^

Sports

Jones decisions Gustafsson in UFC light heavy

Joey Villar - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines - Jon “Bones” Jones, considered as one of the best pound-for-pound mixed martial arts fighters in the world today, pounded out a unanimous decision over upset-conscious Alexander Gustafsson to retain his UFC light heavyweight crown for a record sixth time at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada yesterday.

Surviving five tense, bloody and bruising rounds, Jones won in all three scorecards, including a pair of 58-47 scores and one 49-46. He, however, ended up with a cut over his eye and needed to fend off a fierce, ferocious performance from a challenger earlier tipped not to last the distance.

Gustafsson, a native of Stockholm, Sweden who is known as “The Mauler” in the UFC circle, did give Jones a tough fight, even bringing the champion to the ground right in the first round for the latter’s first takedown in his career.

“I’ve been asking for a dogfight for a long time and I finally got the dogfight I wanted,” Jones, whose sixth title defense surpassed former champ Tito Ortiz’ record for most successful 205-pound UFC title defenses, told ufc.com, UFC’s official website.

“He (Gustafsson) was just a tough fighter and that was by far my toughest fight,” he added.

“It was an honor to fight Jon (Jones), he is the champion for a reason,” Gustafsson, for his part, said.

The Jones-Gustafsson match earned Fight of the Night honors that’s worth $50,000 each for both protagonists and a possible re-match next year.

“Who doesn’t want a rematch?” said UFC president Dana White.

It was also Jones’ 10th straight win while holding the record with most submissions with five by a light heavyweight and is currently tied for most finishes with nine.

Interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao likewise made a successful defense of his crown as he knocked out Eddie Wineland in the second round in the co-main event of the evening.

With the win, Barao improved to 33-1 with 1 NC while Chesterton, Indiana’s Wineland fell to 20-9-1.     

AIR CANADA CENTRE

ALEXANDER GUSTAFSSON

DANA WHITE

EDDIE WINELAND

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT

GUSTAFSSON

JON

JONES

RENAN BARAO

TITO ORTIZ

  • Latest
  • Trending
Latest
Are you sure you want to log out?
X
Login

Philstar.com is one of the most vibrant, opinionated, discerning communities of readers on cyberspace. With your meaningful insights, help shape the stories that can shape the country. Sign up now!

Get Updated:

Signup for the News Round now

FORGOT PASSWORD?
SIGN IN
or sign in with