UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones (19-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) gutted out a unanimous decision win over Alexander Gustafsson (15-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) in the main event at UFC 165 on Saturday night in Toronto. In what was a close fight, the Swede became the first fighter to take Jones down in his UFC career and also opened a cut on the champion’s right eye that would bleed heavily later in the fight.
Despite the early setback, Jones did enough to convince the judges that he was the winner. Crucially, in the championship rounds, the champion’s experience came to the fore. A spinning elbow to Gustafsson’s head in the fourth hurt the challenger and set up a strong finish for Jones. After the fight, all three judges called the fight in favor of Jones, 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46.
“I’ve been asking for a dog fight for a long, and I finally got the dog fight I have been looking for,” Jones told Joe Rogan after the fight. “I got the victory and I got to prove a lot to myself. I am not satisfied. I’ve got a lot of work to do in the gym to stay on top of my game.
“Hats off to Alexander, that was by far my toughest fight so far. I got to exercise my warrior spirit” added Jones, who went on to say that Gustafsson was a tough fighter with a great chin. After the fight, UFC president Dana White told ESPN that he was “very happy” with the main event and said that fans would love to see the two men get it on again.
With this win, Jones broke the record for most consecutive defenses by a light heavyweight champion (this was his sixth successful defense). The 26-year-old went to hospital straight after the fight, but did update his Twitter account after the fight, saying:
Check out this awesome Instagram from Gustafsson on Sunday, captioned as follows: “Didnt go my way last nite but ill be back stronger thats a promise!!! Wanna thanks all my fans u r amazing!!! Had a great time in Toronto….”
Check out the full post-fight reaction from both men here:
