Last Saturday in Trenton, N.J., Baltimore's Binky Jones made his Bodog Fight debut against Nick Agallar.  Jones lost that fight in a very close judges' split decision, ending Jones' three-fight win streak.

I caught up with Jones and mentor John Rallo in the parking lot of the Sovereign Bank Arena that night and it was clear Jones was disappointed with the outcome of the fight.  However, he and Rallo both promised he will be back -- better than ever -- in his next Bodog Fight matchup and that extenuating circumstances more than anything else led to that night's loss.  In addition, Jones mentioned that he immediately asked Bodog Fight for a rematch against Agallar.

Jones and manager Cordell Hunter were kind enough to answer more questions during the last week about Jones' performance as well as Jones' plans for the future.  Those responses were relayed to me by e-mail and here are highlights of what both said.

Q: How did you feel going into this fight?  Was there anything in Agallar's game that worried you?

Jones: I felt real good going into the fight and was not worried about his game.   My job was to do my thing in the ring but it did not happen this time.  I felt that the fight was close and that a couple of different positions mays have changed the whole fight.  Nick is a good tough fighter who was in good shape. He trains with a good team but that is to be expected of everybody at this point.

Q: Were there any mistakes that you made during the fight that you think cost you the victory?

Jones: I think that with more time to prepare, the fight would have been different.  I really did not make too many mistakes during the fight.  You have to take chances and I considered my submissions attempts to be well-calculated risks.  I tried to do a couple of ankle locks, keep good positioning on the mat and work from the guard.  I tried a spinning back fist that did not connect and probably could have done more punching on the ground and standing.  I did get a little extended on a couple of shots and got caught with a couple punches because of that.

Hunter: Binky could have came in in a little better shape with proper time to get ready.  The fight was still very close and Binky tried to push the pace.  Now that he has submitted some top guys, fighters seem to be real cautious on the ground, tying him up and slowing down the pace that Binky would like to fight at.
 
Q: With the result so close, is there any one thing you could have done differently to change the outcome?

Jones: When fights are close you need to leave something in the judges' minds.  I ended the first round strong.  I will try to close out each round strong and punch a little bit more as sometimes [judges] do not look at submission attempts [when scoring fights]. 
 
Q: Was there anything Agallar did that posed problems for you in the fight?

Hunter: Nick slowed the fight down by tying Binky up on the ground.   To me, he was somewhat stalling or being very, very cautious.  At one point, I thought that he was holding onto Binky's glove but he was not, he was just keeping it tight on the ground.
 
Q: Would you like a rematch against Agallar?

Jones: I want a rematch ASAP and asked the Bodog guys for a rematch that night.
 
Q: Did you come out of the fight with any injuries?  Do you know how you got them?

Jones: I feel good -- no major injuries just some aches.  I am training again already and will not take much time off.  I will be focusing on helping my two teams get ready for their bouts.  Team Ground Control and Team Raww Dogg both have two fighters each fighting this weekend in amateur MMA shows.  Team Ground Control will be in Delaware and Team Raww Dogg will be in New Jersey at the Cage of Vengeance.

Q: Have you been handed down any medical suspensions by NJ Athletic Control Board after the fight?

Hunter: No medical suspension, no injuries just some minor aches and little pains. 
 
Q: When will your next fight be with Bodog?  Do you know where it will be?  Do you know who your opponent will be?

Hunter: We do not know who [Jones'] next opponent will be, but we were told that it will be against a good guy.  Yves Edwards was on the show as well and the 155-pound weight class is stacked.

Q: What is your reaction to the news that two of the top lightweights in the world -- Sean Sherk and Hermes Franca -- both failed drug tests for their UFC 73 title fight?

Jones: I can't believe that both Sean and Hermes both failed the drug test. I do give Hermes some respect for writing that apology letter to his family, fans, and to his students. Since Sean is the champ I hope he says something about the issue. I also wonder if the UFC will let [Sherk] keep the belt, because if they do there will be no title fights for the [UFC] lightweight class for one year. That would not be fair to the rest of the guys who fight in that weight class. I hope that all of the fighters try to keep it clean, because it took too long time for the sport to reach this level.

Hunter: It is one of those things that will get some bad press especially with what has happened in Pro Wrestling. So far in MMA several guys have tested positive for steroids -- [Tim] Sylvia, [Nate] Marquardt, Sean Sherk, Franca, [Phil] Baroni, etc.  Now in defense of these guys in a lot of these cases, they were taking steroids for weight loss or injury recovery.  For injuries -- to me -- that is not much different than taking a prescribed antibiotic or whatever.  Sylvia took a weight loss steroid so he would not look flabby on national TV, and you read Franca's response. I do not believe that all steroids enhance performance, but they should be banned until all are researched. No one should have an unfair advantage.