Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned to Toronto, Canada with UFC 165 live from the Air Canada Centre on Saturday night (Sept. 21, 2013). The event was headlined by Jon Jones successfully defending his UFC Light Heavyweight title against Alexander Gustafsson.
For five rounds, the two fighters stood toe to toe and traded punches and kicks and by the sound of the final bell, they had left everything they had inside the Octagon. Without question, it was one of the best UFC fights of all time and arguably the best fight ever in mixed martial arts (MMA) history.
The fight saw back and forth action with both fighters severely damaging their opponent. Jones' right eye was sliced open from a punch early own in the first round, while Gustafsson's skull was cut in the fourth by a spinning back elbow. Both men elevated their standing in the sport and this bout will go down as the stuff of legend.
Jon Jones was able to secure the victory by Unanimous Decision. Two judges scored the bout 48-47 while the third scored it 49-46. It was obviously a close fight, so there really isn't any controversy. Either fighter could have been the victor. But for argument's sake and to better understand the 49-46 card, I was interested in finding out the round by round breakdown.
Thanks to the folks at MMA Fighting, who were in attendance live, MMA Mania has acquired the score cards for the main event. You can check out the PDF here. Usually they provide each judge's scores for every round. The Ontario Athletic Commission apparently just provides the tallied scores.
Thanks a lot Ontario. You're absolutely worthless.
For more on "Jones vs. Gustafsson" click here, and for complete UFC 165 results and blow-by-blow coverage of all the night's action click here.