After months and months of buildup, UFC 182 finally transpired on Saturday night at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas with a familiar sight: Jon Jones having his hand raised with Bruce Buffer screaming, “…and still!”
The champion walked away with the belt once again via unanimous decision. The bout was satisfying. The questions that lingered about the matchup were answered over the course of the five-round bout. Jones proved that Cormier’s wrestling was no match for his well-rounded game.
The challenger was able to muster one good round against Jones, but he simply didn’t have enough to best the champion—even at Cormier’s own game.
But the championship bout wasn’t the only affair that took place in Vegas. Here’s a look at the complete results from the night and a closer look at some of the biggest winners.
UFC 182 Main Card on Pay-Per-View
- Jon Jones def. Daniel Cormier, unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
- Donald Cerrone def. Myles Jury, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Brad Tavares def. Nate Marquardt, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Kyoji Horiguchi def. Louis Gaudinot, unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Hector Lombard def. Josh Burkman, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Prelims on Fox Sports 1
- Paul Felder def. Danny Castillo, knockout (Round 2, 2:09)
- Cody Garbrandt def. Marcus Brimage, TKO (Round 3, 4:50)
- Shawn Jordan def. Jared Cannonier, knockout (Round 1, 2:57)
- Evan Dunham def. Rodrigo Damm, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Prelims on UFC Fight Pass
- Omari Akhmedov def. Mats Nilsson, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Marion Reneau def. Alexis Dufresne, unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-25)
Biggest Winners
The Prelim Finishers: Shawn Jordan, Cody Garbrandt and Paul Felder
If you’re a fan who hates when judges get involved, UFC 182 was not the card for you. It was relatively low on stoppages, as just three fighters were able to finish their opponent.
But those who did made a statement.
Shawn Jordan did what he’s known to do—finish fights with his brutal knockout power. The former LSU fullback stymied UFC newcomer Jared Cannonier in the first round. It’s the kind of performance one would expect from a slugger like Jordan, but it does put him on a two-fight win streak.
That’s good news for a guy who was coming off back-to-back first-round knockout losses to Gabriel Gonzaga and Matt Mitrione.
Cody Garbrandt was much more successful than Cannonier in his UFC debut. The Team Alpha Male fighter and Ohio native outstruck Marcus Brimage for the vast majority of the three-round bout. He then proceeded to take out the UFC veteran with a barrage of hooks late in the third round.
The impressive debut caused several pundits to stand up and take notice. Josh Gross of Sherdog.com was among those who recognized his smooth transition to the next level:
Paul Felder had the opportunity to close out the prelims and didn’t waste it. He put on a show against Danny Castillo that ultimately ended with a spinning backfist knockout that is the early front-runner for Knockout of the Year, per MMAFighting:
The win extended Felder’s MMA record to 9-0. With a highlight like that on his resume, The Irish Dragon is definitely a fighter to keep an eye on.
The Co-Main Event Winner: Donald Cerrone
Donald Cerrone came into his fight with a bit of a chip on his shoulder for Myles Jury. The end result was not good for the up-and-comer.
The Cowboy outclassed Jury in every phase of the game throughout the three-round bout. The Greg Jackson-trained fighter fully avenged his teammate Diego Sanchez’s loss to Jury in convincing fashion. And he didn’t seem to pick up any respect for the 26-year-old along the way, either.
He was critical of the way Jury fought even after the bout. Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports passed along Cerrone’s thoughts:
Cerrone had an answer for everything Jury brought to the table. When Jury took him down, Cowboy’s jiu-jitsu shined through. Jury spent much of the first round defending chokes.
A more traditional kickboxing match? Cerrone had that covered too. He landed more significant strikes than his opponent in every round, according to FightMetric.
Ultimately, this win serves to further prove that Cerrone is among the best in his division. It also gets him that much closer to an eventual rematch with lightweight champion Anthony Pettis.
The Reigning Light Heavyweight Champion: Jon Jones
Love him or hate him, Jones once again showed why he’s arguably the greatest fighter in UFC history at the age of 27.
Once again he took on a challenger whose list of accolades was longer than his massive 84.5-inch reach. Once again he made that challenger look out of his league.
Cormier was successful against the champion at times. His best efforts took place in Round 2, when he was able to utilize his dirty boxing in close quarters and win a round in the eyes of the judges.
However, winning one round isn’t enough against Bones. Eventually, the champion took over the bout, earning a one-sided decision. The result cast doubt on just how compelling an eventual rematch could be.
What’s more, the champion beat Cormier at his own game. Taking on an Olympic wrestler, Jones earned the advantage in takedowns (3-1, per FightMetric), fought nearly the entire fight in close quarters and wore out the challenger over the long haul.
There are a few more intriguing fights at light heavyweight for the champion. Most notably, a rematch with Alexander Gustafsson could be on the horizon. The Swede officially gets his shot if he gets past Anthony Johnson on Jan. 24, according to Mike Bohn of MMAjunkie.
Gustafsson even took to social media to assess Jones’ performance:
So once again Jones proved his detractors wrong. He took another challenger, beat him at his own game and now awaits the next one. Chances are, we’ll all tune in again to see if the king can ever be dethroned.
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