In the wake of his controversial win at UFC 247, Jon Jones explained why he surpassed Dominick Reyes in the scorecards.
The pound-for-pound king put his light heayweight title on the line when he took on the undefeated Reyes in the main event of the said fight card in Houston.
What many expected as an easy win for Jones turned out to be his toughest fight in recent years as the challenger pushed him to his limits and even dominated him in the first three rounds.
When the dust settled, Jones saw himself avoiding another defeat as he retained the 205-pound strap by way of unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46), much to the dismay of the Toyota Center crowd and some MMA fans on social media.
The outcome drew criticisms from fans as they believed Reyes has done enough to dethrone the defending champ while questioning the 49-46 tally from one of the cageside judges.
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Sweet Victory
Amidst the controversy, Jones defended himself and said the fifth round was the turning point of the fight, which gave him the lead in the judges’ scorecards.
“He landed some hard hits. The fans like it when they see me get hit — it doesn’t happen very often,” Jones said after the win, (per ESPN).
“But at the same time, I landed some takedowns. I got his back on more than one occasion. … A hard-earned victory but a victory.”
‘Bones’ admitted it wasn’t an impressive win but he believes it was enough to make him one of the greatest athletes of all-time in the US.
“That’s the way to make American history right there: hard-fought.”
“It wasn’t the most impressive victory, but nothing, absolutely nothing, that has never been done before is easy. It is never easy.”
“I left it all out there, showed the heart of a champion in the fifth round, and it’s so sweet.”
“Obviously, my body is hurting, but this victory is so sweet. This fight helps to put me as one of the greatest American athletes of all time.”
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Record Setting
With the win, Jones has surpassed Georges St-Pierre as the fighter with the most wins in a title fight with 14 and tied former UFC champion Demetrious Johnson for the most number of title defences with 11.
The New York native also becomes the winningest fighter in the light heavyweight history with 20 victories, which includes wins against Daniel Cormier, Alexander Gustafsson, Lyoto Machida, Quinton Jackso, and many others.
“Dominick did a tremendous job. Dominick, you have totally earned my respect, man,” Jones said of his challenger.
Who do you think Jon Jones should fight next?
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(Featured Image Source: Twitter/ UFC)