Jon Jones survives contentious decision over Reyes to surpass GSP for most UFC title wins
Jon Jones continued his reign in the light heavyweight division, narrowly edging out the previously undefeated Dominick Reyes by way of unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 247 on Saturday in Houston.
Judges scored the bout 49-46, 48-47 and 48-7, giving Jones (26-1, 1 NC) his 11th UFC title defence, and his third since recapturing the title in December of 2018 with a win over Alexander Gustafsson in the pair’s UFC 232 rematch. Jones has twice been stripped of the belt since 2015, regaining it both times.
Jon Jones’ victory over Dominick Reyes tonight further cements his UFC legacy:<br><br>14 title fight wins, most in UFC history. <br><br>11 title defenses, tied with Demetrious Johnson for most in UFC history.<br><br>20 victories in a single division, 1st fighter in UFC history to accomplish this. <a href=»https://t.co/WKFtvMTc0M»>pic.twitter.com/WKFtvMTc0M</a>
—@ESPNStatsInfo
It was a valiant effort from Reyes (12-1), whose remarkable athleticism, explosiveness and lateral movement were on display over the course of five rounds. Even as his stunning pace predictably slowed in the third, fourth and fifth rounds, many — including 11 of 15 MMA media members scoring the fight via MMADecisions.com — scored the fight 48-47 for Reyes. The fight was incredibly contentious, likely coming down to the third round.
Reyes came out aggressively and didn’t take his foot off of the pedal over the course of the fight. Following a kick-heavy game plan, he flustered Jones in the opening frame and continued to give him fits by denying his takedown entries, landing powerful punches and kicks and moving laterally to deter Jones’ offence.
Over the course of the fight, however, Jones was able to adjust to Reyes’ relentless attack, landing punches with veteran savvy.
In the co-main event, UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko (19-3) of Kyrgyzstan soundly defeated challenger Katlyn Chookagian (13-3) by third-round technical knockout. The referee stepped in after Shevchenko locked down Chookagian in a crucifix position and began raining punches to cap off three rounds of pure dominance.
Since dropping down to 125 pounds at the inception of the women’s flyweight division, Shevchenko has been untouchable. The sterling performance marked Shevchenko’s third defence of her title and once again solidified her status as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
Earlier in the night, Houston’s own Derrick Lewis (23-7) closed out a unanimous decision over newly-minted heavyweight Ilir Latifi (14-8) of Sweden, who appeared far heavier and stronger after weighing in forty pounds over the previous light heavyweight limit under which he had fought.
Dan Ige (13-2) edged out Mirsad Bektic (13-3) of Bosnia-Herzegovina in a clash of top-20 featherweights. With the win, Ige is likely poised to enter the official rankings.
Australia’s Justin Tafa (4-1) rebounded nicely from a hellacious knockout loss to Yorgan de Castro last October with a thunderous knockout of Houston’s Juan Adams (5-3), who now finds himself on the wrong end of a three-fight losing streak since emerging as a heavyweight prospect following his wins on the Contender Series and in his subsequent UFC debut.
