Jon Jones (25-1) is still the UFC light heavyweight champion after an SD win over Thiago Santos (21-7) in UFC 239’s main event.
The fight was awesome from a tactical POV, but the pair failed to live up to the hype surrounding the fight. Both guys were very cautious and nobody took extreme risks, with Santos delivering and landing more low kicks, while the champ was waiting the majority of the time, doing good work traping Santos and escaping his punch combos.
Unfortunately, Santos injured his knee in the opening rounds and his movement suffered big time, giving “Bones” the leadership of the fight. The one thing that was probably working the most for the American was his jab, which Santos was eating most of the time without any problems or consequences.
In the end, the judges scored the fight (47-48, 48-47, 48-47) in favor of Jones who makes his second consecutive title defense since he captured the belt at UFC 232 in December.
Unable to walk on his own, Jon Jones has to be helped to the back after barely retaining his title against Thiago Santos #UFC239 pic.twitter.com/7HLR10WvUg
— Andreas Hale (@AndreasHale) July 7, 2019
Right behind Jones is Thiago Santos needing to be helped out after barely losing to the best mixed martial artist in the world. pic.twitter.com/3nEyeIYyby
— Andreas Hale (@AndreasHale) July 7, 2019