Jon Jones’ coach Brandon Gibson feels his fighter should have won a unanimous decision over Thiago Santos at UFC 239.
Jon Jones’ coach Brandon Gibson thought Jones’ fight with Thiago Santos at UFC 239 was more one-sided than the final scorecards might have shown it to be.
Jones went all five rounds with Santos in the main event of UFC 239, and although one judge scored the fight 48-47 in favour of Santos, the two other judges though ‘Bones’ did enough to get the split decision win over “Marreta.”
Talking to MMA Fighting earlier this week, Jones’ longtime coach Gibson gave his thoughts on the decision and believed that Jones was in control throughout the fight.
“I was surprised,” Gibson said. “It is part of our job as coaches and trainers to be aware of how a round could have gone. We knew the first round was ultra-competitive but I thought [rounds] 2 through 5 were clearly Jon and I thought we were up.
“We weren’t asking Jon to coast or fight safe or anything like that or protect the lead. We’re always hunting. I was surprised that one judge saw it that way and I was a little surprised some media members I really respect saw it in Thiago’s favor.”
One reason Gibson felt judge Junichiro Kamijo might have scored the fight in favour of Santos was because of his ability to unload with big combinations that caught the attention of the crowd on the night.
“Santos was countering a lot of the fight and had his back against the fence and when he threw, he threw big and with volume combinations and it would make the crowd erupt,” Gibson explained.
“Maybe the judges thought that was the more aggressive action of the fight but I think it’s hard to fight that style with your back against the fence for the majority of the fight and just getting picked apart.”
It’s not hard to argue that Jones’ fight with Santos was his closest call as light heavyweight champion so far during his UFC career, and Gibson wouldn’t be shocked if the two ran it back again in the future.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw him again and I’d be really happy to see what we could put together after learning for these five rounds.”