UFC 145: "Jones vs Evans" Live Play-By-Play & ResultsThe Ultimate Fighting Championship travelled to Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia tonight for UFC 145: “Jones vs Evans.” The event was headlined by a long-awaited UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout between Jon “Bones” Jones and former training partner “Suga” Rashad Evans.

Also on the card, rising welterweight star Rory “Ares” MacDonald battled “Beautiful” Che Mills, while Brendan “The Hybrid” Schaub looked to get back into heavyweight title contention when he faced former IFL standout “Big” Ben Rothwell. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for UFC 145.

 

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship

Jon “Bones” Jones vs “Suga” Rashad Evans

Round 1:
Jones landed a left hook to the body early on, but slipped and backed away. He grazed the temple with a head kick and followed with a knee as Evans closed in. Three right hands scored for Evans, but Jones answered with back with a head kick. He landed a standing elbow to the jaw as Evans tried to clinch.

Evans began to land leg kicks and Jones used feints to keep his opponent guessing. Two quick body kicks landed for Jones and he followed with a left hook as Evans connected with a leg kick. Evans landed a direct head kick and Jones backed up. Jones tied up and landed two knees and a left hook at the bell. Close round. 10-9 Jones.

Round 2:
Evans clinched and landed knees to the body in round two. Jones went high with a knee of his own and backed away. He kicked at Evans’s lead leg and threw an overhand right. Both fighters landed kicks and Evans very briefly took Jones’s back after a missed spinning back kick. Jones circled out and Evans landed two right hands to the body. Jones landed an elbow and ate a counter leg kick.

Another standing elbow forced Evans to back up and Jones rocked him with more elbows. Evans clinched and Jones kneed him in the ribs. Jones landed more standing elbows and right hands in the final minute, but Evans snuck in a right hook counter and a body kick. Jones launched a flying knee and backed Evans up with a hard one-two at the bell. 10-9 Jones.

Round 3:
Evans landed his best punch of the fight, a right hook, that backed Jones up in round three. The pace became more measured until Jones landed a solid body kick. He jabbed and Evans landed a leg kick. A flying switch knee and a standing elbow wobbled Evans, but he recovered in time to catch a second flying knee from Jones.

Both fighters threw left hooks that landed simultaneously. Another hard body kick scored for Jones and he easily stuffed a half-hearted takedown attempt. Jones threw a front kick that came up short and Evans landed a counter right to the body. Jones missed with a head kick and a spinning back kick right after. 10-9 Jones.

Round 4:
Jones stuck to his jab in round four, which allowed him to evade an overhand right from Evans. A spinning elbow narrowly missed for Jones, but Evans remained on the defensive and appeared hesitant. Jones caught a leg kick and quickly countered with a right hook and an elbow. He mixed up his striking with a switch kick and more jabs as Evans circled back.

Evans slowed down even more and remained very tentative. Jones landed a leg kick and began hopping up and down. He stuffed a takedown with a power guillotine choke and landed a knee and a right hook as Evans retreated. More standing elbows scored for Jones, but he was unable to land any knees after securing a Thai clinch. Jones tried for a takedown in the final ten seconds. 10-9 Jones.

Round 5:
Jones faked a takedown and landed a front kick in the final round. He targeted the body with a left hook and Evans replied with a leg kick. Evans countered a Superman Punch with a right cross, but Jones tagged him with a big right hand of his own. A jumping elbow strike and a front kick to the face both found the mark for Jones and he remained the aggressor. Evans missed with a spinning backfist and was hit with a knee to the body.

The fighters clinched near the cage and Jones broke away. He landed leg kicks and an elbow while staying outside of Evans’s range. Evans clinched and Jones effortlessly tripped him to the mat. He landed punches from the top before Evans could get back to his feet. In a clinch, Jones landed knees and Evans tried to catch one. Jones backed away and jabbed. He pulled guard just before the bell and Evans closed out the fight with punches from the top. 10-9 Jones.

Winner: Jon Jones by Unanimous Decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46) after five rounds. He improves to 16-1-0 and remains the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.

 

Rory “Ares” MacDonald vs “Beautiful” Che Mills

Round 1:
Mills landed early leg kicks and fought through MacDonald’s jabs with a right hook. An uppercut stunned MacDonald, but he recovered quickly and took Mills down. MacDonald postured up with some big power punches that cut Mills and he moved to side control. MacDonald continued to punch from the top and moved to a top-side crucifix.

MacDonald trapped both of Mills’s arms and punched with his right hand. Mills scrambled, but MacDonald stayed on top in side control. He moved to mount and then took Mills’s back. MacDonald continued to throw punches as Mills rolled to his side to try to defend. More elbows scored for MacDonald as the round came to an end. 10-8 MacDonald.

Round 2:
MacDonald wasted little time in tripping Mills to the mat in round two. He opened a new cut above Mills’s eyebrow and passed to side control. MacDonald moved back to mount and then to back control. Mills kept his chin tucked, but MacDonald landed elbows and postured up. He rained down a barrage of punches and the fight was stopped.

Winner: Rory MacDonald by TKO (Punches) at 2:20 of round two. He improves to 13-1-0.

 

“Big” Ben Rothwell vs Brendan “The Hybrid” Schaub

Round 1:
Rothwell closed in with a right hook to the body early on, which set off an exchange of power punches. Both men landed and Rothwell followed with a knee in a clinch. Schaub hurt rothwell with a spinning back elbow strike, but he got overzealous as he rushed in to follow up. As Schaub threw punches, Rothwell floored him with a counter left hook and dove in with punches on the ground that left Schaub unconscious.

Winner: Ben Rothwell by KO (Punches) at 1:10 of round one. He improves to 32-8-0.

 

Michael “Mayday” McDonald vs Miguel Torres

Round 1:
McDonald flurried with punches early on and he backed Torres up with more punches 90 seconds into the fight. Torres established his jab and ducked under a head kick. A combination of punches knocked Torres’s mouthpiece out and time was called to replace it. After the restart, McDonald rocked Torres with punches and dropped him with a devastating uppercut. Torres was out before he hit the mat and McDonald landed a final salvo before the fight was stopped.

Winner: Michael McDonald by KO (Punches) at 3:18 of round one. He improves to 15-1-0.

 

Eddie “The Filipino Phenom” Yagin vs Mark “The Machine” Hominick

Round 1:
Jabs were exchanged and Yagin landed a hard right cross. Yagin continued to score with lead left hooks, but Hominick answered with two of his own. Hominick ate a leg kick and a left hand. He stuck to his jab as Yagin continued to throw powerful leg kicks and lead left hooks. An overhand right sent Hominick off-balance and Yagin dropped him with another big punch.

Yagin dove into Hominick’s guard and continued to blast him with punches. Hominick’s left eye began to swell up and bleed, but he managed to fight back to his feet. Hominick landed more jabs and Yagin threw more right hooks. Hominick began to target the body with punches, but Yagin remained effective with leg kicks and lead hooks. 10-9 Yagin.

Round 2:
Punches were exchanged early in the second stanza and Yagin resumed kicking at Hominick’s legs. Yagin countered a jab with a big right hand and he dropped Hominick with a second one. Powerful punches scored for Yagin on the ground and Hominick’s face continued to swell up. Hominick landed an elbow from the bottom and stood up.

Yagin jabbed and ate a right hook. He missed with a spinning backfist and Hominick began to find his range again. Both fighters landed hooks at the same time and Hominick bloodied Yagin’s nose. A left hook to the body landed for Hominick, but Yagin answered back with power punches. Hominick began to pick Yagin apart with jabs and body shots as the round came to a close. 10-9 Yagin.

Round 3:
Big punches landed for both fighters seconds into round three. Yagin’s face began to show damage as well, but he landed a one-two and a leg kick. Left hooks to the body and head backed Yagin up and he missed with a wild spinning back kick. Hominick cracked him with a right cross and followed up with more punches. Yagin landed yet another hard leg kick, but Hominick was unfazed and continued to jab.

Yagin attempted a spinning backfist that partially landed. A right hook briefly sent Hominick backwards, but he regained his footing and landed jab after jab. Hominick dislodged Yagin’s mouthpiece with a right hook and he backed him up with one of his best punching combinations of the fight. Hominick mixed up his punches to the head and body and Yagin’s face became completely covered in blood. 10-9 Hominick.

Winner: Eddie Yagin by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 16-5-1.

 

Mark Bocek vs John “The Natural” Alessio

Round 1:
Bocek clinched early in the fight and backed Alessio up to the cage. He tried to take Alessio down and managed to get to back control, but Alessio stayed on his feet. Bocek eventually got Alessio down and landed elbows from the top in half-guard. More elbows scored for Bocek and he looked to set up a Brabo Choke. Alessio tried to scramble up and Bocek took his back. He worked for a rear-naked choke and landed short punches before the bell. 10-9 Bocek.

Round 2:
Alessio landed a nice right cross in the opening minute of round two and he circled to avoid Bocek’s attempts to clinch. Bocek bullrushed Alessio into the cage and took him down. From the top in half-guard, Bocek landed punches and tried to move to mount. Alessio scrambled up and landed a left hook. He attempted a head kick and Bocek answered with two leg kicks. Alessio landed a nice combination, but Bocek tied him up near the cage again. 10-9 Bocek.

Round 3:
Alessio opened round three with a left hook and a leg kick, then snapped Bocek’s head back with another left hand. He threw a front kick, but Bocek caught it and dragged him down. He took Alessio’s back and secured a body triangle. Alessio defended against choke attempts and battled back to his feet, bloodying Bocek along the way. Bocek landed a jab and took Alessio back down. Alessio stood and defended against another takedown attempt throughout the final minute. He landed a combination before the bell. 10-9 Bocek.

Winner: Mark Bocek by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 11-4-0.

 

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

 

  1. Gah. I can’t believe I missed this card. Hope to watch it soon. Highly interested in seeing Jones vs Evans.

    Feel sorry for Schaub.

    Thanks for the recap, Rob!