Jon Jones came into the main event of UFC 235 and simply proved what we all already knew about him. He’s a rare talent we may never see again, and that he completely lacks character.
The first round against Anthony Smith was much like the first fight with Alexander Gustafsson. We no longer see the wild, aggressive man who charges forward and tears people apart, something many believed he’d be capable of doing against Smith. Instead, he stayed on the outside, used his near mutant like reach and just picked his opponent apart.
Weirdly, he wasn’t even throwing punches or jabs. Respecting Smith’s toughness and power, he instead employed a heavy kick game. Chipping away at the legs and the body, anyone who’s seen his style lately knows what was coming in the second round.
Jones came out with the same looks, the same reads, and when Smith began reacting to the leg and body shots, the champ began throwing his feet and legs at Smith’s head. He whipped his long limbs quick as lighting and even managed to rock Smith with a rarely seen front kick. And then kept going back down to the body and legs softening the challenger up.
He came out in the third round ready for the finish. And it showed. He didn’t go swinging wildly and recklessly, but he pushed for a takedown and looked to land savage ground and pound. Smith wasn’t exactly able to create any scrambles, but he did defend Jones’ offense quite well. The champ could have been more aggressive, but with a fighter who is only defending and not attacking at all, it becomes rather difficult to create openings. Even when you’re as talented and as skilled as the champ.
In the fourth round, the damage really began to show, and Jones looked like he barely even had a sparring match yet. Jones opened up on the feet, landing overhand rights and some more kicks. Nothing really hurt Smith, but it led to another takedown, where Jones really began to unload.
This time, the more aggressive champion gave Smith the chance to scramble, but as he created space, Jon Jones lived up to the hype and threw a blatant kick to the head. It seemed to have no effect, but referee Herb Dean didn’t respond at all. Adding to the criticism that Jones gets away with everything.
Still, it didn’t really have an effect, so it wasn’t the worst situation. But a few minutes later, Smith managed to get himself to the fence to push off, but the champ who already faced no consequences for an illegal strike, decided to throw another blatantly illegal strike, kneeing Smith square in the head.
This time, Herb hopped in and pulled him off. Smith didn’t look too bad, but the knee landed. Every strike makes a difference. Furious, Herb Dean took not only one, but two points from the champion. Giving Smith a round on the scorecards. The only times fighters have lost two points in the same fight, it happened from separate fouls in different rounds. Jones, being the ever humble champ that he is, managed to get two points pulled in the same moment.
In the fifth round, Smith finally began taking the only piece of advice from his corner. He became aggressive. He ate punches to give punches and even landed more than a few on Jones. But the champ is just on another level and one of the best improvisers on the planet. He adapted from his ranged attack and pressed Smith up against the cage. From there he worked in some strikes and denied Smith any offense.
In the end, all three judges had the fight 48-44 for the champ. Purely based on the numbers, Smith actually gave Jones one of his closest fights, but it was truly a dominant performance.
As dominant as it was, though, it wasn’t his most impressive performance, especially seeing as he was a ridiculous favorite. He was expected to finish the challenger. Smith is tough as nails and more durable at 205. He’s also an experienced veteran who knows how to defend himself. So it’s not like Jones had an easy task in front of him, but he’s also finished much tougher competition.
Finish or not though, there’s no denying the man showed once again that he is nearly unbeatable. With his attitude, his controversies, and his terrifying skillset, Jones has been transforming into the ultimate supervillain of the light heavyweight division. And as painful as it is for fans to admit, he is probably the true greatest fighter to ever live.
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