The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado tonight for UFC 135: “Jones vs Rampage.” The card featured a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout between Jon “Bones” Jones and former undisputed UFC champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
In other action, recent title challenger Josh Koscheck looked to get back on the winning track against former UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes, and Nate Diaz faced long-time PRIDE ace Takanori “Fireball Kid” Gomi. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for all fights on tonight’s UFC card.
UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
Jon “Bones” Jones vs Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
Round 1:
Jones started the fight in a football stance and Jackson jabbed. Jones clinched for a takedown and Jackson used a knee to defend. Jones backed Jackson up to the cage and threw knees, but Jackson reversed the clinch. Jones attempted a standing guillotine choke and Jackson freed himself. More knees scored for Jones and he tried for a trip takedown. The crowd grew restless and Jackson circled away. Jones landed a body kick and followed with more kicks.
A hard leg kick scored for Jones and Jackson clinched. Jones tried to trip him, but Jackson stayed up. Jackson blocked a head kick and another one soon after. Another solid leg kick scored for Jones and he used his reach advantage well. The fighters clinched and Jones landed knees to the legs. He broke out of the clinch with a spinning back elbow. Jackson landed a lunging left hook and blocked a head kick. Jackson threw winging punches late in the round, but Jones evaded. 10-9 Jones.
Round 2:
The second round began with more kicks from Jones and Jackson closed the distance with two punches. Jones countered with a knee and another spinning elbow. Jones threw kicks to Jackson’s knee and Jackson finally answered with a leg kick of his own. Jones landed a solid left cross that drew a reaction from Jackson. A lead left hook landed for Jackson and Jones circled away. Jones continued to mix up his strikes with kicks and Jackson struggled to land anything.
The fighters clinched briefly and Jones landed a kick to the body. Two more leg kicks scored for Jones and he stayed out of range of Jackson’s counterpunches. Jones jabbed and pushed Jackson backwards with a side kick to the ribs. Jackson connected with a lead left hook and Jones answered with two left hands. A clinch followed and both fighters landed short knees. Jones pulled guard with a triangle choke right before the round expired. 10-9 Jones.
Round 3:
Jones caught a kick in round three and briefly looked for a standing guillotine choke. Jackson escaped and began to mix up his strikes with more leg kicks and punches right after. Jones fired back with a leg kick of his own and took Jackson down. He moved to side control and then to mount. Jackson held on, but Jones postured up. He cut Jackson beside the right eye with an elbow, but Jackson scrambled up to his feet. Jones landed a body kick and a front kick.
Jackson began to get wild with his punches and Jones wisely kept his distance. A one-two and a kick to the knee scored for Jones and he evaded a counter flurry from Jackson. Jones fired off more kicks and Jackson landed a right hook. Jones landed a flying knee to the chest and a hard left cross seconds later. He dropped down for a takedown at the bell and elevated Jackson over his shoulders after the bell. 10-9 Jones.
Round 4:
Jones hurt Jackson with a left cross early in round four, but missed with a kick and the fighters clinched. He used a front choke to take Jackson down against the cage and landed a knee to the body. Jones took Jackson’s back and secured a rear-naked choke. Jackson tried to defend, but had nowhere to go and tapped out.
Winner: Jon Jones by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 1:14 of round four. He improves to 14-1-0 and remains the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.
Josh Koscheck vs Matt Hughes
Round 1:
Hughes jabbed throughout the opening minute and just missed with two right hooks. Koscheck came up short with an uppercut, but landed two hooks that staggered Hughes briefly. A nice left hook landed for Hughes and he followed with another one soon after. Koscheck threw a pair of right hands and missed with another uppercut. Hughes continued to score with jabs and landed a right cross as Koscheck’s right eye began to swell.
Koscheck landed a combination to the body and both fighters connected with uppercuts. Koscheck tried to take Hughes down, but Hughes defended and landed a knee. Hughes circled out and jabbed. He followed with two hooks that missed the mark and Koscheck landed a pair of uppercuts and a right hook. Hughes held on and threw punches of his own, but Koscheck continued to score with punches. Hughes fell and Koscheck unloaded with punches. He knocked Hughes out cold just as the round ended.
Winner: Josh Koscheck by KO (Punches) at 4:59 of round one. He improves to 16-5-0.
Mark “Super Samoan” Hunt vs “Big” Ben Rothwell
Round 1:
Hunt landed a one-two early in the fight and Rothwell fired back with a right hook. Rothwell began to jab and he tried to set up a takedown. Hunt scored with a counter left hook and another one soon after. Hunt landed a right hand, but Rothwell took him down against the cage and moved to mount. Hunt tried to scramble to his feet, but Rothwell kept him pinned against the cage.
Hunt escaped to his feet and Rothwell opened a cut on Hunt’s hairline on the way. Rothwell tried for another takedown, but Hunt stayed up and landed left and right hooks. He sprawled out of a takedown and wound up on top. Hunt moved to side control, but Rothwell stood and briefly took Hunt down. Rothwell began bleeding from near the right eye, but he got Hunt down a second time and scored with elbows. 10-9 Rothwell.
Round 2:
Hunt stuffed a takedown in round two and landed a right hook. Rothwell answered with an uppercut and Hunt threw a big leg kick. Two lead left hooks landed for Hunt and he sent Rothwell off-balance with a leg kick. Hunt threw a one-two and Rothwell clinched for a takedown. Hunt reversed and took Rothwell down, then moved to side control. Hunt landed some solid punches and hammerfists from the top and Rothwell tried to set up an armbar.
More powerful punches and elbows landed for Hunt as Rothwell held on. Hunt isolated Rothwell’s left arm and threw more punches before moving to side control again. Hunt scored with elbows and moved to knee-on-belly, but Rothwell scrambled. Hunt kept him down and landed uppercuts as Rothwell got to his knees. Hunt moved to mount and nearly secured an armbar as the round came to a close. 10-9 Hunt.
Round 3:
Rothwell barely made it off of his stool for the final round and Hunt took advantage of his exhausted opponent by teeing off with punches and a spinning elbow. Rothwell attempted a takedown, but wound up on the bottom. Hunt landed strikes until referee Adam Martinez stood the fighters up. A fatigued Rothwell tried to clinch, but Hunt shrugged him off and landed a right hand. Rothwell fell to his knees and Hunt threw punches from the back.
Hunt landed a big right hand and just missed with an uppercut after Rothwell stood up. Hunt took Rothwell down and peppered him with short punches. From side control, Hunt landed hammerfists and Rothwell tried to regain guard. The referee stood the fighters up in an awful decision and Hunt resumed punishing Rothwell with punches. He landed a head kick as well and tried to take Rothwell down. Rothwell tried for a guillotine choke and moved to mount before the bell. 10-9 Hunt.
Winner: Mark Hunt by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 7-7-0.
Travis “Hapa” Browne vs Rob “The Bear” Broughton
Round 1:
Browne landed a leg kick early on and just missed with a pair of right hooks. He clinched and the fighters traded knees to the body. Browne threw a knee and more kicks after the Broughton broke free of the clinch. Browne continued to throw kicks and he landed a right hook from an odd angle. A glancing front kick and a lead right hook landed for Browne and Broughton struggled to find his range.
Browne landed a leg kick and a left hook, but Broughton scored with a nice counter right. He clinched, but backed away within seconds. Broughton landed a leg kick and Browne fired back with a flurry of punches. He stunned Broughton briefly and rushed in with a wild flying knee that missed. Broughton escaped the clinch and landed a leg kick, but Browne took him down. He moved straight to mount and landed three elbows. 10-9 Browne.
Round 2:
An exchange of jabs opened round two and Browne landed a lead left hook. Broughton kicked at his legs and Browne threw a front kick to the face. He used feints to set up a leg kick and the fighters continued to circle as the crowd grew restless. Browne rushed forward with punches that backed Broughton up and he followed with knees in a clinch against the cage.
The fighters separated and Browne landed a right hand. He tried to throw Broughton to the mat, but Broughton stayed up. The crowd booed and Broughton broke out of the clinch. Browne scored with a hard leg kick, but seemed to slow down. Browne easily took Broughton down and moved to mount. He looked to set up a choke, then landed punches. 10-9 Browne.
Round 3:
The final round began slowly and both fighters threw single strikes only. Broughton landed a right hook and clinched. Browne pushed him away and took him down. A big right hand landed for Browne as he dove into side control. Browne used short punches to set up a move to mount and Broughton gave up his back.
Broughton scrambled to a knee, but Browne kept him down. He returned to mount and landed punches briefly, but Broughton defended well and prevented Browne from doing much of anything. Late in the round, Broughton attempted a Kimura from the bottom and nearly got it, but Browne powered out before the end of the lacklustre fight. 10-9 Browne.
Winner: Travis Browne by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 12-0-1.
Nate Diaz vs Takanori “Fireball Kid” Gomi
Round 1:
Diaz jabbed early on and kept Gomi at bay. He dropped Gomi to a knee with a one-two, but Gomi returned to his feet and threw a looping right hook. More jabs scored for Diaz and Gomi threw a right hook to the body. A counterpunch backed Gomi up, but he managed to land a one-two in a clinch. Gomi tried to land hard right hands, but Diaz bobbed and weaved. He snapped Gomi’s head back with jabs and one-twos.
Diaz avoided another bomb from Gomi and dropped him with a flurry against the cage. Gomi dropped down for a takedown and Diaz took his back. Gomi stood up and Diaz landed stiff jabs. Gomi tripped him and punched from the top, but Diaz worked first for an armbar and then a triangle choke. Gomi picked him up and slammed him down, but it only tightened the choke. Diaz then transitioned to an armbar and Gomi tapped out. Very impressive win for Diaz.
Winner: Nate Diaz by Submission (Armbar) at 4:27 of round one. He improves to 14-7-0.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)