Jon Jones Dominates Glover Teixeira, Retains Light Heavyweight Title at UFC 172

Jon Jones completely controlled Glover Teixeira at UFC 172. | Patrick Smith/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Utilizing a multi-pronged standup attack and devastating clinch game, Jones beat on Glover Teixeira for five rounds and retained the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight crown with a unanimous decision in the UFC 172 headliner on Saturday at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore. Jones (20-1, 14-1 UFC) carried all three scorecards with 50-45 marks.

Outside of a few exchanges, Teixeira (22-3, 5-1 UFC) did not make much headway against the champion. Jones scored with a variety of techniques, from axe kicks, oblique kicks and spinning back kicks to jabs, hooks and uppercuts. He was at his best in close quarters, where he waded through heavy fire and tore into the Brazilian with slashing standing elbows. One of them resulted in a horrific diagonal gash above Teixeira’s right eye. The wound plagued the challenger throughout much of the fight.

“A lot of it was improv,” Jones said. “In the beginning, [my strategy] was to pick him apart from distance. In the middle of the fight, I realized he was winding up on his punches, and you can’t really wind up if someone is right on top of you, so I switched up the strategy to go extremely short range, and it worked out great.”

Jones secured takedowns in the first and fourth rounds but did the majority of his work on the feet. The 26-year-old has rattled off 11 straight wins.

“It was a lot like what we thought it would be,” Jones said. “Glover doesn’t tend to be the most versatile, so we foresaw a lot of the things he was going to look for, and sure enough, it happened that way.”

‘Rumble’ Johnson Bullies Davis

A four-time NCAA All-American wrestler, Davis (12-2, 8-2 UFC) failed to secure a single takedown in the 15-minute encounter. He did not have a Plan B. Johnson picked apart the Alliance MMA export on the feet, smashing him with clean, accurate punches. The counter right uppercut was perhaps his most effective weapon and put Davis on his heels more than once. Davis seemed to grow more and more perplexed as the fight deepened, as he simply had no answers for the man standing across from him.

“I trained really hard,” Johnson said. “I’ve matured so much. I have to thank my manager, my team, my family and God. Without them, I wouldn’t be here.”

Rockhold Kimura Taps Boetsch

Photo: Josh Hedges/Getty/UFC

Boetsch had nothing for Rockhold.

Rockhold (12-2, 2-1 UFC) sprawled on a single-leg attempt from “The Barbarian” and trapped him in an inverted triangle. The 29-year-old American Kickboxing Academy ace remained patient, isolated Boetsch’s right arm and torqued on the kimura for the finish. Rockhold has won 11 of his past 12 bouts.

“That reverse triangle is my bread and butter,” he said. “Anybody who knows my jiu-jitsu game knows I come from different angles. That’s second nature to me. I always go for the kimura finish. I just had to get the right angle. He did well. It was tough to get in the right position. He’s a tough guy. I hope Tim’s arm is OK.”

Miller Chokes Medeiros Unconscious

Miller (24-4, 13-3 UFC) kept his fists in the Hawaiian’s face, but it was a straight punch to the body that permanently altered the complexion of the bout. He swarmed Medeiros in the clinch and then dove on the fight-ending guillotine during a subsequent scramble. Miller maintained the choke through a significant struggle and waited for the lights to go out.

“He stepped up to fight me on a week’s notice, which is ballsy on his behalf,” Miller said. “I appreciate Yancy for stepping in. Once he went out, I knew he was out and told Mario. I train with some of the best coaches on the planet. I’m improving every time I come in here. I want to move up the ranks.”

Holloway Guillotine Submits Fili

Fili (13-2, 1-1 UFC) mixed his punches and kicks with well-timed takedowns. Holloway started to turn the corner in the second round, where he cracked the Californian with a searing spinning back kick to the body and some damaging knees from the clinch. Fili struck for a takedown in the third round but failed to maintain top position. Holloway returned to his feet, staggered his adversary with a pair of standing elbows, followed up with a multi-punch burst and then snatched the guillotine when the reeling Fili left his neck exposed.

“I am satisfied,” Holloway said. “I went through a lot this week, so it’s awesome. I felt like he was up on the cards and that I needed a finish in that third round.