UFC 182 results: Jon Jones Tested, Defends Title Against Daniel Cormier
 

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LAS VEGAS – Jon Jones weathered a storm in the second round of his title fight with arch rival Daniel Cormier, and he then pulled ahead in championship rounds to earn a unanimous decision victory on the judges’ scorecards.


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It was Jones’ (21-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) eighth straight title defense in a grudge match that didn’t end even after 25 minutes, when the champion tricked Cormier (15-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) into thinking the round had ended and then hit him with punches, prompting “DC” to fire after the bell.


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Then, Jones left Cormier – and the audience – with a striking image: a gesture to his crotch.

Cormier, ranked No. 3 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA light heavyweight rankings, hoped to upset the long-reigning champion and No. 1-ranked 205-pounder after a protracted war of words that led to blows in August at a press conference ahead of the title fight, which was postponed from September when Jones injured his knee.

The two repeatedly clashed verbally in the week leading up to the event, needing to be separated by UFC President Dana White at another press conference. The two refused to face each other at the event’s weigh-ins. Even the fighters’ respective corners exchanged words.

But when the scores were tallied, it was unanimously 49-46 for “Bones,” who embraced the role of heel in his post-fight interview.

“For everybody who bought a ‘Break Bones’ shirt, take it back now; you’re wasting your money,” said Jones to the boos of the crowd at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The light heavyweight fight headlined UFC 182 and aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Jones, who’s No. 1 on USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie’s pound-for-pound list, waged a characteristically unpredictable attack in the opening round, keeping Cormier at bay with long, thrusting kicks and then punctuating the action with body shots and straight punches. He ended the first frame with a flying knee, though it didn’t land flush.

Cormier, however, refused to take shots without giving an answer, working well on the inside with heavy uppercuts. In the second, he turned up the tempo on Jones and landed several big punches that got the champ’s attention.

But as the fight wore on, Jones began to inch ahead in close while controlling Cormier in the clinch and landing short, damaging kicks and elbows inside. He twice deposited the two-time Olympic wrestler to the mat in the fourth round, a feather in his cap given their now infamous-run in four years ago that set off their rivalry.

Cormier put everything into a high-crotch takedown in the fifth frame, but his offense was limited by Jones’ control in the clinch.

“It felt great (to take him down),” Jones said afterward. “The undefeated ‘DC,’ the haters, all the crap he talked, it motivated me. I took him down. I think it was like, I don’t know, five takedowns to zero.”

The champ then recognized the boos at him had not subsided.

“I’m sorry I’m being classless right now,” he said. “I do not like ‘DC,’ and this is why I’m being this way.”



Full UFC 182 results include:

•Champ Jon Jones def. Daniel Cormier via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) – to retain light-heavyweight title

•Donald Cerrone def. Myles Jury via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

•Brad Tavares def. Nate Marquardt via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

•Kyoji Horiguchi def. Louis Gaudinot via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

•Hector Lombard def. Josh Burkman via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

•Paul Felder def. Danny Castillo via knockout (punches) – Round 3, 2:09

•Cody Garbrandt def. Marcus Brimage via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 4:50

•Shawn Jordan def. Jared Cannonier via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:57

•Evan Dunham def. Rodrigo Damm via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

•Omari Akhmedov def. Mats Nilsson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

•Marion Reneau def. Alexis Dufresne via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-25)

Re: UFC 182 results: Jon Jones Tested, Defends Title Against Daniel Cormier
 

Donald Cerrone continues streak, tops Myles Jury on scorecards:


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LAS VEGAS – As Donald Cerrone stood over Myles Jury in the closing seconds of the fight, he wound up and then unleashed a series of soccer kicks to the legs of his downed opponent, as if driving home a point he’d already spent nearly 15 minutes making: You’re not ready for this.

It was a point Cerrone (26-6 MMA, 13-3 UFC) made with great force, beating Jury (15-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) in every aspect of the game, from the feet to the floor, before walking out of the cage with a unanimous-decision victory (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

The lightweight fight co-headlined today’s UFC 182 main card at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

For a fight that was expected to be mostly a standup war, Cerrone nearly finished it with his jiu-jitsu in the first, using a Jury takedown in the opening moments to transition from an omaplata attempt to a body triangle from the back and a rear-naked choke that Jury just managed to fight off.

The second round saw the fighters keep it on the feet as the pace began to slow, but Cerrone still seemed to be the aggressor, keeping Jury from getting any meaningful offense going.

In the third, with the matter not yet clearly decided, Cerrone cranked up the intensity and took over the fight with his kicking game. After lacing his shin across Jury’s head, stunning the younger fighter briefly, Cerrone battered his legs, shrugged off his takedowns, and then flung him to the mat as if to show him how a takedown should be completed.

With Jury stuck on his back in those final seconds, that’s when Cerrone wound up with a series of emphatic kicks. Did they do much damage? Maybe not. But they did leave an impression on the judges, who saw it as a shutout for Cerrone.

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The victory brings Cerrone’s winning streak to six, with his last loss coming in August of 2013. Jury loses for the first time officially in his professional career.