UFC 182 Post-Mortem: King Among Kings

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You may not like Jon Jones, but he has certainly done enough to earn your respect.

After defeating the previously unbeaten Daniel Cormier in the UFC 182 main event on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Jones continued his ride as the longest-reigning light heavyweight champion in Ultimate Fighting Championship history. The five-round decision earned him his record eighth consecutive title defense and 12th straight win overall.

“‘DC,’ all the haters, all the crap he talked -- he motivated me. I took him down, what, five takedowns to zero?” Jones said afterwards. “Sorry I’m being classless right now. I don’t like ‘DC,’ and that’s why I’m being this way.”

Less than two hours before cage announcer Bruce Buffer was screaming, “The winner, and still …,” Jones was actually spotted inside the arena taking pictures and signing autographs with fans. This was an unusual sight, to say the least, considering what was at stake for the champion.

“I was cold [backstage] for some reason. I couldn’t get going,” Jones said, “so I went out to the arena, and I drew energy from the fans. [When] I went back into my locker room, I felt so much better. I was like, ‘Yeah, this is my arena.’”

Cormier had turned into something of a cult hero in the weeks leading up to the fight. His best quote of the weekend may have actually come at the weigh-ins, where he noted fans were not cheering for him because they liked him but because they hated Jones so much. After the fight, it was a different story, as Cormier’s clever quips and taunts were replaced by tear-filled eyes.

“I can’t say enough about his grit and determination,” Cormier said at the post-fight press conference. “I’ve had to rebuild myself numerous times, like people can’t even imagine; and this is no different. This is not going to ruin me, one way or the other. I’m going to stand across the cage from that man again, and I will believe, just as I did tonight, that I’ll take the fight to him.”

Like usual, most people saw the scorecards through their own eyes. Round one was close, yet, despite Cormier moving forward most of the round, Jones did more damage and earned the round win on most scorecards. Round two clearly went to Cormier, who also earned the next frame in the minds of some. Round four went to Jones, leaving a final frame for the championship. A big slam at the end by Cormier would have usually been enough to steal the round, but Jones controlled most of the grappling exchanges -- on the feet and on the ground -- for the first four minutes of the stanza, likely salting away the victory.

UFC President Dana White did not appreciate all the late grappling -- he blamed referee Herb Dean for not forcing the action in the final round. Jones did not exactly apologize for his tactics, saying he was there to win the fight, not to make fans ooh and ah with spectacular moves.

“I’m excited to see what this [win] does to me. My plan is to be the greatest fighter of all-time. It is so feasible, so attainable,” Jones said. “I do believe 2015 will be the year I solidify that.”

AN UNHAPPY ‘COWBOY’

Donald Cerrone never seems to worry too much about when or if he gets a title shot. Sure, he would gladly take one, and, in fact, he believes he has earned one. However, the only motivator that ever seems to be on his mind after securing another win is getting the next fight.

Before he turns the page to what could be a championship fight in late 2015, Cerrone wanted to get some things off his chest after he chopped down Miles Jury over three rounds in the co-main event.

“What the hell was that? That wasn’t a fight! What a joke, man,” Cerrone said after recording his sixth consecutive win inside the Octagon. “This kid talked a lot of trash about how he was going to come in here and do this and that to ‘Cowboy.’ He said he was going to push me for 15 minutes, and all he ended up doing was run.”

Clearly down two rounds to none on the judges’ scorecards entering the third round, Jury spent most of the final frame doing the exact opposite of what he needed to do to win. He was constantly moving backwards, separating from the action and not pursuing the knockout or submission he needed. In the final minute of the fight, Cerrone made him pay with repeatedly vicious leg kicks while Jury lay on his back.

“Those leg kicks at the end were out of sheer frustration,” Cerrone said. “I come here to fight hard for the fans every time and put on an exciting show, win, lose or draw. Jury clearly had no intentions to fight tonight, and that’s not what it’s about.”

Meanwhile, White believes the bout was likely over in the first round, where Cerrone nearly pulled off two different submissions.

“I thought Cerrone looked great in that fight,” White said. “Jury has a style [where] he’s always moving. Jury is really talented, but I think he got into the jiu-jitsu in the first round, and it rattled him.”

MISCELLANEOUS DEBRIS

Following back-to-back losses to Yoel Romero and Tim Boetsch, Hawaiian middleweight Brad Tavares returned to the win column with a unanimous decision victory over former Strikeforce and Pancrase champion Nate Marquardt. “Every fight is a must win situation,” Tavares said. “It’s nice to have the pressure off my back and come out with the win, but I’m not very happy with how it went. I’m just happy I was able to come compete for the fans on a big card like this over New Year’s.” The unhappiness largely came from the fact that Marquardt had difficulty engaging. He had no answers for Tavares, who battered his legs with kicks and routinely beat him to the punch.

Some questioned the company’s decision to bring back Marquardt in 2014, and with losses in three of his last four fights, one has to wonder if we will see him inside the Octagon again ... Equally displeased with what took place in his own fight, welterweight contender Hector Lombard did not hold back when asked about his decision win over Josh Burkman. “He was running; he’s an awkward guy to fight. All he wanted to do was run,” the former Bellator MMA champion said. “[Burkman] came to survive; he didn’t come to fight. Next, I’m going to fight whoever gets me to the title. If that means I’d have to fight [American Top Team stablemate] Robbie Lawler, that’s something we’d have to discuss with our coaches” … Cody Garbrandt made an impressive UFC debut, earning a third-round technical knockout over Marcus Brimage with just seconds remaining in their bout. “It was good to go the distance. I wanted to test my cardio,” the Team Alpha Male prospect said. “To get taken down and keep that pace for that long was a great test for me. Hats off to Marcus; he’s a really tough guy, and I know he can take a good punch because everyone else I’ve hit like that has gotten knocked out” … While the “Fight of the Night” bonus went to headliners Jones and Cormier, the other two $50,000 “Performance of the Night” awards went to undercard fighters Paul Felder and Shawn Jordan. The latter likely was given his bonus for an impressive first-round knockout over Jared Cannonier. However, off the sheer strength of his post-win backflip, Jordan should have locked up the cash anyway. That was quite an impressive feat, especially for a man with bigger thighs than Pat Barry. “Knockouts are the heavyweight curse,” Jordan said. “Lately, I’ve either knocked someone out or been on the receiving end. I live and die by it. I would really like to fight someone who’s ranked higher than me next.” Felder, known as “The Irish Dragon,” improved to a perfect 10-0 when he used a wicked spinning backfist to knock out Danny Castillo, ala Shonie Carter on Matt Serra at UFC 31. This marked only the third time in UFC history the technique was used to successfully finish a fight. “I feel unreal right now,” Felder said. “I’ll take any fight the UFC gives me. I’m here to stay.”

ETC.

UFC 182 “Jones vs. Cormier” drew an announced attendance of 11,575 for a $3.7 million live gate … With 154 minutes and 56 seconds of total fight time, it stands behind UFC 136 as the second-longest UFC event on record … Earlier in the weekend, White estimated UFC 182 would likely do in the neighborhood of about 750,000 pay-per-view buys. However, at the post-fight press conference, he updated that prediction by claiming early reports indicated a trend towards figures well above that mark.