Jones defends light heavyweight title
By DAN GELSTON | AP Sports Writer
Jon Jones had the Baltimore, Md. crowd roaring when he broke out the “squirrel” dance made famous by Ray Lewis.
It was just the opening act of a dazzling performance.
“I hope I got the dance right,” Jones said.
He nailed it — then went out and punished Glover Teixeira.
Jones flawlessly mixed jabs and elbows in one of the greatest fights of his career, winning a unanimous decision over Teixeira on Saturday night at UFC 172, successfully defending his light heavyweight championship for the seventh straight time.
Jones (20-1) won 50-45 on all three scorecards and rolled to his 11th straight victory, the longest streak among active UFC fighters.
“I think it was the best performance of his career,” said UFC President Dana White. “I thought he never looked better than he did tonight.”
He opened his pre-fight walk with the dance Lewis made his signature move. The former Baltimore Ravens linebacker had a cage side seat and stood several times to root on Jones. Chandler and Arthur Jones, his NFL-playing brothers, also attended and sat near Lewis. Arthur Jones, who plays for the Colts, was a Super Bowl champion with Lewis and the Ravens.
Often booed, the fighter nicknamed “Bones” turned Baltimore into a home-cage advantage and showed Lewis that perhaps imitation was the sincerest form of battery.
“It was great to have the crowd on my side again,” he said. “I practiced that dance all day today. Ray was happy.”
Teixeira (22-3) ended a 20-bout winning streak that dates nine years.
“To beat a guy who hasn’t lost in 20 fights, I can’t complain about that performance,” Jones said.
Jones was warned twice about eye pokes in the first two rounds and was threatened to have a point deducted if he did it again. No need.
He battered and bloodied the challenger, opening a cut over Teixeira’s right eye, and sending his mouthpiece flying with a hard right. Jones took down Teixeira in the final seconds of the fourth and pounded away on his face before the horn sounded.
He was in complete control in his latest dominant performance, something he vowed to do after he took a pounding the last time out against Alexander Gustafsson. Jones, one of UFC’s biggest active pay-per-view draws, pinned Teixeira against the cage several times and wore him down with body shots.
White said Gustafsson and Jones would have a rematch next.
“I had to answer a lot of questions after my last fight,” Jones said. “Had I lost my mojo? I answered those tonight.”
