Daniel Cormier fought great against Jon Jones for three rounds in the main event of UFC 182. But, when it was time for the championship rounds, it was Jones that showed that he was simply the better fighter.
For three rounds there was a real battle, Cormier was doing outstanding work in the clinch, landing to the body and to the head, finding a lot of success with uppercuts. Jones worked some of his familiar offense, throwing sharp elbows inside and good body kicks at distance.
Jones had managed a takedown in the first round, but wasn’t able to keep position. He’d manage to get two more big takedowns in the fourth round as Cormier was visibly tiring. That put an end to a part of the rivalry that may have been the true start, a young Jones telling Cormier “I bet I can take you down.”
Cormier never gave up, but he was mostly on the defensive or working a slightly impotent clinch game in the fourth and fifth rounds when he needed to be looking for a way to score big and, as his corner told him before round five, needed a stoppage.
The end of the fight saw a little peak of action again when Jones held up his hands, Cormier released a takedown attempt, thinking the fight was over and then Jones threw two more punches. The punches were legal as the final bell hadn’t sounded, but Cormier threw some angry shots back, including a couple after the bell, one of which appeared to clip referee Herb Dean.
The official scorecards all gave Jones four of the five rounds, reading 49-46.
After the final bell, Jones executed a “crotch chop” in a pro wrestling style and then gave a post-fight interview apologizing for “being classless” but explaining that he really doesn’t like Cormier.
The win leaves Jones with only Alexander Gustafsson (or Anthony Johnson, should he beat Gustafsson) as a viable threat to his title.
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