UFC 145 Results & Recap: Jon Jones Keeps Rolling

nullJon Jones added another former UFC champion to his list of victories on Saturday, as he defeated Rashad Evans by unanimous decision to retain his UFC light heavyweight championship at UFC 145.

Evans seemed to be the only man in the 205-pound division to pose a threat to Jones, as Evans was a former teammate of Jones, and Evans seemed to have the speed to present a problem for the champ.

However, Jones didn’t struggle much, as he used his kicks, knees, and elbows to control the spacing and pacing of the fight. Evans landed a few big strikes, but never seemed to be comfortable in the bout. Jones bruised up Evans’ face and earned all five rounds on one scorecard and four of the five rounds on the other two.

With another easy win for Jones, the question is, who is left in the division? Dan Henderson is expected to get the next shot, but he doesn’t seem to have the skills that would really be a problem for Jones.

A dream bout with Anderson Silva would seem very intriguing for the UFC, and also a possible move to heavyweight could be in the cards sometime soon. Jones is already walking around at 230 pounds, and UFC heavyweight champion, Junior dos Santos, isn’t much bigger.

Jones appears to possess the skills and composure to transcend divisions and become a true all-time great.

Speaking of all-time greats, welterweight Rory MacDonald appears to be in the early stages of that path. At 22, MacDonald has already picked up impressive wins and he added another on Saturday, beating Che Mills by TKO in the second round.

MacDonald unleashed a vicious array of ground-and-pound on Mills that left him a bloody mess. MacDonald may have the best ground striking in MMA and he continues to improve with each fight.

MacDonald trains with current champion, Georges St. Pierre, and has a similar build and style to the champ. MacDonald was just a few seconds away from earning a decision win over current interim champ, Carlos Condit. Condit earned a late TKO after MacDonald had out-grappled him for three rounds a few years ago.

It is hard to know just where MacDonald is in the welterweight rankings, but he seems to be in the discussion for top 5.

For complete results from UFC 145, check out the jump.

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UFC 141 Results – Alistair Overeem retires Brock Lesnar

Alistair Overeem proved he was more than just hype on Friday night by retiring Brock Lesnar from the UFC.

In his octagon debut, the former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion made quick work of Lesnar, beating him by TKO at 2:26 of the first round following a body kick.

Overeem was able to stuff the few takedown attempts from Lesnar and land some powerful knees to the body that softened Lesnar up for the finish. Overeem will now face Junior dos Santos for the UFC heavyweight title in the near future.

Following the loss, his second in as many fights, Lesnar retired from competition. With a pair of bad knockout losses, his aura has faded. With a title shot not likely to come any time soon, it made sense for Lesnar to call it quits. It hurts the UFC as he was their top draw, but I am sure they can market Overeem.

In the co-main event, Nate Diaz had an impressive decision win over Donald Cerrone. Diaz used his boxing to pick apart Cerrone. The Cowboy took a number of unanswered punches throughout the 15 minutes.

In a big upset, Johny Hendricks knocked out Jon Fitch in just 12 seconds. Fitch, who had just one loss in the octagon to Georges St. Pierre, had been off for nearly a year due to shoulder surgery.

Fitch threw a couple of punches in the opening seconds but then walked in to a big left from Hendricks that put him out cold for a moment.

The loss for Fitch is devastating, as he was close to earning a title shot, and now will fall well back into the contender list. Due to a lack of exciting fights, Fitch can’t expect to headline an event any time too soon.

For complete results from UFC 141, check out the jump.

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UFC 137 Results – Diaz is for real

nullNick Diaz proved that he is no minor league champ on Saturday in the main event of UFC 137.

The last Strikeforce Welterweight champion overcame a slow start to dominant the final two rounds against UFC legend, B.J. Penn, as Diaz picked up a unanimous decision win for perhaps the biggest win in his career.

Diaz survived the opening round as Penn came out with a fast start, using dirty boxing and grappling to control the round. Penn had Diaz’ back at one point, but Diaz was able to get out of the dominant position and get into the later rounds, where he started to work his boxing.

Diaz used relentless jabs and combinations to pick apart the tiring Penn, who ended up with a busted nose and bruised face before the final bell sounded. The decision wasn’t really in doubt, as Diaz had clearly closed out the final two rounds.

Following the win, Diaz called out UFC welterweight champion, Georges St. Pierre, whom Diaz was originally scheduled to face before being pulled from the title bout by the UFC as a disciplinary action for missing pre-event press conferences.

Still, Diaz is likely in line for a title shot against GSP or Carlos Condit, who will be fighting for the title in early 2012.

Penn announced his retirement from the sport following the loss, his third in his last five fights. Penn will go down as one of the all-time greats as he held titles in two different weight classes and was arguably the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world during his prime.

For full UFC 137 results, check out the jump.

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