UFC 135 Recap: Jones Taps ‘Rampage’, Kos Flattens Hughes

Jones makes it look easy, taps “Rampage”

Jon Jones dismantled every opponent he faced on his climb to the UFC heavyweight championship. His first title defense proved no different.

Facing a Quinton Jackson that looked like the “Rampage” of yesteryear, Jones not only successfully defended his crown, he made it look easy. In a surprising finish, “Bones” used a rear naked choke to become the first man to finish Jackson in the UFC.

From the opening bell, it was clear that the elder Jackson had his hands full with the young lion. Jones tied up Jackson early against the cage in a relatively uneventful opening round highlighted by a flashy round house from Jones that didn’t connect followed by Jackson swinging at the air.

With a more controlled—yet still unpredictable—striking attack, Jones opened up with a series of kicks in the second frame. Whenever Jackson moved in, Jones let loose with a leg kick. In trademark Jones showmanship, the champ pulled guard and attempted a triangle as time expired in the round.

Up two rounds, Jones scored an easy takedown in the third. Looking to end the fight from the top, he cut Jackson with an elbow before the challenger powered out of the disadvantaged position. Once standing, Jackson still had no answers and was reduced to a leg kick here or there. Even with Jones seemingly off balance, there was no “Rampage” in Jackson.

Jackson made an early fatal flaw in the fourth. Giving up his back against the cage, Jones wasted no time going for the rear naked choke. With the hold firmly in places, Jackson held off as long as he could before tapping. Official time of the stoppage was 1:14.

A disappointed Jackson had nothing but kind words as a proverbial passing of the torch was done in the Octagon. “I’m telling you the kid is here to stay. The next guy to fight him… I don’t know. He beat the best Rampage ever.”

Jones faces arch rival “Suga” Rashad Evans next.

Koscheck throttles Hughes

When Matt Hughes woke up from his knockout nap, he found himself staring into a mirror of the past. A younger, faster version of himself in Josh Koscheck earned a knockout victory at 4:59 in the opening round of the evening’s co-main event. Hughes came out strong, landing some jabs, reminiscent of Kos’ loss to current champion Georges St-Pierre. The hall of famer got a little too loose after early success and got tagged with some uppercuts from the clinch. When Hughes hit the deck late in the round, the former Ultimate Fighter cast member followed. Koscheck blasted Hughes from the top position. As Hughes turned, Koscheck dropped some relentless bombs. Hughes went out just before the horn sounded. “I just want to say thanks to Matt Hughes for taking this fight late in his career,” Koscheck said. “He’s a legend and I’m really proud of him.” Questions about Hughes’ future swirled around after the bout. The former champ put all doubts of his retirement to rest. “I’m not retiring,” he said definitely. “I’m telling the UFC to put me on the shelf, we’ll see what happens after that.” The conclusion of the bout makes it hard to take Hughes seriously.

Hunt tops Rothwell in grueling decision

Put two heavyweights together at altitude and you’ve got the makings of an…interesting fight. Both Mark Hunt and Ben Rothwell gassed midway through the fight but managed to keep it unconventionally entertaining. Hunt recovered from a first round where he was taken down and nearly pounded out. The former K-1 fighter sputtered back in the second and third, tagging Rothwell with some big shots. With both fighters clearly out of gas with five minutes to go, Hunt took what little control he had left.  He took Rothwell down  at will and landed some shots from side control.

Browne tops Broughton in uneventful affair

Travis Browne is known for bringing the heat. He knocked out Stevan Struve and went the distance with Cheick Kongo. But there was little heat—or excitement—in his three round, unanimous decision win over Rob Broughton. Browne owned the standup, tagging Broughton with some hard right hands but failed to do any significant damage. A late third round kimura almost swung the fight in Broughton’s favor. Time ticked away with Browne on top. All three judges scored the contest 30-27.

Déjà vu as younger Diaz taps Gomi

Some fighters have an obvious Achilles heel. For Takanori Gomi, that heel is definitely the Diaz brothers. Gomi failed to avenge a 2007 loss to Nick Diaz, losing to the younger Nate Diaz by arm bar in the opening round. The former Pride champion was outclassed from the get go. Diaz picked the power puncher apart with precision punches. Early jabs appeared to take their toll. Diaz abandoned defense all together, dropping his hands to taunt Gomi. When the bout hit the ground, Gomi was truly a fish out of water. The Stockton fighter quickly wasted no time sinking in an arm triangle. A resilient Gomi battled back but found himself caught in the fight ending arm bar. Official time was 4:27.

The Undercard

Ultimate Fighter winner Tony Ferguson made it a perfect 2-0 in the UFC in a first round stoppage of Aaron Riley. The hard charging Ferguson battered Riley on the feet, breaking his jaw with a perfectly landed uppercut. A low blow from Riley only seemed to energize Ferguson more. After the low kick landed, Ferguson paused for a minute and then landed a straight right as if nothing happened. Riley walked over to his corner immediately after the round to alert them of the broken jaw prompting the stoppage.

Tim Boetsch is in beast mode in the middleweight division. “The Barbarian” extended his win streak in his new home to two, handing Nick Ring his first professional loss via unanimous decision. Boetsch put on an MMA clinic over the course of the fight, using effective striking and grappling to cruise to victory. He came close to finishing the fight in the second and third rounds, after attempting a kimura and securing the mount, respectively. The judges scored the bout 29-28 (twice) and 30-27

Junior Assuncao defeated Eddie Yagrin via unanimous decision. A dominant final round from Assuncao saw him escape an early Yagrin guillotine to roar back with punches from the dominant top position. Judges scored the bout 30-26 twice and 30-27.

Watching Takeya Mizugaki fight is like watching a machine at work. The Japanese sensation can take a punch and—as Cole Escovedo found out the hard way—give a good shot back as well. Escovedo was stopped with strikes at 4:30 in the second round of the bantamweight affair. Mizugaki rocked Escovedo with a big knee to set up the end. A powerful left hook sent Escovedo to the mat to signal the end.

James Te Huna needed just a handful of shots to dispose of Ricardo Romero at 47 seconds in the opening round. Romero went for an early takedown and the Australian was having none of it. Te Huna unleashed a counter left hook that sent Romero to the canvas. Another short, powerful shot later knocked Romero out cold. The extra shots were just icing on the cake as the referee dove in to halt the fight.