Tonight he made good on that self-fulfilling prophecy, completed obliterating now-former champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua via TKO in the third round to stake his claim on the UFC Light-Heavyweight Belt at UFC 128 in Newark, New Jersey.
Unleashing a spectacular array of spinning elbows, jumping knees, and everything in between, Jones battered his opponent in every facet of the fight, dominating the action for the duration of the fight. The battered and bruised Shogun had no answer as Jones used his 84” inch reach and unpredictable striking arsenal to stifle his opponent. Once on the ground, it was more of the same as Rua was reduced to reaching for a deep half guard flower sweep and leg submissions that were never close to materializing. Jones’ performance was so dominant that Shogun has to be credited with having the heart to make it to the third round before succumbing despite being placed in trouble early on in the fight.
With this victory, at 23-years-old, Jon Jones has now become the UFC’s youngest-ever champion and perhaps its most dominant yet based on this and past performances.
Wasting no time, the UFC immediately put the new champion to the test during his post-fight interview, focusing on an impending matchup with close teammate and friend, Rashad Evans. To that, Jones had this to say:
“You know, we are teammates and it sucks that I have to do this, but this is my dream and everything I believe in. And I know that God wouldn’t bring me this far to leave me, so I’ve got to do exactly what I’ve got to do.”
For his part, Rashad (who was in the cage at the night) backed away from previous statements denying that he would ever fight his friend should he win the belt in a title shot that, before injury, was originally supposed to be his:
“Well, I guess you should never say never, right? We train together and he’s got that strap, so, I gotta go after it.”
Money talks, folks.
Also in action tonight in Newark was former-WEC champion Urijah Faber, who made good on his UFC debut by using his patented wrestling skills and elbows on the ground to control Eddie Wineland in the third round to take the unanimous decision. With this victory, “The California Kid” sets the stage for a future showdown with bitter-rival Dominick Cruz with the 135 title at stake.
In another of this evening’s exciting matchups, Austin’s own Kamal Shalorus fought valiantly while taking on 155 top-contender Jim Miller. “The Prince of Persia” fought in his trademark fashion, winging powerful hooks and displaying his vaunted wrestling ability while Miller relied on his technical boxing and BJJ skills to control the fight when the opportunity was his. In the end, it was the New Jersey native that prevailed as Miller unleashed a vicious uppercut and knee to the nose of Shalorus to become the first fighter ever to stop the tough-as-a-two-dollar-steak Iranian.
With this win, Miller now improves to seven straight UFC wins and a potential title shot against the winner of the upcoming title rematch between Gray Maynard and fellow Garden State native, champion Frankie Edgar.
The PPV undercard was rounded off my two other exciting bouts as Nate Marquart won a decision over late-replacement Dan Miller while “rookie” Brendan Schaub overwhelmed Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic via TKO in the third round of their heavyweight clash.
UFC 128 – Quick Results (winners in bold)
Newark, New Jersey
March 19, 2011Knockout of the Night — Brendan Schaub and Erik Koch
Submission of the Night – none
Fight of the Night — Edson Barboza vs. Anthony Njokuani205 Title – Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Jon Jones
135 – Urijah Faber vs. Eddie Wineland
155 – Jim Miller vs. Kamal Shalorus
185 – Nate Marquardt vs. Dan Miller
HWT – Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Brendan Schaub
205 – Luiz Cane vs. Eliot Marshall
155 – Edson Barboza vs. Anthony Njokuani
170 – Ricardo Almeida vs. Mike Pyle
155 – Kurt Pellegrino vs. Gleison Tibau
135 – Joseph Benavidez vs. Ian Loveland
145 – Raphael Assunção vs. Erik Koch
185 – Nick Catone vs. Costantinos Philippou
Bonus Story of the Day:
As if winning the UFC light-heavyweight title wasn’t enough, Jon Jones proved himself to be even more superhuman, teaming with his Coach, Greg Jackson, to subdue a thief in the mean streets of Newark. Check out this picture and story courtesy of Jon Jones’ Twitter account.
