UFC 145 -- Jones defeates Evans, ends bitter rivalry

It was a friendship that turned into a rivalry, which led to match that was a year in the making. Jonny “Bones” Jones and “Suga” Rashad Evans put it all on the line at UFC 145 in a bout that lived up to the hype.

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jones and former champ Evans were there own hype machines when it came to building this fight. It’s a relationship that has been strained beyond repair and finally played out inside the octagon.

Jon Jones, left, successfully defeated former teammate Rashad Evans
to retain his UFC light heavyweight championshp.

Evans was the toughest opponent Jones had faced in his short MMA career, but Jones did a great job of utilizing his reach and height to keep his opponent at a distance. This match was all Jones for five rounds. He was pushed further than he had ever been pushed, it was the first time he had fought a five-round fight to completion.

Breaking down this fight, it came down to Jones dominating the second, third and fourth rounds. Evans put up a solid effort in the first-round, but that was about it. That’s the closest the fight was at any point.

Evans and Jones traded punches and kicks in the opening round and a case could be made that Evans won that round. Going into the second-round it seemed Evans could pull off the upset, but Jones stuck to his game plan and fought smart. He began to use his reach to keep Evans from getting inside and threw quick elbows. One elbow caught Evans on the chin and seemed to shake the challenger.

Jones continued his onslaught of knees and elbows into the third round, which was another close round. The fourth and fifth rounds followed pattern as Jones was able to get close to Evans and throw elbows to Evans’s head. Neither fighter was knocked down and the first takedown was in the fifth-round when Jones threw Evans down.

After five-rounds the fight went to the judges and all three scored in favor of the champion, Jonny “Bones” Jones (49-46, 49-46, 50-45).

It was not the fireworks fans had expected, but it was a brawl that the fighters promised. The only question remaining at the end of the night was, who could dethrone Jones? After his performance against Evans, it is hard to answer such a question. At 24 years of age, Jones has defeated some of the best light heavyweights the UFC has ever had. There may not be an answer for now, but for as long as Jones is champion he will continue to astonish and entertain.

MAIN CARD RESULTS:

Rory MacDonald def. Che Mills – 2^nd RD TKO (strikes at 2:20)

Ben Rothwell def. Brendan Schaub – 1^st RD TKO (punches at 1:10)

Michael McDonald def. Miguel Torres – 1^st RD KO (punches at 3:18)

Eddie Yagin def. Mark Hominick – Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Mark Bocek def. John Alessio – Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)

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