MANILA, Philippines - Jon “Bones†Jones, considered as one of the best pound-for-pound mixed martial arts fighters in the world today, pounded out a unanimous decision over upset-conscious Alexander Gustafsson to retain his UFC light heavyweight crown for a record sixth time at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada yesterday.
Surviving five tense, bloody and bruising rounds, Jones won in all three scorecards, including a pair of 58-47 scores and one 49-46. He, however, ended up with a cut over his eye and needed to fend off a fierce, ferocious performance from a challenger earlier tipped not to last the distance.
Gustafsson, a native of Stockholm, Sweden who is known as “The Mauler†in the UFC circle, did give Jones a tough fight, even bringing the champion to the ground right in the first round for the latter’s first takedown in his career.
“I’ve been asking for a dogfight for a long time and I finally got the dogfight I wanted,†Jones, whose sixth title defense surpassed former champ Tito Ortiz’ record for most successful 205-pound UFC title defenses, told ufc.com, UFC’s official website.
“He (Gustafsson) was just a tough fighter and that was by far my toughest fight,†he added.
“It was an honor to fight Jon (Jones), he is the champion for a reason,†Gustafsson, for his part, said.
The Jones-Gustafsson match earned Fight of the Night honors that’s worth $50,000 each for both protagonists and a possible re-match next year.
“Who doesn’t want a rematch?†said UFC president Dana White.
It was also Jones’ 10th straight win while holding the record with most submissions with five by a light heavyweight and is currently tied for most finishes with nine.
Interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao likewise made a successful defense of his crown as he knocked out Eddie Wineland in the second round in the co-main event of the evening.
With the win, Barao improved to 33-1 with 1 NC while Chesterton, Indiana’s Wineland fell to 20-9-1.