Last night in Las Vegas, the UFC 182 card went off with a main event between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier that saw Jones retain his title in a five-round battle. Jones was favored at the books when the line closed, but a lot of money had come in on Cormier that served to narrow the line. In the end, Jones won (49-46) on all three judges scorecards to retain his belt.
For Jones it was a very solid win against a guy who many thought had the physicality to push him. In the early going, that was the case, as Cormier had a good first round and clearly won the second round, with the uppercut being his principle tool.
Jones weathered the shots well, and in the post fight comments he stated he was biding his time. In the fourth round, Jones shocked everyone, most of all Cormier, by switching things up and hitting the takedown. It was a deflating moment for Cormier, and for Jones it had just the opposite effect. He talked about talking Cormier down in the pre-fight banter, and doing that can only be described as a challenge, so Jones was buoyed because he was doing what he said he would do.
Hopefully, Alexander Gustafsson does not fail the legions who want to see him re-match Jones, as the Swede has a tough test ahead of him in Anthony Johnson. Gustafsson versus Jones II is what everyone wants.
In the post-fight press conference, Cormier spoke about standing across the cage from Jones again, but Cormier should consider a move back to Heavyweight. First of all, there is no word yet on Cain Velasquez’ return and it looks more and more like Velasquez will be stripped of the belt. As teammates, that removes that road block from in front of Cormier as a heavyweight. Then there is the added bonus that should he win the Heavyweight title, probably in a match facing interim champion Fabricio Werdum, and Jones gets by Gustafsson, Jones may very well pursue him into the Heavyweight division. one way or another we are going to see this one again, folks.
