UFC 172: Jon Jones Disarms Glover Teixeira To Keep Title
by Gautham Nagesh
BALTIMORE, Md.–UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones disarmed Glover Teixeira over five rounds to win an easy decision and retain his belt at UFC 172 on Saturday night. The sell-out crowd at Baltimore Arena packed the aisles when the champ entered to echoes of the G.O.A.T. The few women in the crowd sat perched on shoulders, and a solid mass of men in Affliction and Tapout T-shirts craned their necks and held their cameras aloft for a glimpse of the Best.
Teixiera performed better than most of Jones’ recent challengers, at times posing a real threat to the superlative champion. But Jones simply adjusted his strategy and imposed his will on the rugged Brazilian. Teixeira was able to land some vicious strikes early on, but Jones proved an outstanding chin is among his many physical gifts. Jones countered by taking the fight against the cage, and out-muscling Teixeira with elbows and uppercuts.
All three judges scored it a clean sweep for Jones, 50-45. I thought Teixeira did well enough to win at least one of the first two rounds, but who am I to say. Jones was clearly the winner, and the better man. He looked ready to fight another three rounds at the end of the fight, while Teixeira’s eye looked like a poorly butchered piece of steak.
If boxing is a science, mixed martial arts is only now emerging from its earliest stages of experimentation. Jones is a Picasso, forcing his contemporaries forward with the sheer force of his talent and creativity. Even as the sport’s other biggest stars fall to the wayside and are replaced by fresh blood, Jones stands alone, still younger than most of his peers. Someday it will seem obvious that he is the sport’s defining athlete. Tonight will end up only a tiny piece of that legend.[[MORE]][[MORE]]
It was obvious after watching a deep and exciting card tonight that Jones is a borderline Bobby Fisher, while others are stuck on checkers. Teixeira was a real opponent, an underdog to be sure, but viewed as the most dangerous threat to Jones in the division. And he fought his fight, biding his time as Jones danced his way to the ring in tribute to Ray Lewis, who sat cageside. Both fighters came in boasting impressive win streaks, and no one thought the fight would be boring.
If the contest was less exciting than expected, it’s because Jones was so effective at neutralizing his opponent. I was reminded of Floyd Mayweather Jr. fighting Miguel Cotto just last year. The Puerto Rican did better against Floyd than almost anyone else in recent memory, and appeared to land meaningful blows at times. Yet Mayweather still dominated the fight and won clearly with a combination of offense and defense. Jones matched Mayweather’s level of mastery tonight, which is saying a lot.
After this card, I’ve now sat through two UFC Pay Per View events live, and believe Jones is the only fighter I’ve seen slip the majority of strikes thrown his way. His ability to avoid damage is the best sign that his career will be long and fruitful. It’s also a marked contrast to the cartoonish wide right hand that Danny Castillo used to flatten Charlie Brenneman just as I was finding my seat in the auxiliary press section.
Jones doesn’t just slip punches; he also blocks them, or uses his body leverage to sap them of their damage. MMA fighters mostly throw arm punches anyway, because sitting down on their punches and committing would leave their legs open to a takedown attempt. Their failure to sit down on their punches is also mitigated by the fact they don’t wear meaningful gloves, making the blows land much harder. It is amazing that MMA fighters aren’t breaking their hands constantly on each other’s skulls. Protecting the hands, not the head, is the reason boxer’s wear gloves.
Jones manages to push, pull, lean in and tie up. He grapples and strikes up close like an expert inside fighter, and even when hit, never takes the full weight of a blow. When Teixeira had success early by striking at distance, Jones used his strength to shove him against the cage. There Jones held Teixeira’s hands down, and intermittently slammed him with elbows, uppercuts, and even the top of his head.
Jones also pounded Teixeira to the body, and repeatedly attacked the inside of his legs. Jones never landed any of his trademark highlight-reel strikes, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. He tried everything from the spinning back-elbow to a number of roundhouse kicks, some that were more than a little ill-advised. Only Jones’ remarkable athleticism and balance allows him to get away with such strikes. His speed also makes him one of the few fighters that can land them.
Jones took the fight from the outside with his anticipation and range, but inside it was his size and wrestling ability. Teixeira wanted no part of going to the mat with Jones, and managed to defend most takedown attempts admirably. But he failed to land enough strikes to sway the judges in his favor. Jones also knocked his mouthpiece out several times with hard uppercuts and left hooks, which earned Teixeira plenty of boos from the crowd.
Jones pawed at Teixeira throughout the fight, giving him the Heisman pose by pushing his head away. It is an audacious tactic, but also effective at stymieing an opponent’s forward momentum. Hockey goons do something similar by grabbing their opponent’s shoulders by the jersey. By the 4th round, Jones was beating Teixeira around the ring. A vicious uppercut followed by a pair of left hooks had Teixeira reeling, and Jones ended the round on top of him raining blows.
The fighters embraced before Round 5, but Teixeira looked worn down and in danger of being stopped. Jones came after him with aggression, but Glover found the energy to stand and trade blows with the champ for much of the round. Teixeira appeared to hurt Jones with a couple shots, especially and uppercut in close. Jones spent the end of the round dancing away, content to let the clock run and collect his win. It wasn’t total domination, but it was certainly convincing.
Light heavyweight contender Anthony Johnson was similarly in control against Phil Davis in the co-feature, sweeping every round on all three cards. Johnson was the clear winner in this battle of wrestler vs. striker, successfully fending off most of Davis’ takedown attempts. Johnson also rocked his opponent many times with his powerful punches, and had Davis protecting his bloody right eye from the 1st round on. Johnson has heavy hands and bad intentions, which is the best combination for a fighter.
The crowd was chanting “Rumble” to urge Johnson on in the 2nd round, while Davis could only offer leg kicks in response. Johnson finally took Davis down, then battered him with a knee against the cage. More than one blow that could have ended the night narrowly missed Davis, and he seemed in truth lucky to last until the final bell. Johnson afterward credited UFC boss Dana White for “turning him into a beast” by dropping him from the UFC earlier in his career.
Middleweight Luke Rockhold notched an impressive win over Tim Boetsch, forcing him to submit with a reverse triangle after just two minutes and eight seconds. Rockhold is probably too handsome for the octagon, while Boetsch more than looked the part. The UFC’s extremely powerful PA system blared Kid Rock as Boetsch entered, resembling a pit bull trapped in cage. Rockhold was all business, and ready when Boetsch started the fight by going for a takedown as the first opportunity.
Rockhold was ready, defending well and wrapping his legs around Boetsch’s head for a choke. He squeezed his opponent’s air passage and reached out for the shoulder lock, finally fighting Boetsch off and forcing him to tap. The win looked almost routine for Rockhold, and maybe a bit too easy given the long odds on Boetsch.
Afterward Rockhold said he wants a rematch with Vitor Belfort or to settle some unfinished business with Michael Bisping. Something tells us the Belfort fight wouldn’t happen in Vegas.
Lightweight Jim Miller didn’t need much time to put Yancy Medeiros in trouble, rocking him with left to the body in Round 1. Medeiros retreated to the cage and defended, but his grimace admitted the blow’s impact. Miller eventually sunk the guillotine choke, but the courageous Hawaiian refused to submit. He passed out briefly, and the referee was forced to stop the fight.
“That guy looks fucked up. I don’t think he’s OK,” observed the fan seated directly behind me as the DJ blared rock remixes of “In Da Club” and “Rack City” at ear-splitting volume.
Featherweight Max Holloway reached down deep to come up with the 3rd-round stoppage against Andre Fili in the first Pay Per View fight of the evening. Holloway threw haymakers from the outset, but only managed to land a few. Fili managed a takedown, but Holloway sprang up quickly. In the 2nd round Holloway landed a roundhouse kick, then followed with knees to Fili’s face. The kick was impressive, something straight out of a mid-80s NES game.
Holloway finally caught up with Fili in the 3rd, landing a pair of left hooks and an uppercut then sinking a guillotine choke against the cage and forcing Fili to tap.
“I was sick all week. I really only got out of bed for my weight cut and my media obligations,“ Holloway said. "It was incredibly tough but I’ve got a family to feed and I don’t make any excuses. My strength and conditioning for this camp was awesome and that allowed me to power through the sickness that I had.”
“I don’t remember when it happened but it was early and he nailed me with a body kick,” Fili said. “It hurt me really bad and I was trying to fight through that but eventually it caught up with me. I’m in shock right now, it almost doesn’t feel real.”
Flyweight Joseph Benavidez won a quick and exciting fight by forcing Timothy Elliot to submit with a choke in Round 1. Elliott went right after Benavidez at the opening bell, but the Sacramento native was ready. Elliott managed to get a takedown, but the two rolled around like a pair of wrestling spiders, all limbs and muscles and sinews straining for an inch of advantage. Somehow Benavidez found a way to escape, then managed to sink a choke with a minute left. Elliott kicked his legs furiously, signalling his submission.
Takanori Gomi win a close decision over Isaac Vallie-Flagg, 29-28 on all three cards. The Fireball Kid had his opponent’s back early and managed to sink a choke, but Isaac escaped and marched forward to land strikes. He hurt Gomi with a right hand in Round 2, and rained hard shots on his head. Gomi responded with a brutal left. Isaac landed a hard knee in the 3rd, but Gomi got the best of it with a series of right hands. In the end the striking edge went to Gomi, and the fight as well.
The feisty Bethe Correia won a unanimous decision over Jessamyn Duke in the prelims, despite giving up a massive reach advantage to the rangy Duke. Duke came in to a country version of "99 Problems” and looked pretty badass in her blonde cornrows. I wouldn’t want to scuff her pumas on press row. But Correia was undeterred, and was more than willing to mix it up with her bigger foe.
Duke appeared to have the advantage in striking, particularly when she maintained distance and used her jab. Unfortunately the crowds boos got to her, and she allowed Correia to first get inside, and then to take her down more than once. Correia also landed short flurries of strikes, and a flashy spinning back elbow in the 3rd round. Correia smiled after the fight, and appeared thrilled to stay unbeaten.
I took my seat just as Castillo slammed Brenneman with a wide right hand, ending the fight at the start of the 2nd round. As the folks behind me predicted, the Baltimore crowd broke out in a “USA” chant a few times, and boos were heard during every fight that lasted more than a round. Nevertheless, it would be hard to categorize the evening as anything less than a total success. The UFC has an fantastic product, and Jon “Bones” Jones is the biggest reason the crowds can’t get enough.