Las Vegas Sun

Currently: 70° | Complete forecast |

UFC 182 live blog: Jon Jones outwrestles Daniel Cormier to retain title

Donald Cerrone cruises to easy co-main event victory

UFC 182

L.E. Baskow

Light heavyweight title winner Jon Jones yells in celebration after beating Daniel Cormier in their UFC 182 fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015.

Updated Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015 | 10:17 p.m.

UFC 182

Fans cheer for their favorites as Light Heavyweight Title fighters Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier battle in their UFC182 fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Friday, January 2, 2014. Launch slideshow »

UFC 182 Weigh Ins at MGM Grand

Light heavyweight title fighter Jon Jones screams for the fans during the UFC 182 weigh-ins at the MGM Grand on Friday, Jan. 2, 2014. Launch slideshow »

UFC 182 Workouts

Donald Cerrone poses with fans during the open workout for UFC 182 Wednesday, December 31, 2014 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nev. Launch slideshow »

Jon Jones reached the pinnacle as the UFC’s best pound-for-pound fighter by beating opponents at their own game.

Most believed that was a strategy he should discontinue against Daniel Cormier, a former Olympian regarded as mixed martial arts’ best wrestler, Saturday night in the main event of UFC 182 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Not Jones.

The champion’s unwavering confidence, which detractors interpret as cockiness, had him believing he could outwrestle Cormier. And, ultimately, it enabled him to retain his light heavyweight title.

Jones defeated Cormier by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) in one of the UFC’s greatest grudge matches by taking the challenger down multiple times late in the fight.

“He’s only human,” Jones gasped as UFC President Dana White wrapped the championship belt around his waist in the octagon. “All the haters, all the crap he talked motivated me. My takedowns were 5-0. I’m sorry I’m being classless right now, but I don’t like D.C.”

The bout played out how Cormier wanted it. He effectively closed the distance in each of the first three rounds, getting into tight boxing exchanges with Jones.

But Cormier could never convert a takedown — not early at least. He broke through for a slam in the fifth, but it was too late. Jones controlled the rest of the round to secure the victory.

“I’m unbroken,” Jones said. “This team is unbroken.”

One of Jones’ teammates also prevailed in the co-main event. Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone continued his climb toward a title shot in the lightweight division with a sixth straight victory.

Cerrone outclassed previously undefeated Myles Jury by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Every fight on the main card went the distance.

Middleweight Brad Tavares, flyweight Kyoji Horiguchi and welterweight Hector Lombard picked up nods over Nate Marquardt, Louis Gaudinot and Josh Burkman, respectively, before Jones and Cerrone won.

The feud between Jones and Cormier began years ago when the young light heavyweight taunted the decorated Olympian with threats of taking him down. Cormier, just starting mixed martial arts at the time, took offense.

UFC 182 proved he probably shouldn’t have reacted that way. Jones was telling the truth.

Check below for live coverage of UFC 182, including preliminary results at the bottom of the page, and return to lasvegassun.com later for more.

Note: Full preliminary results available at the bottom of the page.

By now, the most famous words exchanged by Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier are implanted into the minds of everyone around mixed martial arts.

Cormier bellowing, “Jon Jones, no matter where you go boy, I’m coming,” after a fight. Jones threatening, “There’s nothing you can do to stop me, Daniel Cormier. Expect very malicious, violent things to happen.”

Those warnings, along with handful of others, have played nonstop on promotional spots for several months. They’ll cease now, though.

They’ll have no value in a couple of hours. By then, Jones and Cormier will have shared the octagon. The two best light heavyweights in the world will have found out who’s the better fighter.

Jones and Cormier headline UFC 182 tonight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in one of the most animosity-driven rivalries in the history of mixed martial arts. The pay-per-view starts in a matter of minutes, with just four fights separating the grudge match fans have waited to see for years.

Cormier is the toughest challenger yet for Jones, who holds the weight class’s record for seven straight title defenses. Jones has beaten a formidable group of contenders, but none of them was as accomplished in a single discipline as Cormier is in wrestling.

The two-time Olympian can take down anyone in the sport, and the rest of his game has come along just as dangerously while going 13-0. Jones has never really lost either, with the only defeat on his record a disqualification for illegal elbows against Matt Hamill in a fight he dominated.

He showed he was human a year and a half ago, however, in eking out a unanimous decision against Alexander Gustafsson in which he lost the first two rounds.

There might not be the hostility, but the first handful of fights on the main card have compelling angles too. Veteran welterweight Josh Burkman returns to the UFC in the opener for a tough matchup against fast-rising Hector Lombard.

Flyweights Louis Gaudinot and Kyoji Horiguchi follow before giving way to middleweights Brad Tavares and Nate Marquardt. Fan favorite Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone falls in the co-main event against undefeated prospect Myles Jury.

Cerrone took offense to some of Jury’s comments after a win over his teammate Diego Sanchez and asked for the fight. Cerrone is closing in on a title fight, and Jury could swipe the momentum with an upset.

Stay tuned to lasvegassun.com for a live blog of all the main card action, and look below for full results from the preliminaries.

Paul Felder announced that he might turn into a lightweight force in his second-ever UFC fight. Felder knocked out veteran Danny Castillo at 2:09 of the second round with a spinning back fist.

With Team Alpha Male teammates Urijah Faber and T.J. Dillashaw imploring him to "let it go" in the final seconds, Cody Garbrandt knocked out Marcus Brimage at 4:50 of the third round in a bantamweight bout. Garbrandt ended a strike-heavy bout with a combination that planted Brimage on the canvas.

Shawn Jordan knocked out Jared Cannonier at 2:57 of the first round in their heavyweight bout. Jordan clipped Cannonier with a right hand to the temple, then followed up with ground-and-pound strikes.

Rodrigo Damm took some unnecessary shots in the third round of a lightweight bout when he started hitting himself in an attempt to draw Evan Dunham into a brawl. Dunham had already hit Damm plenty, cruising to a unanimous-decision win that included nods in every round on every judges' scorecard.

Omari Akhmedov defeated Mats Nilsson by unanimous decision in a a welterweight bout, winning two out of three rounds on all three judges' scorecards. Nilsson out-grappled Akhmedov in the final minute, but it was far too late.

The first fight of 2015 was an upset. Women's bantamweight newcomer Marion Reneau obliterated Alexis Dufresne, winning via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-25) in a fight spent entirely on the feet where Reneau bloodied Dufresne's face within the opening three minutes.

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy