The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for UFC 182: “Jones vs Cormier.” The event was headlined by a long-awaited UFC Light Heavyweight Championship grudge match between Jon “Bones” Jones and Daniel “D.C.” Cormier.

Also on the card tonight, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone took on Myles “Fury” Jury in a lightweight contender’s bout. Brad Tavares squared off against former Strikeforce champion Nate “The Great” Marquardt in a featured middleweight fight. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.

 

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship

Jon “Bones” Jones vs Daniel “D.C.” Cormier

Round 1:
Jones attempted an axe kick early in the fight and followed with a head kick. Cormier countered with punches and Jones landed an uppercut. He caught a kick and took Cormier down, but Cormier quickly returned to his feet. Jones landed a jab and a standing elbow, but Cormier stuffed a takedown and the fighters returned to their feet. Jones threw a head kick and ate two uppercuts in return. Cormier threw more punches, but Jones backed him up with a left cross.

The fighters clinched and Cormier landed punches, but Jones countered with knees. Cormier landed a nice overhand right and Jones fired back with a knee to the body. He followed with a left hook to the liver and just missed with a spinning back kick. Another liver punch landed for Jones and he kept Cormier at bay with jabs. Jones landed a knee and Cormier snapped his head back with an uppercut. A one-two landed for Cormier and he punched until the bell. 10-9 Jones.

Round 2:
Both men landed kicks early in round two and Jones countered a takedown attempt with a guillotine choke. Cormier walked forward and landed a combination before clinching again. He tried for a guillotine of his own and Jones escaped. Cormier scored with a combination and a body kick, but Jones replied with elbows in the clinch.

Cormier stuffed a takedown and landed more uppercuts in close. He punched to the head and body and Jones continued to throw uppercuts. Cormier mixed in a hard knee to the body and Jones answered with a head kick. He landed two standing uppercuts, but Cormier fired off a barrage of punches. He blocked a head kick and landed uppercuts and a body kick. 10-9 Cormier.

Round 3:
The third round began with an exchange of body kicks and Cormier continued to press the action with uppercuts and right hooks in close. Jones backed away and landed a side kick to the neck. Time was called after Cormier was poked in the eye. Action resumed and Jones landed a big kick to the body. He tried for a takedown, but Cormier stuffed it and attempted a takedown of his own. Jones remained on his feet and landed an elbow before Cormier circled away.

An upward elbow strike landed for Jones and the fighters clinched again. Both men landed elbows and Cormier flurried with punches, but he could not get Jones down. Jones threw kicks and scored with a combination. Cormier targeted the body with punches and Jones landed more elbows. He followed with a big knee and Cormier answered with uppercuts. Jones attempted a flying knee and Cormier swarmed on him with punches. Jones tried to pull guard and Cormier punched from the top. Very close round. 10-9 Jones, barely.

Round 4:
Jones landed a head kick and took Cormier down in round four. Cormier stood against the cage and Jones dumped him to the mat again. Cormier got back to his feet and Jones landed punches and elbows on the way up. Cormier finally broke free from the clinch, but not before eating more elbows. He kicked at Jones’s leg and both men landed knees to the thighs in close. Jones threw Cormier to the mat just before the bell sounded. 10-9 Jones.

Round 5:
Cormier began round five with punches and a takedown attempt, but Jones remained on his feet. He held Cormier against the fence and punched to the body while Cormier replied with uppercuts. The crowd booed a lull in the action and Cormier reversed the clinch. He managed to trip Jones to a knee, but only for a second. Jones fought off a takedown with elbows to the head and body. Cormier elevated him into the air and slammed him down, but Jones immediately returned to his feet. He landed a spinning back elbow and the fighters traded punches that landed after the bell. 10-9 Jones.

Winner: Jon Jones by Unanimous Decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) after five rounds. He improves to 21-1-0 and remains the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.

 

Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone vs Myles “Fury” Jury

Round 1:
Jury caught a body kick and took Cerrone down right away, but Cerrone countered with an omoplata attempt from the bottom. He used it to sweep into top position in side control. Cerrone took Jury’s back and locked on a body triangle. He worked for a rear-naked choke and eventually got it, but Jury managed to pull Cerrone’s hands apart. Cerrone punched the sides of Jury’s head and spun into an armbar just before time expired. 10-9 Cerrone.

Round 2:
Fury struck from a distance in round two and the fighters exchanged punch-kick combos. Jury missed with a spinning backfist and Cerrone landed some nice kicks to the lead leg and body. Two body kicks scored for Jury and Cerrone replied with more in return. He landed a knee to the ribs and began to target Jury’s right leg with kicks. 10-9 Cerrone.

Round 3:
Jury missed with another spinning backfist in round three and Cerrone pressed forward with leg kicks and quick punches. Jury caught a kick and tried for a takedown, but Cerrone stuffed it and stayed on his feet. He staggered Jury with a head kick and Jury retreated in an effort to buy time to recover. Cerrone walked him down with punches and leg kicks and thwarted another takedown attempt. He punished Jury with more punches and Jury dove at Cerrone’s legs. Cerrone stuffed the takedown and easily threw Jury to the mat. He viciously kicked at Jury’s leg until the bell. 10-9 Cerrone.

Winner: Donald Cerrone by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 26-6-0, 1 NC.

 

Brad Tavares vs Nate “The Great” Marquardt

Round 1:
Marquardt landed a right hand and a knee in round one and Tavares answered with two right hooks. Marquardt kicked at his lead leg and Tavares responded with a hard leg kick of his own. He pressed forward with a combination and Marquardt circled out after landing a knee. He scored with a front kick to the face and Tavares countered with a right hook. He mixed things up with punches and leg kicks in the final minute. 10-9 Tavares.

Round 2:
Tavares landed a counter knee in round two and followed with kicks to Marquardt’s lead leg. More hard leg kicks scored for Tavares and he reversed a throw attempt from Marquardt. The fighters clnched against the cage and Marquardt tried for a takedown of his own. Tavares stayed on his feet and landed a series of elbows in close. He snapped Marquardt’s head back with a jab before the bell. 10-9 Tavares.

Round 3:
Marquardt clinched and landed a nice knee early in round three. The fighters clinched and the crowd booed the lack of action. Referee Yves Lavigne called for a break and Tavares landed an uppercut. He kicked at Marquardt’s damaged left leg and fought off a takedown attempt. Tavares picked his shots with counter hooks and avoided Marquardt’s attempts to clinch. A head kick landed for Tavares and he stunned Marquardt with a combination in the final 30 seconds. Tavares finished the round with a big knee to the body. 10-9 Tavares.

Winner: Brad Tavares by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 13-3-0.

 

Kyoji Horiguchi vs Louis “Goodnight” Gaudinot

Round 1:
Neither fighter committed to any sustained offence in round one until Horiguchi landed a leg kick and an uppercut two minutes in. He attempted a flying knee and Gaudinot countered with a leg kick. Both men landed punches in an exchange and Gaudinot countered a leg kick with a combination. He targeted Horiguchi’s ribs with kicks and Horiguchi fired back with a front kick. He landed a short right hook and held Gaudinot against the fence. Horiguchi tripped him, but Gaudinot stood before the bell and landed an elbow. 10-10.

Round 2:
Horiguchi jumped in with kicks and a combination that cut Gaudinot below the left eye in round two. Time was called after Gaudinot was kicked in the groin, but action resumed and he jumped into a flying arm-triangle choke. Horiguchi escaped and threw more kicks to the body. He landed a one-two and a head kick, but Gaudinot was unfazed. Big punches scored for Horiguchi and he countered a body kick with two more punches and another head kick. He caught a kick and knocked Gaudinot down, then finished the round with punches on the ground. 10-9 Horiguchi.

Round 3:
Gaudinot landed a hard right hand that knocked Horiguchi off-balance early in round three. Horiguchi regained his footing and he put together quick combinations of two and three punches at a time. A body kick landed for Horiguchi and he followed with another one. Horiguchi landed two right hands and Gaudinot responded with leg kicks, but Horiguchi backed him up with more punches. Horiguchi landed right hooks and ducked under Gaudinot’s counters. He fought off a flying guillotine choke attempt and Gaudinot fell after a missed spinning backfist. 10-9 Horiguchi.

Winner: Kyoji Horiguchi by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 15-1-0.

 

Hector “Showeather” Lombard vs Josh “The People’s Warrior” Burkman

Round 1:
Burkman opened round one with a right hand and the fighters traded short hooks in close. Lombard caught a kick and scored a brief takedown, but Burkman returned to his feet and tagged Lombard with two more right hooks. Lombard closed in and scored with lead right hands and chopping leg kicks. Burkman landed counter rights as Lombard moved forward, but Lombard landed a nice body kick. The fighters traded heavy punches and Lombard easily stuffed a takedown. Burkman punched to the body and Lombard kicked at his leg. Close round. 10-9 Burkman, barely.

Round 2:
Lombard countered a body kick with a looping right hook in the second round. The fighters exchanged huge power punches and both men appeared to be wobbled briefly. Burkman retreated and Lombard rushed forward with more punches. He stunned Burkman with two flurries, but Burkman stayed on his feet and threw back elbow strikes. Lombard began to bleed from the mouth and Burkman’s nose also leaked blood.

Lombard continued to press the action with punches as Burkman circled to the side and threw leg kicks. He attempted a spinning back kick and that set off another exchange of powerful hooks. Lombard landed left and right hooks that forced Buckman to retreat again. Burkman taunted and Lombard kicked at his lead leg and body. He finished the round with another combination against the cage. 10-9 Lombard.

Round 3:
The final round began with two takedowns from Lombard, who worked from the top in Burkman’s half-guard. He passed to side control and landed short left hands until Burkman scrambled back to his feet. Lombard rocked him with hooks and overhand punches, but Burkman recovered quickly and stayed up. He landed looping hooks of his own to the top of Lombard’s head. Left-right combos landed for Lombard and he continued to punish Burkman’s leg with kicks. Lombard blocked and ducked under most of Burkman’s punches and countered with hooks and one-twos until the bell. 10-9 Lombard.

Winner: Hector Lombard by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 35-4-1, 1 NC.

 

(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)