At UFC 152 in Toronto, Jon Jones submitted Vitor Belfort at 54 seconds of the fourth round to retain his UFC light heavyweight title.
Though it was an americana that cinched the fight for Jones, a failed armbar from Belfort may prove more memorable. In the first round, Belfor locked on an armbar and appeared to have Jones’ arm hyper-extended.
“He got that armbar in every way, shape and form,” Jones told broadcaster Joe Rogan after the fight. “I’ve never had my arm pop like that before, but I’ve worked too hard to give up…I was honestly waiting for it to break. I wasn’t going to tap. I’ve never felt that way before.”
Almost immediately after the hold was relinquished, Jones opened a cut over Belfort’s right eye. In that moment, Belfort’s momentum began to leak away and the fight began to swing inexorably to Jones.
In the second round, Belfort began to slow down. Belfort also appeared to focus on defense at the expense of offense, most notably his trademark power flurries. Belfort seemed hesitant to exchange, preferring to clinch with Jones or pull guard.
What we’ll remember about this fight:
Man, that armbar attempt. If Jones had tapped—and no one would have blinked if he had—this would have been the biggest upset in UFC history.
What we learned about Vitor Belfort:
He probably earned a free pass with MMA fans forever.
If you believe in moral victories, then a loser can’t be much more victorious than Vitor Belfort at UFC 152. One of the largest main-event underdogs in UFC history defied the odds by simply getting Jones in trouble. It was probably the deepest singular moment of trouble Jones has ever faced inside the Octagon.
Still, Belfort almost seemed to concede the fight when the armbar failed. It would have been great to watch Belfort challenge Jones with boxing.
What we learned about Jon Jones:
He doesn’t tap. At least not easily. Jones himself admitted he had never been put in that position in the cage. And you have to give credit where it’s due—that took guts.
What’s next for Belfort:
Back to your regularly scheduled program, I guess. He’s been a good soldier on this thing, though, so he deserves a quality matchup. I’d vote for the winner between Alan Belcher and Yushin Okami at UFC 153. Winner gets a shot at one of Anderson Silva‘s annual middleweight title defenses.
What’s next for Jones:
On to the next one.
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