Alexander Gustafsson's height and reach was supposed to bring him greatness. Jon Jones's freakishly athletic ability and natural talent was supposed to make him the greatest champion the sport has ever seen. The two met tonight (Sat., Sept. 21, 2013) at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in the main event of UFC 165 with the light heavyweight title -- and for "Bones" a couple records -- on the line.
Jones opened the first round with that trademark knee chop kick that so many fighters despise for how dangerous it is for their limbs. "The Mauler" didn't seem to mind, as he fired back immediately.
"Bones" had a game plan, though, and that seemed to be to maintain distance with push kicks and outside punches. Although Gustafsson is as tall as the champion, he is at a reach disadvantage.
No matter, he found some success with a right hand down the pipe that excited color commentator Joe Rogan. He was finding some openings, enough so that Jones started backing out instead of exchanging.
Then, the exotic offense.
That means spinning back kicks and what not.Gustafsson weathered that storm and continued coming over the top and picking his spots. He even broke out a few interesting strikes, like a spinning kick of his own.
With roughly one minute left in the round, the Swede earned a takedown. He didn't do anything with it, but he definitely scored some points. Jones tried to even the score with a takedown of his own before the round was out, but he didn't get there.
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.
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