UFC 145: Jon Jones retains title with a dominant Unanimous Decision victory
Posted on April 22, 2012, 12:03 AM by Anton GurevichJon Jones remained the UFC Light Heavyweight champion, after defeating the former training partner "Suga" Rashad Evans via Unanimous Decision.
Jones was the dominant force throughout the fight, thanks to a good use of his reach advantage, and the unpredictability factor that was just too much for Rashad Evans. Jones tagged his opponent with strikes over and over again, once again proving that he's one TOP 3 best Pound-for-Pound fighters on the planet.
Jones' elbow strikes proved to be the deciding factor in the fight. Jones used his elbows as a leading jab, catching Rashad Evans over and over again. Elbows were usually followed by flying knees, which wobbled Evans on several occasions.
Evans' best moment in this fight was the head kick he managed to land towards the end of Round 1. Jon Jones looked dazed, but managed to quickly recover, in a way reminding fans about his encounter with Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida.
Unfortunately for Evans, he had little to offer in this fight. It was all Jon Jones from start to finish.
Jones improves his record to 16-1, and could be easily considered as the second best fighter on the planet. If Anderson Silva loses to Chael Sonnen, Jones would be a legitimate #1, but even today, I won't be surprised if anyone considers Jones to be currently the best fighter on the planet.
Alexander Gustafsson and Dan Henderson are next in line for Jon Jones. Personally, Gustafsson looks like the most intriguing option for Jones, while Dan Henderson, as an old school fighter, doesn't differ much from Rashad Evans, or anyone else Jones has already faced inside the Octagon.
Third consecutive title defense for Jon Jones. Looks like Tito Ortiz''s record is on the line here.
Comments
Jon Jones hay have just proved he is the greatest LHW of all time
I was thinking that when Rashad landed the big overhand right - Rashad packs heat but he doesn't doesn't have a H-Bomb.
i was actually pretty confused at why everyone completely failed to mention Hendo, especially when talking about who his next challenger could be. I thought it was certain that Hendo was getting the title shot?
First of all...Hendo needs to Fight either Machida or Evans to deserve a chance. Lets not be idiots about evaluating if Hendo deserves a chance. He barely beat shogun. Hendo is slower than Evans, lower level wrestling than Evans...
Not even in the same class than Jones....
Lower level wrestling?! Dan Henderson is an olympian no?
Ask chuck Liddell about the H bomb !
Chuck is my favourite fighter of all time and he might still be the best LHW ever but I will even admit no one has ever defended the belt against the same super elite competition Jon has.
It was a pretty clear Jones was winning this fight but never thought Rashad could last 5 rounds. Those elbow jabs were awesome!
Rashad is going to to have a hard think about a rematch when he sees those elbow strikes again and again on tape. He completely dominated.
Sort of what I expected, these 'huge' fights never really live up to the hype. As well with Rashad he's very good at making other fighters look bad, if that makes any sense. I think he was a really tough match up for Jon and Jon did a good job in retaining his title.
I still think Machida is the one to evetually beat Jones if it's going to happen. Machida would have to be able to keep up his first round efforts though. You could tell Machida was superior with striking even with nearly a foot of disadvantage in reach. Tonight I think the biggest difference again wasa the reach advantage that could just keep Rashad at bay from attacks.
Bones could of showed a lil class & shook Rashad hand instead of doing that off beat homosexual dance.
As usual haters gonna hate.
Some people just don't recognise greatness or do but just feel the need to troll.
Who you callin a Hater? Bones should have squashed da beef(no homo) instead of dancing & giggling with his hoe ass trainer who could of prevented all this bull.
Everytime I see Greg Jackson talking to these guys like they are 5 years old, it makes me want to punch Greg in the head.
Anderson Silva is the only man that is going to be able to possibly beat Jones at this point, Needs to be somebody that is elusive with big power.
Only problem with Silva is I think Jones could take him down and keep him there but apart from that yeah Silva definitely is the best style match up to beat Jones at LHW.
JDS could do it at HW perhaps.
I don't think Silva would come close to beating Jones.
Jackson would be saying to Jones take him down, take him down, take him down!!! Anderson is easily better on the feet and even on the ground he has beaten guys he shouldn't have in dominating fashion with only one incident that made him look human. I think Silva would find a way and Jones would get frustrated.
Silva has never faced someone with such reach and variety. Jones is comfortable wherever the fight goes and IMO dominates in a higher division. The only advantage Silva has is better timing with his strikes which is unsurpassed in MMA but other than that Jones is better -bigger, stronger, more versatile etc. Maybe a year ago he'd have had a chance but Jones' display against Rashad showed so much maturity compared with a year ago. He paced himself and kept the flashiness to a minimum. If anything it would be Silva who got frustrated with Jones.
Everyone is beatable in MMA, there's no such thing as unbeatable but I personally only see challenges that could trouble Jones that reside within the HW division.
it was his destiny lol
Dan Henderson is only getting a good pay check by fighting Bones... He won't even touch Bones Title...
Jon Jones needs heavy weight competition... I say give him Cain Velasquez..
Absolute domination by Jones once again and he showed even more that he has a solid chin, took a hard head kick and a big overhand right.
I'm proud to be a Evans fan as well though, he proved he is a warrior, tough S.O.B and still one of the best LHWs alive - he made the first 2 rounds a fight.
The only thing I really missed out on I was really hoping they would show respect to each other after the fight, Rampage even approached Bones in the cage after he lost to show his respect and sort of put the past behind them... wish Rashad and Jon did the same.
IMO the only possible way to beat Jon is to smash him with a huge shot. Someone like JDS who has super speed, power and technique has the potential to do it but I don't think anyone at LHW will beat him properly (Hendo has the crazy power but he telegraphs it and isn't the fastest).
I was confused as to Rashad's gameplan was. He attempted two lackluster takedowns, and he was always on the end of Jones's punches. He had decent success when he was closer. I'm thinking he was trying to lure in Jon for a counter but that obviously did not work. I can see Rashad making another run for the title if he wants to. Dana has to bring in Mousasi, he is one of the best strikers in the weight class, good subs, and he decided to get good at wrestling, he would be a great match up for Gustafsson.
Maybe I watched a different a fight or need to pay my cable bill but Jones did not look that great in this fight, to me. He is an awesome fighter, dont get me wrong, but he did not look that good tonight, IMO.
You forget who he was fighting against. Apart from a one punch KO (which can happen to ANY fighter) Rashad is a pretty dominant LHW who makes world class fighters look bad on a regular basis and has NEVER once in hi his entire career been dominated like that. Rashad made a fight of it at times and caught Jones with a few shots but overall it was a virtuoso performance by an elite fighter.
When you look at the fight in context and Jones recent record he is fully qualified p4p material now. Name me another fighter who has ever clowned Rashad like that. You can't.
Machida clowned him worse than that.
One thing this fight showed me is how much power Machida throws. Rashad took a lot of clean shots from Jones. I don't think that Jones lacks power, but shows that Machida has sugar.
Jones fight was near perfection in terms of strategy. He kept Rashad off guard and confused, landing some heavy shots and dominating every aspect of the fight for 90% of the time.
When I was growing up a Toronto hockey fan (sigh), we used to get crushed by Bobby Orr and the Boston Bruins in the playoffs. And I hated Bobby Orr, the way only a young sports fan can.
Now, I treasure every minute I go to see him play. Funny how that it.
Never gonna be top 10 though
I was not that impressed with his performance...
It was a tough fight for both of them. Jon proved once again that he is a versatile, talented athlete and knows how to use his great reach. But the whole virtuoso, best ever commentary is still too much for me to take.
Rashad taking him into 5 rounds should expose the mystique around him somewhat for other fighters to come.
Given that the only thing that ever stopped Rashad was a wonder punch. Rashad has NEVER been dominated like that. NEVER.
But haters gonna hate I suppose. At least we're talking about ability and personality traits. There is no mystique around Jones. What you see is what you get. Virtuoso performances like that.
Anderson Silva is still a much better fighter but Jones can keep everyone 10 inches from himself just by holding his hands out and that has made the biggest difference in how he is able to set things up and stay out of harms way it is certainly not because he is on another level of skill.
None of what I expressed was hate. In fact, I gave him credit for the kind of athlete he is. On he other hand, do I think he is the best there ever was or will be? Forever is a long time, and I don't believe in one best athlete in any sport, period.