Jones was unfazed, stationed in the center of the Octagon, attacking with an assortment of kicks targeting multiple areas, finding his range and making reads. Gustafsson bounced around on the balls of his feet, closing the distance and connecting with various strikes, including a grazing right hand that opened a cut over the champion’s right eye. The opening five minutes made it clear that those in attendance (and the millions watching around the world) were in for something special. Ultimately, that is what happened, but the journey to that highly anticipated final tableau was much different than anyone anticipated. Gustafsson had done everything you could ask of a challenger at the time, entering the bout on a six-fight winning streak, capping his run with a dominant decision win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, the Brazilian icon Jones defeated to claim the title, but it wasn’t enough to convince fans that “The Mauler” could possibly be the man to unseat the reigning champ and burgeoning superstar.įor all the attention that was paid to the promotional trailer for the main event and the fight card as a whole, few people actually paid attention to the fact that from a sheer “tale of the tape” perspective, Gustafsson matched up extremely well with Jones, whose superior reach and ability to control distance had quickly become signature elements of his style.Īs good as the Swedish talent had looked over his previous six outings - and Gustafsson had looked very good - Jones was viewed as operating on a completely different level and most envisioned another one-sided affair that ended with Bruce Buffer bellowing the words, “And Still” as UFC President Dana White wrapped the light heavyweight title around the champion’s waist one more time. Jones-Gustafsson I Bout Inducted Into The UFC Hall Of Fame Jones had reached that point most dominant champions encounter at some point during their lengthy reign, having piled up five straight successful title defenses with minimal struggle that no matter how skilled, how talented, how deserving the next challenger appeared on paper, few were going to give him a chance. When the light heavyweight title fight between champion Jon Jones and challenger Alexander Gustafsson was first announced as the headliner for UFC 165, scheduled to take place on Septemat the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, the initial reaction from some fight fans was lukewarm at best.
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