Jon Jones reclaims UFC title with TKO of Daniel Cormier
n Jones took many steps on his road to redemption, and the most important one set up his Saturday night reunion with the UFC light-heavyweight belt.
Jones saw an opening on a movement by his bitter rival, Daniel Cormier, and stepped forward to deliver a kick to the head that rocked Cormier and set up a string of creative and destructive blows that led to Jones’ third-round technical-knockout victory at Honda Center.
“I made it back, man,” Jones, 30, said in the octagon after a 30-month absence from a title fight caused by self-induced damage that included a car crash and performance-enhancing drug use. “I let my family, my parents, my co-workers down … as long as you don’t quit, it’s never over.”
Jones (23-1) was tested deeply by his replacement champion Cormier (19-2), who took over after Jones was stripped of his belt following the April 2015 car crash.
But after absorbing some heavy punches to the head by the 38-year-old fighter from San Jose — who had continually berated Jones for his personal slips — Jones answered by leaning on the universal skills that made him the youngest-ever UFC champion at age 23, who had successfully defended his belt for an eighth time by defeating Cormier by unanimous decision in January 2015.
“If you don’t win, it’s no rivalry,” an upset Cormier said.
Jones’ head kick was followed by a left kick to the gut that backed Cormier to the cage. Cormier fell down on a leg kick, and Jones pounced, hammering Cormier with 18 left-handed blows to Cormier’s head on the canvas, mostly punches. Referee John McCarthy stopped the fight 3 minutes, 1 second into the third.
“It feels unbelievable. It’s a surreal moment,” Jones said, thanking fans for their loyalty and saluting “the haters … you motivated me to prove you all wrong.”
UFC 214: Cormier vs. Jones
Photos from UFC 214 in Anaheim, featuring the main event between Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones for the light-heavyweight title.
The most vocal of those was Cormier, but Jones had warm words for the fallen champion, thanking him for “being my biggest rival and motivator. He has been a model champion, teammate, and he’s an amazing human being — a true champion for the rest of his life.”
But Jones seemed set to move on from Cormier, setting the stage for a massive possible pay-per-view in 2018 against former heavyweight chgampion and WWE performer Brock Lesnar.
“If you want to know what it feels like to get your [rear] kicked by a guy 40 pounds less than you, meet me in the octagon,” Jones said.
Earlier at UFC 214, Cris “Cyborg” Justino spread her arms apart widely after finishing her latest victim.
