Jones sends Smith to his knees in UFC

LAS VEGAS – Jon Jones defended his light heavyweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Anthony Smith at UFC 235 on Saturday night, overcoming a two-point deduction for an illegal knee to Smith’s head in the fourth round.

Kamaru Usman claimed the UFC welterweight title in the penultimate bout at T-Mobile Arena, dominating Tyron Woodley in a one-sided unanimous decision victory.

Ben Askren, Woodley’s close friend and training partner, survived an opening-minute beating and rallied to choke out Robbie Lawler midway through the first round of his own UFC debut.


Jones (24-1) had little trouble in an expert display of his all-around brilliance against the overmatched Smith (31-14), who had no answers for the likely pound-for-pound champion of mixed martial arts.

Jones dominated on his feet, against the cage and on the ground until he got in trouble in the fourth round when his knee struck Smith’s head while the challenger was in a downed position. Referee Herb Dean deducted two points from Jones, who apologized to Smith after the bell.


``This MMA thing is really hard,’’ Jones said. ``Some days you’re going to look amazing, and some days at work you’re not going to perform at the level you hold yourself to.’’

Jones finished uneventfully and remained unbeaten since 2009, winning a decision for the fifth time in his last seven fights.

Jones won 48-44 on all three scorecards.

source: philstar.com

Dope-free Jones sees new hope vs Smith

LAS VEGAS – Jon Jones used to cry for days when he heard about his positive doping tests.

Although his system still isn’t clean, Jones’ eyes are finally dry heading into UFC 235.

The UFC’s light heavyweight champion memorably wept in a news conference after getting pulled from UFC 200 in 2016, realizing his career was headed into a spiral. Jones cried again in a friend’s arms a few months ago when tests showed more traces of the steroid metabolite that could be in his system for years.


But when two more tests last month revealed tiny amounts of the metabolite, Jones finally didn’t cry. Although the results are casting a shadow over his every achievement, he has come to grips with his predicament – and more importantly to Jones, he is allowed to fight on.

Jones said he will take on Anthony Smith on Saturday night in the main event at T-Mobile Arena with clear eyes and a clean conscience.

“I’m at a place now where I’ve been hurt so many times,” Jones said. “So many things have happened – I’ve caused a lot of my own pain, and there’s been a lot of pain inflicted – that I just feel like I’m so comfortable with this scenario. I’m not going to allow anybody to hurt me anymore. ...I take responsibility for this whole thing, (but) I’m not going to let it bend me or break me.”

Jones has always denied knowingly taking performance-enhancing substances, and mixed martial arts’ various regulatory bodies believe his recent results are microscopic echoes of past violations, not a reason to ban arguably the most gifted fighter of his generation.

Jones has grown increasingly defiant in recent months, standing up to condemnation for what he claims to be an honest mistake with a supplement – a stance that makes his opponents laugh.

Now 31, Jones (23-1) is moving on to chase big paydays and career-defining excellence.

source: philstar.com

Nunes KOs Cyborg in 51 seconds, Jones stops Gustafsson at UFC 232

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Amanda Nunes knocked out Cris "Cyborg" Justino 51 seconds into the first round at UFC 232 on Saturday night (Sunday Manila time), ending the featherweight champion's 13-year unbeaten run with one of the most surprising victories in mixed martial arts history.

Jon Jones also reclaimed his light heavyweight title in his return from a 17-month cage absence, stopping Alexander Gustafsson with strikes on the ground in the third round.

Nunes, the UFC's bantamweight champion, made history when she moved up 10 pounds to challenge Justino (20-2), widely considered the world's greatest female fighter. Nunes became the third fighter in UFC history to hold two title belts simultaneously, joining Conor McGregor and Daniel Cormier.

"I knew this was happening, I told you all!" Nunes said. "Cris is a great fighter, nothing but respect. It was an awesome opportunity to share the octagon with her. I'm very thankful to her for this. I'm the new 'champ-champ.' I said that before, and now I'm just achieving this dream."

Nunes (17-4) was thought to be an undersized underdog, but she seized her second title belt by overwhelming her fellow Brazilian. Nunes buckled Justino's knees in the opening seconds, and she eventually knocked down Justino twice.

She ended the fight spectacularly with an overhand right to the ear, putting Justino face-down on the canvas.

Nunes also knocked out Ronda Rousey in less than a minute two years ago.

Jones (23-1, 1 no-contest) followed up that bout with a methodical dismantling of Gustafsson in a rematch of Jones' toughest fight. Jones earned a thrilling decision in 2013 over Gustafsson, who tested the champion to the limits of his ability.

But in Jones' first fight since completing his second drug suspension, the star picked apart Gustafsson with kicks in the first two rounds. He got a takedown in the third and finished the fight with several brutal shots to Gustafsson's head on the ground.

The 31-year-old Jones had fought only twice in the previous 47 months, losing an enormous chunk of his fighting prime due to his misbehavior.

During 2015 alone, he tested positive for cocaine use and was later stripped of his 205-pound title because of a hit-and-run accident in which he broke a pregnant woman's arm. He returned in early 2016, but was pulled from a title bout at UFC 200 later that year after testing positive for two banned substances often taken in concert with steroid use.

Jones returned from his first doping suspension with a stoppage of Cormier in July 2017 to reclaim his light heavyweight title, but he lost the belt again after testing positive for steroids.

Jones' latest tests revealed extremely low levels of the same substance, and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said it considered the results to be an echo of his previous positive test, not a new violation. California officials agreed, allowing Jones to fight in Inglewood after Nevada demanded more answers in a hearing in January.

Gustafsson was thoroughly infuriated by Jones' misbehavior, flatly calling Jones a cheater and vowing to wreck his latest comeback. The Swede lost to Anthony Johnson and Cormier after Jones beat him, but won his last two fights to vault back into contention.

Just six days after the UFC moved the entire show from Las Vegas to the famous Forum south of downtown Los Angeles, a capacity crowd watched another groundbreaking achievement by Nunes, the ferocious brawler who calls herself "The Lioness."

Nunes' punching power is often too much for her male sparring partners, and she carved up the formidable Justino with astonishing ease despite a size disadvantage. Justino had won 20 consecutive fights since her MMA debut in 2005, and she had dominated since the inception of the UFC's 145-pound division, which was created largely as a showcase for her talent.

The UFC made the extraordinary decision to move its show 280 miles to California to keep Jones on the card. The former champion recently tested positive for low levels of a banned steroid, but California regulatory officials didn't consider the result serious enough to keep the long-troubled star out of the octagon, while Nevada's commission did.

Australian featherweight prospect Alexander Volkanovski (19-1) won his 16th straight bout in the PPV opener, stopping veteran Chad Mendes with right hands in the second round of a back-and-forth bout. Michael Chiesa also won his welterweight debut with a second-round submission of former champ Carlos Condit, who lost his fifth straight fight.

Former UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn tapped out for the first time in his MMA career, losing to Brazilian jiu-jitsu whiz Ryan Hall on a heel hook in the first round. Penn (16-13-2), an MMA pioneer who turned 40 this month, is 0-6-1 in his last seven fights since 2010.

Despite the late move to LA, the UFC sold out the Forum after just six days of ticket sales. The crowd included Justino friend Halle Berry, Dolph Lundgren, David Spade, NL MVP Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers, Travis Barker, Mick Foley and Amber Valletta.

source: philstar.com

Retire or fight back? UFC stars offer advice to Ronda Rousey

LAS VEGAS — Ronda Rousey is taking time off to ponder her future after her 48-second loss in her comeback fight at UFC 207.

Amanda Nunes thinks Rousey must retire.

Jon Jones believes Rousey should fight again.

The UFC's biggest names offered strong opinions about Rousey's future Saturday, a day after Nunes punched Rousey into submission in less than a minute. Rousey (12-2), once the most dominant fighter in the sport, has now lost two straight boutss 13 months apart, looking unprepared and overmatched against both Holly Holm and Nunes.

After Nunes easily defended the bantamweight belt once held by Rousey, the champion encouraged Rousey to move on.

"That's it for her," Nunes said Friday night. "For sure, she's going to retire. She can't take it anymore. If she wants the rematch, I'm going to do the same thing, because she can't take my punches."


Other major figures in mixed martial arts disagree.

Jones was arguably the most feared fighter in the sport before failing a drug test last summer. The suspended former light heavyweight champion took to Twitter on Saturday to encourage Rousey.

"My advice to Ronda would be to pick yourself up and try again," Jones wrote. "I think it's important for Ronda to show her fans how great she truly is by displaying her courage and giving it another try."

Rousey declined to promote her comeback bout, and she refused to discuss her loss with fans or reporters after making a guaranteed $3 million along with undisclosed millions in bonuses and pay-per-view revenue from the UFC's year-end show. She issued a statement to ESPN on Saturday.

"Returning to not just fighting, but winning, was my entire focus this past year," Rousey wrote. "However, sometimes — even when you prepare and give everything you have and want something so badly — it doesn't work how you planned. I take pride in seeing how far the women's division has come in the UFC and commend all the other women who have been part of making this possible, including Amanda.

"I need to take some time to reflect and think about the future. Thank you for believing in me and understanding."

Nunes acknowledged feeling sorry for Rousey after landing 27 punches on the former champion in just 48 seconds. Nunes believes the cumulative stress of Rousey's first loss, her acting career and numerous outside-the-cage responsibilities combined to "pressure her too much."

Nunes spoke directly to a bloodied Rousey in the cage after the loss.

"I told her, 'You did a lot for this sport,'" Nunes said. "'Thank you so much. Now, take some time to rest and maybe do something else.' Why should she keep doing this? She's a millionaire already. Why would she want to keep doing this? She'll hurt herself."

But Jones sees a ferocious competitor in Rousey behind the acting jobs and modeling gigs.

"What she does next will truly determine her legacy," Jones wrote. "I really hope she chooses to be ... unbroken. Her story doesn't have to be over here. I also still believe she beats 90 (percent) of the division. Lots of ass kicking still to be done, lots of money to be made."

Jones also joined Nunes and innumerable MMA figures in questioning the effectiveness of Rousey's coaching.

Edmond Tarverdyan, Rousey's coach, was widely criticized for his uneven, unusual coaching methods even before Rousey's career faltered. Even Rousey's mother, AnnMaria De Mars, has ripped Tarverdyan, but Rousey has remained fiercely loyal to her longtime guru.

Jones is based at the Albuquerque gym of respected trainer Greg Jackson, the mastermind behind several UFC champions. Rousey's striking has long been a weak spot for the Olympic judo medalist, and she was utterly unable to cope with Nunes' punching ability, showing little growth in the past year from the weaknesses exposed by Holm.

"Maybe she just needs to complement her coach with an MMA family," Jones wrote. "Maybe she should join one of the bigger MMA teams. ... Being around other bad asses and constantly sharing your spotlight could be good for you (in) so many ways. They can improve on your humility."

Rousey turns 30 years old in February, with several years of her ostensible athletic prime before her. While she has circled several major acting jobs after playing three supporting roles in recent years, she doesn't appear to have any major film commitments.

But Rousey took several months off after her first defeat, and she seems likely to be deliberate again. De Mars, who cradled Rousey as the fighter left the T-Mobile Arena cage, took to her blog Saturday to offer support.

"She cares DEEPLY about winning to an extent that I don't believe the average person can wrap his/her head around," De Mars wrote. "I am very proud of my daughter."

source: philstar.com