On Saturday, UFC 145 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta culminated with a highly-anticipated main event that pitted light heavyweight champ Jon Bones against his friend and former champion Rashad Evans, one of the most underrated fighters in MMA history.
In the opening round, it appeared as though Jones' enormous reach advantage would lead to a quick end for Evans, but Evans was able to regroup quite well in the following rounds. The first three round consisted entirely of standup, with both men trading huge blows. Evans once again reminded fans of his toughness in Round 3, taking a pair of huge flying knees but hardly flinching.
Evans began to show signs of tiring midway through the fourth round, as he began breathing through his mouth and appeared to be looking for an opening to throw a big right hand that might end things. Evans shot for a desperation double-leg just before the Round 4 ended, but came up empty and the fight headed to the final round.
Evans came out swinging in the fifth and final round, but looked gassed and was hit with several big shots as Jones began teeing off. Jones scored a knockdown and a forearm on the ground, but was unable to put Evans away.
Jones retained his title via unanimous decisions on scores of 49-46, 49-46, 50-45.
Here are the complete results from UFC 145.
Preliminary card (Facebook)
Featherweight bout: Marcus Brimage vs. Maximo Blanco
Brimage defeated Blanco via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28).
Welterweight bout: Keith Wisniewski vs. Chris Clements
Clements defeated Wisniewski via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27).
Preliminary card (FX)
Lightweight bout: Mac Danzig vs. Efrain Escudero
Danzig defeated Escudero via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
Catchweight (158 lb) bout: John Makdessi vs. Anthony Njokuani
Njokuani defeated Makdessi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
Welterweight bout: Matt Brown vs. Stephen Thompson
Brown defeated Thompson via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-27, 30-27).
Heavyweight bout: Travis Browne vs. Chad Griggs
Browne defeated Griggs via submission (arm-triangle choke) at 2:30 of round 1.
Main card
Lightweight bout: Mark Bocek vs. John Alessio
Bocek defeats Alessio via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
Featherweight bout: Mark Hominick vs. Eddie Yagin
Yagin defeated Hominick via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).
Bantamweight bout: Miguel Torres vs. Michael McDonald
McDonald defeated Torres via knockout (punches) at 3:18 of Round 1.
Heavyweight bout: Brendan Schaub vs. Ben Rothwell
Rothwell defeated Schaub via TKO (punches) at 1:10 of round 1.
Welterweight bout: Rory MacDonald vs. Che Mills
MacDonald defeated Mills via TKO (punches) at 2:20 of round 2
Light Heavyweight Championship bout: Jon Jones (c) vs. Rashad Evans
Jones defeated Evans via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 50-45).
For all news and information regarding mixed martial arts, stay tuned to either MMA Fighting or Bloody Elbow.
