Jon Jones once again, stood atop the Light Heavyweight division as the kingpin in the pound-for-pound rankings, dispatching dangerous Brazilian Glover Teixeira over five rounds.
Jonny “Bones” Jones secured his mark as the most successful Champion in Light Heavyweight history, with his win over Glover Teixeira being his seventh consecutive win, in total his 14th win in the division.
Yet again, Jones proved in favor of statements that he may be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the World, with creative offense to fend off the formidable striker who came into the bout on a 20-fight win streak.
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In the late Championship rounds, Jones elbows were making their mark on Teixeira, who showed signs of damage with a huge cut across his forehead and nose. However, the Brazilian, although complimenting Jones, also revealed that he suffered a shoulder injury in the first round – though he abstained from compromising his performance, saying “he [Jones] beat me at my best”.
Teixeira was able to stub some takedowns during the goings of the fight, although the majority of an entertaining battle would be contested in the stand-up. Jon “Bones” Jones proved he could match the dangerous striker, standing right in front of him and dishing out blows. At times, he showed a glimpse of trouble but took it back to the Octagon and controlled the fight with startling, versatile offense.
Out comes the mouthguard. #Boom! #UFC172 pic.twitter.com/2sTujaTGlQ
— Nisar Khan (@iNisarKhan) April 27, 2014
A win over Teixeira may now put Alexander Gustafsson back into the focus, after his win at UFC in London back in March.
Jones paid tribute to Baltimore Ravens’ legend Ray Lewis, imitating his dance during his entrance. The athletic prowess of the Jones’ family was clear to see with his two brothers, both in the NFL (one a SuperBowl winner, the other a first-round draft pick) ringside.
In the co-main event, Anthony Johnson dominated Phil Davis to mark his return to the organization. Phil Davis was outmatched in the striking, and any attempts to utilize his wrestling with takedowns were punished, as Johnson kicked him or struck off too fast for the All-American. Johnson would land some wild shots, though Davis would not succumb, and lasted the course – even though he had little chance of making out a win on the judges perspective.
Luke Rockhold set his sights on Michael Bisping and Vitor Belfort after a submission showcase agianst Tim Boetsch. Rockhold would get the job done in the first round after the fight was taken to the ground, scrambling into a reverse triangle and finishing the fight. If you’re a fan of submissions, UFC 172 was your night..
Jim Miller had his hand raised after 3 minutes of fighting against Yancy Medeiros securing an outstanding 14th career submission victory. Tying the record for most submission attempts in UFC history (31), Miller finished it as Medeiros went unconscious after battling the choke. Taking the fight on a week’s notice, Medeiros was game as he courageously fought against the submission and glancing body kicks left a mark on Miller, who called out anyone in the lightweight division to face him next.
Hawaiian Max Holloway started with a finish – the main card, that is. Holloway submitted the upcoming Andre Fili with a guillotine choke after an entertaining opening scrap. With both being young talents, there was some wild exchanges, though Holloway would not squander the opportunity when it was presented, securing a tight guillotine choke after a takedown attempt went south.
“What a way for the UFC to break history as they touch down in Baltimore for the first time. Classy opponents Jon Jones and Glover Teixeira – to go with finishes all over the card. Performance bonuses will be hard to pick for this one, from a flying knee, one-punch knockout, ‘night of guillotines’ and more.
“The main event itself was entertaining. It was one of those fights where you were expecting one guy to just drop. Both chins held up. For Teixeira, he still has a lot of exciting matchups while there is a big queue waiting for a fight with Jones.
“UFC 173 was flat out spectacular.”
There was no shortage in noteworthy events from the preliminary fights, including a flying-knee knockout from Chris Beal, making a picture-perfect debut as he left Patrick Williams out cold. Joseph Benavidez – who has challenged Demetrius Johnson for the Flyweight title twice – executed an audaciously technical guillotine choke to Tim Elliott, whereby the American trapped both hands of Elliott, forcing him to stop on the mat to tap out. To add to the expanding candidates for performance bonuses, Danny Castillo landed a rattling one-punch knockout to Charlie Brenneman in the early stages of Round 2.
Jon Jones keeps his crown to deter the Brazilian. But he knows all too well that plenty of challenges await the 26-year-old.
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