Jon Jones just defended his UFC 205-pound title by a thin margin over Thiago Santos in the main event of last night’s (Sat., July 6, 2019) UFC 239 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Jones was able to emerge victorious by scores of 47-48, 48-47, and 48-47 from the cageside judges. The win put him in sole possession of the most title fight victories in UFC history with 13. But it did not come without great cost. Santos, despite fighting on what looked like a serious knee injury, peppered Jones’ own left leg with a series of damaging leg kicks. “Bones” was even escorted out of the cage by his cornermen while Santos somehow walked out under his own control.
Ultimately it came down to a small margin of strikes. Jones out-landed the Brazilian contender in leg and body strikes. Santos maintained the edge in head strikes. “Bones” did control the pace of the fight, continuously stalking Santos. Curiously, there were no takedown attempts outside an early one that was defended from the champion. Either way, it was one of the closest, most hard-fought bouts for Jones in years, most likely the toughest since his first fight with Alexander Gustafsson.
What did you think of the judges’ call? check out the official scorecard right here and let us know!
