‘Bones’ is back; Jones tops Cormier for UFC title
New Mexico fighters go 1-1 in PPV main card
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Albuquerque’s Jon Jones reclaimed his UFC light heavyweight title Saturday night, stopping Daniel Cormier in the third round with a vicious head kick and a finish on the ground at UFC 214.
Jones (23-1) completed his rocky journey back to the top after a yearlong suspension with his 14th consecutive victory. He fended off a stiff challenge from Cormier (19-2), who held the belt for most of the past two years while Jones dealt with self-inflicted setbacks outside the cage.
Jones was one of two New Mexico fighters on the main, pay-per-view card of UFC 214. Jackson-Wink MMA teammate Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone lost a unanious welterweight decision (29-28 on each judge’s card) to former champion Robbie Lawler.
After 2½ rounds of even, highlevel striking, Jones landed a head kick that caught Cormier leaning in. The champion staggered backward and then around the cage with Jones in pursuit, and Jones finished the fight on the ground with a series of merciless strikes.
After a heated build up to the fight, which was a rematch of a fight Jones won in 2015,
Jones was gracious in a postfight interview. Cormier often pointed toward Jones’ numerous missteps in recent years, including his hit-and-run charge in Albuquerque, and said he was a steroid user and a “junkie” in pre-fight interviews.
“He has been a model champion, a model husband, a model father, teammate, leader, and I aspire to be more like that man,” Jones said in the octagon after the fight.
LESNAR NEXT? Jones had barely reclaimed his UFC title when he called out Brock Lesnar to be his next opponent. And Lesnar was listening.
Before leaving the octagon following postfight interviews, Jones reignited his growing rivalry with Lesnar, the former UFC heavyweight champion.
“Brock Lesnar, if you want to know what it feels like to get your ass kicked by a guy who weighs 40 pounds less than you, meet me in the octagon,” Jones said on the payper-view broadcast.
The Associated Press reached Lesnar shortly after he watched the championship fight and then heard Jones call him out.
“Be careful what you wish for, young man,” Lesnar replied.
A potential bout between Jones and Lesnar would be one of the biggest events in UFC history. Lesnar is an extraordinary pay-per-view draw as arguably one of the most popular fighters in UFC history, while Jones’ victory over Cormier likely returns him to the top of most pound-for-pound lists as the world’s best fighter.
Lesnar returned to MMA last year with a victory, but he is under contract to the WWE as a professional wrestler until next spring.
Jones and Lesnar traded verbal jabs earlier in the week. After Jones said he doubted Lesnar would ever accept a fight with him, Lesnar told the AP that he would meet Jones “anytime, anywhere.”
Lesnar is at least considering a return to the sport in which he won a UFC title in just his fourth professional fight.
Lesnar beat Mark Hunt at UFC 200 in a unanimous decision that was changed to a no-contest after Lesnar failed a doping test. He received a one-year suspension from the Nevada Athletic Commission, but could return to MMA after completing the ban.
CHINA BOUND: The UFC is headed to China for the first time.
The organization said Saturday it will stage its first event in China at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai on Nov. 25. The General Tire-sponsored event is titled UFC Fight Night Shanhai.