Jon Jones successfully defended his title tonight at UFC 247, but Dominick Reyes came exceptionally close to producing an upset in an exciting headline battle.
Round One:
The main event light-heavyweight title fight is underway in Texas!
JOnes ducks under a hard punch and looks for a takedown, but Reyes lands a knee and stays upright.
Jones lands a kick to the knee. Head kick attempt from Reyes looked dangerous. Jones checks a leg kick.
Reyes marching forward with big punches as he looks to put Jones under pressure. Punch lands clean for Reyes.
Inside leg kick for Reyes. Low leg kick for Jones. Body kick for Jones, but Reyes lands a punch to the body and knocks him down off-balance.
Jones in early trouble here as he backs up a bit and Reyes continues to press forward. Good start for Reyes.
Kick for Jones as he looks to work the momentum back in his favor. High kick attempt from Reyes and now to the body.
Kick to the knee from Jones. Leg kick inside from Reyes. Body kick for Reyes, who is looking confident and light on his feet here.
High kick from Jones catches Reyes, but he’s ok. Jab for Jones as the first round comes to a close.
Round Two:
Body punches from Reyes. Low leg kick from the challenger. Body kick for Reyes now. Body kick for Jones now. Glancing blow from Reyes.
Now Reyes is charging forward with a flurry of punches and Jones is having to move away from this pressure and doesn’t seem comfortable.
He manages to get some space though and looks to reset. Leg kick checked by Jones. Kick from Reyes, but Jones counters over the top and lands a punch.
Nice uppercut from Reyes and now one to the body. Solid left hand from Jones. Hard punch to the body from Reyes.
Spinning kick from Jones misses. Front kick to the body for the champ. Side kick to the knee from Jones. Left hand for Reyes.
Body punch from Reyes. Good sticking jab from Jones. Grazing left again from Jones. Solid left for Reyes. High kick from Jones comes off the shoulder.
Left hand apiece lands solidly. leg kick from Jones, but Reyes counters with a punch. Side kick to the body lands cleanly from Jones.
Uppercut from Reyes. Leg kick inside from Reyes. Jones just misses with a left hook to end the round.
Round Three:
Inside leg kick from Jones. leg kick in response from Reyes. Head kick from Reyes catches Jones off-guard, but he takes it. Knee to the body from the challenger.
Reyes hammerfists Jones fist. Body kick from Reyes. Jones connects, but Reyes pressures him with more offense.
Leg kick for Reyes and again. leg kick for Jones. Left hand for Jones. Body punch from Reyes. Front kick to the body for Jones and a body kick from Reyes. Spinning kick to the body partially lands for Jones.
leg kick from Reyes. Body punch for him and then an uppercut. Another leg kick. High kick for Jones is blocked.
Jones in on a takedown there and it looked good, but Reyes fights it off and lands an elbow. Body punch from Reyes.
Left hand for JOnes. Right hand from him, but Reyes counters. Hard body kick from Reyes. Leg kick from Reyes, but it’s checked. JOnes lands a hook.
Left hook from Jones. Body punch from Reyes. Jones pressing forward frequently. Left hand for Reyes. Glancing left for Jones.
Jumping kick to the face from Jones to end the round.
Round Four:
Low leg kick for Reyes. Hard left hand for Reyes. He connects again and Jones is backed up against the cage for a moment. However, Jones is looking for the takedown and partially gets Reyes down. Jones working really hard on this and gets him down cleaner this time. Reyes does well to get back up, but Jones is still on him in the clinch.
Reyes survives the wrestling onslaught and they go back to striking range. Reyes lands. Low leg kick from Jones.
Jones in a takedown again and Reyes does well to defend that and Jones has to go back to striking with him.
Left hand from Reyes. leg kick from Jones. Leg kick for Reyes is almost caught by the champion. Leg kick from Jones. Glancing right hook from Reyes. Jab for Jones.
Hard body punch from Jones. Right hand for Jones and a good elbow too behind it. Now a left hook for the champion. left hand counter from Reyes. Jones constantly pressing forward though.
Left for Reyes and now one to the body. Kick to the body for Jones. Another front kick to the body. Kick to the knee. Reyes tries a high kick. Solid left for Reyes. Body punch and then a power punch to the head from Jones to end the round.
Round Five:
Left hand for Reyes. He lands another. Inside leg kick. Jones thunders into a takedown and manages to land it, but Reyes is on his knees and standing up quickly.
Jones still clinched up though, but can’t get another takedown entry and Reyes gets away. Solid body punch from Jones. He lands an elbow too.
Jab from Reyes. leg kick apiece. Inside leg kick from Jones. Now a right hand. Glancing left for Reyes. Body kick from Jones and a low kick too.
Three minutes remaining. jab for Jones and then an elbow behind it. Leg kick again from Jones, who is always moving forward. Reyes tries to land a punch, but it misses and Jones lands a leg kick.
Another leg kick from Jones. Reyes output has slowed. left lands for JOnes and Reyes loads up but misses. Body punch from Reyes.
Jones whistles a kick over Reyes head and eats a punch for his troubles. Leg kick for Reyes. Jabs from Reyes.
Side kick to the body from Jones. Now a kick to the knee. Inside leg kick. Spinning kick to the body from Jones.
Inside leg kick lands hard again from Jones. 30 seconds remaining. Will we see a last flurry from Reyes. Right hand for Jones. Reyes moving away from the oncoming Jones. Spinning backfist attempt from Jones misses and that’s it, we’re headed to the judges to decide this very close fight.
Decision:
So Reyes got off to a strong start in the opening two rounds and stayed competitive as the fight continued, but Jones remained composed and started to march him down in the final rounds and upped his output, leaving the judges with a hard choice to make here.
The results are in and Jon Jones retains his title with a unanimous decision victory (48-47 x2, 49-46).
That was a nailbiting verdict for the champion and the 49-46 scorecard in particular seems harsh on Reyes, who certainly seemed to have the edge in the opening two rounds at least, and quite possibly in the third too. Credit has to go to Jones for regrouping and taking the fight to a less active Reyes in the championship rounds though, and that paid off for him in a similar fashion to his first encounter with Alexander Gustafsson.
