Rematch Made in Baltimore (UFC 172 Review)
There is something about Brazilian fighters that makes them these mysterious athletes that have great legends. Before they enter the UFC they cut their teeth in the lower rankings of the Brazilian fight world and in that time gain a lot of talk. When they are ready to make their debut in the UFC the legend surrounding them can be great. They are fighters that have black belts and world championships and massive undefeated streaks. That can sometimes intimidate other fighters in the UFC as they prepare to fight these legends. Some of these legendary fighters tend to fizzle out when they take on the best of the best in the UFC as the new level of talent is too much for them. Then there are fighters like Glover Teixeira who would come into the UFC with a ridiculous winning streak and proceeded to continue the streak in the UFC. He would have a 16 fight win streak before entering the UFC and then would get into the promotion only to continue the streak. The legend grew until finally Teixeira was at 20 straight wins and beginning to hear a lot of talk about potential title contention. As the title shot became more realistic Teixeira would continue to win and would push his winning streak to 23 until finally getting a shot. Teixeira’s win streak and the way he won fights would earn him a fight against one of the most dominant champions in the UFC. Jones is considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC and the only true dominant champion left in the UFC after Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre ended 2013 without their titles. Jones was also coming off of one of the toughest fights of his career where Alexander Gustafsson pushed him to his limits. As Jones seemed to finally show a small hole in his game Glover Teixeira would get his shot. Teixeira did not have the length that Gustafsson had but he did possess a power that not many others have in the division. It was his stand up game that brought him to the title shot as Teixeira was one of the strongest fighters in the division. He built his game off of his hero Mike Tyson and lived to keep fights standing to earn knockouts. Still he is a Brazilian who grew up fighting on the mat and earning a black belt in Jiu Jitsu. His well-balanced style meant that he would be another good fighter to take on Jones. The champion had a bit of a different idea though as he would seemingly be looking to the next championship fight. Alexander Gustafsson had won his last fight and earned another shot at the title. With fans, Jon Jones, and Alexander Gustafsson all looking forward to a rematch of one of the best fights in 2014 Glover Teixeira was almost forgotten as the top contender. He would look to change that when he stepped inside the octagon against the always creative and unpredictable Jon Jones. It would be a matchup of a power puncher looking for the knockout with one punch against a great striker looking to do damage from everywhere. As the fight started it was clear that Jones had not been overlooking Teixeira and was fully prepared for him. Jones would begin a striking clinic against Teixeira throwing kicks and punches from every angle. When the fight went to the ground Jones was the one doing the damage against showing he was fully prepared. As the fight was winding down Jones began getting more creative and started throwing elbows from every angle and began bloodying the challenger. It wasn’t even close to the controversy of his last fight as Jon Jones won the fight via unanimous decision walking through the legendary Teixeira and continuing an 11 fight win streak. Not many expected Teixeira to take this fight but it wasn’t even close and for many that is just fine as the next fight is the one to watch. Jon Jones will now take on Alexander Gustafsson, reportedly at UFC 178 in Toronto where they faced off last time, in the rematch of the year. Jones and Gustafsson have been waiting for this rematch and they will get the shot as the Light Heavyweight title moves once more towards the fight that everyone wants.
The Jon Jones win was expected by most as the champion would defend his belt and move on while two other light heavyweights looked to catch the eye of matchmakers. They would face off in the second last fight of the night in hopes that their performance could impress enough people to start to enter the conversation for the title after Gustafsson got his shot. Phil Davis was the one fighter closer in the hunt as the #3 ranked fighter was looking to keep his run going. He would have some tie to wait to get his shot and would need to fend off other up and coming fighters to earn his spot. One of these up and comers was Anthony Johnson who would make his return to the UFC after two years sitting outside. Johnson was looking to make his return to the UFC a good one and begin a climb to the top of the rankings. To do this he would need to beat the #3 fighter in the division in the hopes that he could move up and start a run that could end in a championship fight. It was an important fight for both but for Johnson it was the chance to show that he truly does belong in the UFC. After years of struggling to cut weight to make it to the welterweight division Johnson would make the move to Light Heavyweight and begin fighting at a more natural weight. He would hope that the change would make him a different fighter and would earn him the respect he lost by missing weight multiple times in the UFC. He would do just that as he would end any hopes of Phil Davis getting the fight to the ground. Davis was clearly looking to use his wrestling ability against the hard-hitting Johnson. Johnson would stuff the takedown attempts and would show why Davis did not want the fight to stay standing. Johnson would begin to unleash massive strikes and would start to take over the fight. Davis would not go away easily though as he continued to throw his own strikes and try to take the fight to the ground. In the end it was Johnson that would earn the win with a fairly convincing performance against a top ranked opponent. For Davis the loss will drop him out of the top of the division but he has a chance to make his way back if he can shake off the loss. The win for Johnson was huge as he beat a top three fighter and is sure to be vaulted up the rankings although he needs more than just this fight to get to that title fight.
Fight Bonuses
Performance of the Night
The undercard would become the most impressive section of the fight and Chris Beal would lead the way as he would earn a massive flying knee KO to start the night of fights and earn a $50,000 bonus
Performance of the Night
Following the theme of the undercard fight Joseph Benavidez would take his own bonus check after beating Tim Elliott at the end of the undercard with a Guillotine Choke that ended the fight in the first round
Fight of the Night
Completing the sweep of the undercard fights would be Takanori Gomi and Isaac Vallie-Flagg as they would pick up a bonus for Fight of the Night after their three round slugfest that would see Gomi come out on top with a Unanimous Decision
Fight Results
Main Event:
Jon “Bones” Jones def. Glover Teixeira
(Unanimous Decision)
Main Card:
Anthony “Rumble” Johnson def. Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis
(Unanimous Decision)
Luke Rockhold def. Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch
(Submission; Kimura, Rd. 1)
Jim Miller def. Yancy “The Kid” Medeiros
(Submission; Guillotine Choke, Rd. 1)
Max “Blessed” Holloway def. Andre “Touchy” Fili
(Submission; Guillotine Choke, Rd. 3)
Undercard:
Joseph “The Beefcake” Benavidez def. Tim Elliott
(Submission; Guillotine Choke, Rd. 1)
“The Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi def. Isaac Vallie-Flagg
(Unanimous Decision)
Bethe “Pitbull” Correia def. Jessamyn “The Gun” Duke
(Unanimous Decision)
Danny “Last Call” Castillo def. Charlie “The Spaniard” Brenneman
(TKO; Rd. 2)
“The Real Deal” Chris Beal def. Patrick Williams
(KO; Rd. 2)
Upcoming Events
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Cincinnati, Ohio (U.S. Bank Arena)
Main Event: Matt “The Immortal” Brown vs. Erick Silva
Notable: Costas Philippou vs. Lorenz “The Monsoon” Larkin
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Las Vegas, Nevada (MGM Grand Garden Arena)
Main Event: Renan “The Baron” Barão vs. TJ Dillashaw [Bantamweight title]
Notable: Daniel “DC” Cormier vs. Dan “Hendo” Henderson
Notable: “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler vs. Jake “The Juggernaut” Ellenberger
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Berlin, Germany (O2 World)
Main Event: Mark “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” Munoz vs. Gegard Mousasi
Notable: Francis “Limitless” Carmont vs. CB “The Doberman” Dolloway
Notable: Luke “The Bigslow” Barnatt vs. Sean “Tarzan” Strickland
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