Bones Jones keeps crown

MANILA, Philippines - Jon “Bones” Jones defeated Daniel Cormier via unanimous decision to retain his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight title for the eighth straight time at UFC 182 in Las Vegas, Nevada yesterday.

After five grueling rounds, the 27-year-old Jones ended up leading all judges’ scorecards, 49-46, to nail his 21st victory against a loss and re-stake his claim as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters of UFC.

Jones also remained unbeaten in the last five years with his only loss coming at the hands of now retired Matt Hamill in The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale in 2009 when he was disqualified for illegal downward elbows.

“He’s only human,” Jones, who had a word war with Cormier leading to the bout, told ufc.com after the fight. “All the things he talked, it motivated me.”

“I just couldn’t find my rhythm tonight (yesterday),” said Cormier, a 35-year-old former Olympic wrestler, who took his first loss after sweeping his first 15 mixed martial arts fights. “Jon is the best for a reason and he was the better man tonight.”