Jon Jones wins back UFC light heavyweight belt in Alexander Gustafsson rematch
"The goal is to finish this fight, and that's what I'll do. I'll finish this fight."@JonnyBones at the press conference on Thursday 😳 #UFC232 pic.twitter.com/oADLr4HxOq
— UFC (@ufc) December 30, 2018
It’s been a tumultuous week for Jon Jones and the UFC, but the former ended the year on a high with an impressive win over long-time foe Alexander Gustafsson.
Jones looked to have won the two opening rounds of the fight, maintaining enough distance to avoid the towering Swede’s punches, staying in kicking range.
From the outside, Jones peppered Gustafsson with teep kicks to the knee – which appeared to bother him, affecting his movement – while slamming a number of body kicks into his opponent.
But the third and what turned out to be the final round took a different course.
Jones quickly shot for a well-timed takedown and got Gustafsson down to the floor. From there, Jones advanced position enough to land some ground strikes which led to Gustafsson offering up his back.
It was a procession of ground and pound from there. Turtled up, desperately trying to defend himself, Gustafsson withstood some heavy punishment as Jones rained down blows.
Gustafsson was unable to defend himself and referee Mike Beltran rightly called off the fight.
Jon Jones is, once again, your UFC light heavyweight champion. Unsurprisingly, Jones promptly called out Daniel Cormier for a third go in the Octagon.
Amanda Nunes crushes Cris Cyborg inside a minute
HAYMAKERS!!!#UFC232 @Amanda_Leoa pic.twitter.com/dbvMgokE9K
— UFC (@ufc) December 30, 2018
Amanda Nunes looks her most comfortable when she’s the underdog. At UFC 232, she shocked the world by becoming the UFC’s first ever female two-weight champion after crushing the seemingly unstoppable Cris Cyborg inside a minute.
The two Brazilian strikers threw caution to the wind from the very get go.
Cyborg waded in with her trademark power strikes from the start, looking unafraid of Nunes’ power. However, Nunes’ speed and precision told as she caught Cyborg with punches on the way in and rocked her opponent.
From there, Nunes looked calm as she landed a number of composed hooks and overhand punches to maintain the relentless onslaught.
The fight was over once Nunes landed one final power shot which left Cyborg slumped to the floor.
Outstanding performance from Nunes as she cements her claim as the finest female to have ever stepped foot inside the Octagon.
UFC 232: Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson II full results
Light Heavyweight Championship: Jon Jones defeats Alexander Gustafsson by TKO (punches) at 2:02 of round three.
Women’s Featherweight Championship: Amanda Nunes defeats Cris Cyborg (c) by KO (punch) at 0:51 of round one.
Welterweight: Michael Chiesa defeats Carlos Condit by submission (kimura) at 0:56 of round two.
Light Heavyweight: Corey Anderson defeats Ilir Latifi by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Featherweight: Alexander Volkanovski defeats Chad Mendes by TKO (punches) at 4:14 of round two.
Heavyweight: Walt Harris defeats Andrei Arlovski by split decision after three rounds.
Women’s Featherweight: Megan Anderson defeats Cat Zingano by TKO (eye injury) at 1:01 of round one.
Bantamweight: Petr Yan defeats Douglas Silva de Andrade by TKO (corner stoppage) at 5:00 of round two.
Lightweight: Ryan Hall defeats BJ Penn by submission (heel hook) at 2:46 of round one.
Bantamweight: Nathaniel Wood defeats Andre Ewell by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:12 of round three
Middleweight: Uriah Hall defeats Bevon Lewis by KO (punch) at 1:32 of round three.
Welterweight: Curtis Millender defeats Siyar Bahadurzada by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Catchweight: Montel Jackson defeats Brian Kelleher by submission (D’Arce choke) at 1:40 of round one.