This is the UFC 182 live blog for Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier, a light heavyweight bout at Saturday night’s UFC event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night
Jones, who has won 11 straight fights, will face Cormier, who is 15-0 in his pro MMA career, in the main event.
Check out the UFC 182 live blog below.
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Round 1: Herb Dean is the referee for this colossal title fight. They kept them well apart for the instructions; though they did touch gloves on Jones’ insistence. Here we go. Jones down in crouch comes out of corner. Tried ax kick that misses, and Cormier is trying for that single leg. Jones throwing shots, now elbows in close. Wow! Gast start. Tons of action. Cormier goes for kick, and Jones catches is and kicks out Cormier’s leg! He follows him to the ground, but Cormier right back up on fence. Clinch. Now they separate. Oblique kick from Jones. Cormier comes forward, and Jones from range throws an elbow. He tries for takedown, and Cormier stuffs him. Fast-paced fight. Crowd well into it. Left hand right down the boulevard for Jones lands. That backed Cormier up. They clinch in the middle, and Cormier eats a couple of shots. Now Jones is favoring his eye. He eats a right hand. Big body shot from Jones, a kick. Whoa. Superman punch for Jones, and Cormier returns fire. Left hand to the body from Jones, who is doing a bit of everything. He’s changing levels, and keeping Cormier off balance. Big time exchange in clinch, as Jones eats an uppercut but also lands a knee. Big shots from Cormier, backs Jones to fence! Flying knee attempt from Jones. Bell rings, and each man parts with big shots. Wow. What a round! MMA Fighting scores R1 for Jones, 10-9.
Round 2: Cormier to the middle, and Jones with a body kick. That lands. Another one, this one partially deflected by Cormier. Now Cormier tries a high kick, but can’t land — and another. Both guys throwing the kitchen sink. Cormier drops for a takedown, but he’s thwarted by the champ. Straight left lands from ones, who then drops Cormier momentarily with a body kick. He has been attacking the body regularly throughout. Jones pushes Cormier up against the fence, and that’s where they go to work. Jones with a shoulder strike. They break. Jones with a high kick, which catches Cormier. Now dirty boxing, and Cormier unloads. Jones circles back. They clinch, and Jones trying to deploy elbows in close. Cormier using his hulk to push Jones; clinch again, and Cormier with a couple of nice uppercuts. Leg kick from Jones. Body shots from Cormier, who is getting his in close. They are just battering each other in close. DC chant erupts in crowd. He plays Jones wrists, and now in close again lands some short uppercuts. He is finding success in there, but eating plenty of shots too. They roll into the fence, and it’s Jones using his heft. DC throws him off and lands a shot, and another. They are just swinging at every opportunity. How long can this pace keep up? Incredible. Again right at the end of the round they trade punches and Jones a knee to the body. MMA Fighting scores R2 for Cormier, 10-9 (19-19 overall)
Round 3: Primal stuff those first two rounds. Oblique kick from Cormier. They trade at center. Big body kick from Cormier, who is still bringing it strong. A couple of low kicks from Jones, and now there’s Cormier in close landing uppercuts again. Jones face beginning to swell. Big left hand to the body from Jones. DC chant starts back up. Elbow from Jones, and Cormier walks right through it — but wait, he gets poked in the eye. Timeout. Hern Dean checks Cormier. This was a big point of contention coming in, Jones and eyepokes, and crowd roaring their disapproval. They touch gloves, and Jones slams a hard kick into Cormier’s midsections. Now Jones comes in and tries for takedown, and vice-versa — Cormier gets a single leg. Neither man will go down. So Cormier posts Jones up on fence and they go to work strength-to-strength. They break, and both guys throw big kicks. They clinch in the middle, with Jones playing the wrists, controlling Cormier’s hand. Cormier plows him forward and lands an uppercut. This fight is insane. Neither man can gain a clear advantage. Oblique kick and then a jab from Jones, and then clinch again, with Cormier getting an uppercut. Back to the fence they go. Knee to the body from Jones, and Jones again locking down Cormier’s wrists. They break and just throw down at each other the clear way across the cage. Clinch again, and Jones with an elbow. Cormier is relentless, though, and as Jones tries a flying knee (and misses), Cormier pushes forward and for the first time tonight takes Jones down! Wow. Hard round to score. MMA Fighting scores R3 for Cormier, 10-9 (29-28 overall for Cormier).
Round 4: Cormier stalks forward, and Jones with an oblique kick to keep pressure at bay. Big head kick from Jones, and a spray of sweat comes flying off Cormier. They clinch, and again it’s a struggle, and Jones dumps Cormier on his back! Cormier able to stand right back up. Jones does it again! Cormier is on the mat, along the fence, trying to scoot back up. Jones keeping his weight on Cormier. Also flirting with a choke, but Cormier gets to his knees and he’s up. He eats an elbow just as he stands, and Jones presses into Cormier on fence. They are still on fence, and Jones now controlling Cormier better than he has previously. He fires off a couple of big shots in close, and is now kicking Cormier’s right knee. Elbow from Jones as they break. Cormier still comes forward. Leg kick from Cormier. They clinch again, and neither can slam his knee into the other. The round is going to end with Jones and Cormier on fence, as Jones dumps Cormier at the last moment. MMA Fighting scores R4 for Jones, 10-9 (38-38 overall)
Round 5: They come out swinging, and they clash in the middle. Cormier trying desperately for takedown, and nearly got it, but Jones able to keep propped with his left arm. Now he pushes Cormier into the fence. There he goes to work with his knees. Some dirty boxing, as Cormier gets off a couple of clean uppercuts as Jones lands some shots to the body. Right back to it. Jones pressing Cormier. Herb Dean letting them stay on fence for extended period, and Jones doing just enough. He’s landing knees (nothing big). Cormier turns Jones around, and the waltz continues. No room to work here, as Cormier bulldozes forward, only to be turned around as they hit the links. Action slowed and crowd lets it be known. Cormier fishing out a single leg, and slams Jones down! Wow! And Jones able to get back up, despite landing very awkwardly. That was crazy. Jones presses Cormier up on fence. He’s trying for one more takedown late. He can’t get it. A couple of shots after the bell. Herb Dean might have taken the brunt of it. Wow. Tough, tough round. MMA Fighting scores R5 for Jones, 10-9 (48-47 Jones overall).
UFC 182 official results: Jon Jones def. Daniel Cormier via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)