MMA TLIAW: Bury Bones? Jon Jones stays at Light Heavyweight

[Hrvatskiwi]

Hi AHers,
I know sports alternate histories don't tend to gain a lot of attention on this site, and particularly a relatively niche sport like MMA (at least relative to association football, American football, basketball etc.) but its a passionate interest of mine and I thought it would be fun to do a short TLIAW on it. If anyone in here follows my Stars and Sickles TL and has followed me here, don't worry the 100th chapter special update is on its way sooner rather than later.

The basis of this TL is, as the title says, UFC Light Heavyweight (205 lbs) Champion Jon Jones stays at Light Heavyweight after his fight against Dominick Reyes at UFC 247. IOTL, Jon Jones won a controversial decision, with all three judges scoring the fight for Jones. Two of the judges (Joe Soliz and Chris Lee) scored the bout 48-47 (or in other words, three rounds to two) in favour of Jones, and one judge, Marco Rosales, scored the fight 49-46 Jones (four rounds to one). To put this in perspectives, the MMA Decisions website has recorded that out of 21 MMA media outlets, 14 scored the fight in favour of Reyes, and 7 scored it for Jones. Of fans who voted, 76% believed that Reyes won, and 21.4% believed that Jones won, the remaining 12.6% scoring the match a draw. The exact divergence will be established in the first update.

A note about this timeline: the bulk of the timeline will be focused on combat and fantasy matchups between different combatants, with some attention on other implications. The scope of this timeline will largely be limited to the Light Heavyweight division. Also a technical glossary will be attached to each post for techniques in order to explain them for people that are reading that are less familiar with the ins-and-outs of mixed martial arts. This glossary will be quite extensive in the first post, explaining even really simple techniques so that people unfamiliar with martial arts terminology can find it accessible, but this will be at the bottom of the post so as not to interrupt the narrative flow of the timeline. After each round of combat, scores will be written at the bottom, but keep in mind that in MMA events there is not open scoring: the fighters cannot be sure of what the scorecards say until the end of the fight.

Thanks in advance, all three of you that will probably read this (haha)!

 

[Hrvatskiwi]

March 7, 2020: The main event was UFC 248 was about to commence. The culmination of a night with three separate title fights: an all-time classic action fight between Women's Strawweight Champion Zhang Weili of China, who made her first title defense with a split decision victory against divisional legend Joanna Jędrzejczyk of Poland; followed by an incredibly underwhelming defense of the Middleweight title by superstar champion and striking savant Israel Adesanya against the age-defying Yoel Romero, considered one of the most feared men on the roster. The main event however was a bout between Jon Jones, who had loomed over the Light Heavyweight division since 2011, when he had become the youngest champion in UFC history at 23 years old, vanquishing the already legendary Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. Jones was not quite as successful at managing his life outside of the cage as he was with his opponents inside it; whilst his sole loss was a disqualification in a fight he was dominating against Matt Hamill, he was at this point on his second reign at Light Heavyweight. In 2015, he had been stripped of the title after a hit-and-run incident where he abandoned an injured pregnant woman at the scene two months after he defended his title against hated rival (and formerly undefeated) Daniel Cormier. Jones returned in April 2016 to the Octagon, where he would defeat Haitian-American Ovince Saint-Preux for the interim Light Heavyweight title. He would be stripped of this title after testing positive for banned substances clomiphene and letrozole. Once again largely escaping serious consequences for misconduct as a result of his obvious talent, Jones came back again in July 2017 where he rematched Daniel Cormier, who had become champion in Jones' absence and had yet to lose to another man. Cormier performed much better than in the first fight until being finished in round 3 as a result of a head kick and follow up punches. This win would be overturned to a no-contest, however, and the title would once again be stripped from Jones after he tested positive for a turinobol metabolite. Whilst Jones was suspended, Cormier would have his title returned and make one more Light Heavyweight defense against surging Kurdish-Swiss power puncher Volkan Oezdimir before leaving Light Heavyweight for Heavyweight, where he would shockingly KO Stipe Miocic, a Croatian-American boxer-wrestler from Ohio who held the record for most consecutive title defenses at Heavyweight. With Cormier at Heavyweight, a vacant Light Heavyweight title match was held between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson. The Swede Gustafsson had lost decisions to Jones in the latter's first title reign, and to Cormier, but had given both of these great champions their most gruelling five round fights. In his first fight with Gustafsson, despite eking a victory, Jon Jones had ended up in the hospital after the fight, where he was visited by the gentlemanly Gustafsson. The highly-anticipated rematch was nothing like their first meeting however. Jones dominated, and in round 3 he got Gustafsson to the ground and had pounded him unconscious with punches. After the Gustafsson rematch, Jones found himself in an odd situation for a veteran champion. Few of the remaining contenders excited the imagination of fans and pundits. His next defense, against Nebraskan Anthony Smith, was another close call. Jones landed an illegal knee in round 4, and his opponent saved him from disqualification by electing to continue fighting, thus living up to his moniker "Lionheart" (if he hadn't done so, Jones would have lost by disqualification). Despite having two points deducted, Jones had shown himself so thoroughly superior a fighter to Smith that he won a unanimous decision anyway. The next bout, against Brazilian wildman and former paratrooper Thiago "Marreta" (Portuguese: "Sledgehammer") Santos, was another oddity. Despite a catastrophic leg injury early in round 2, Santos had made it to the final bell, and Jones won a split decision victory, with one of the judges scoring the bout three round to two for Santos. Santos was a feared and hyperaggressive and acrobatic fighter, but his significant statural disadvantage (he was a former middleweight) against the 6'4 Jones (who held a freakish 84" reach) and lack of wrestling ability left fans and pundits confused as to why Jones didn't simply take him down and finish him on the ground.

Jon "Bones" Jones​

Jones sought to make the third defense of his second title reign. Opposite him was Mexican-American southpaw boxer Dominick "The Devastator" Reyes. They had been supposed to fight at UFC 247 in Houston, Texas, but Reyes had been afflicted with food poisoning the night before the fight [1]. The co-main event had taken Jones and Reyes' place, with Women's Flyweight Champion, Kyrgyzstan's Valentina Shevchenko defeating American Katlyn Chookagian by third round TKO. Reyes stood eye-to-eye with Jones at 6'4, but had a seven-inch reach disadvantage. Reyes held an undefeated record, but at only 12-0 had far less experience than the 25-1 (1NC) Jones. Jones was seen as an insurmountable step up for Reyes, whose last victory had come over former Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman, whose best days were behind him and had unsuccessfully tried his luck at 205 pounds. As such Jones entered the bout a -550 favourite with Vegas. As it turned out, Reyes shocked the world. An aggressive counterpunching approach from Reyes saw him nailing Jones with left crosses, head and body kicks and uppercuts to counter Jones' clinch entries. Jones spent several key moments in the fight literally running away from long combinations thrown by the challenger. Reyes put on an extremely strong showing in the first three rounds, but his lack of experience in five round fights began to show, as he slowed down in rounds 4 and 5. His formerly ironclad takedown defense began to show holes in the fourth and fifth rounds, but Jones couldn't keep him down. Nevertheless, when the final bell rang, both men raised their hands expecting victory, with Reyes noticeably more jubilant. A microphone picked up Jones asking his coaches who they thought won, showing a lack of confidence in the fight's result.

Announcer Bruce Buffer's voice rang out through the T-Mobile Arena. "Ladies and Gentlemen, after five rounds, we go to the judges scorecards for a decision. Judge Eric Colon scores this contest 48-47... Jones! Judge Sal d'Amato scores this contest 48-47... Reyes! And Junichiro Kamijo scores this contest 48-47 for the winner by split decision..."

The stadium held an eery silence as the audience waited with bated breath to see whether history had been made and Jon "Bones" Jones had finally been dethroned.

"AAAAAAAAND NEW! Undisputed UFC Light Heavyweight Champion of the world, Dominick "The Devastator" Reyes!"

Both applauses and boos rained down from the crowd. Overcome with emotion, Reyes fell to his knees with a grin broad across his face. Joe Rogan immediately began the post-fight interview with the new champion.

Dominick "The Devastator" Reyes​

"Dominick, you've made history today, at 13-0, you've dethroned arguably the greatest fighter to ever live, how does it feel!?"
"It feels amazing, unreal. I was sure I'd won, I took the first three rounds. He came on strong at the end but I did enough and I'm only going to get better."
"Champ, a lot of the time with long-time champions they get an immediate rematch, how do you feel about fighting Jon again?"
" 'Champ', I could get used to that haha. I mean I was confident before this one, I'm gonna be even more confident before the next. I want to spend some time with my family, but he has done so much in the sport, I'd happily fight him again. I knew going in that I would have to fight him twice if I got my hand raised, so thats it."
"Ladies and gentlemen, your new Light Heavyweight Champion, Dominick Reyes!"

Applause rang out through the stadium. Rogan walked over to the waiting Jones.

"Jon, we know this is your first real loss, the only other loss on your record is a disqualification... in a fight you were clearly winning, how do you feel about the decision tonight and where to from here?"
"Uhhh.... I thought I did enough Joe, towards the end I was definitely outpacing him, another round I would have finished him but fair play to Dominick he came in prepared and hungry and sometimes the judges just don't go your way. Can't wait for the rematch, he did better than I expected early but towards the end there I knew I had his number and I'm looking forward to taking my belt back in the rematch."
"Looking forward to seeing it. Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for one of the best to ever do it, Jon Jones!"

This was met with a more muted applause. The unthinkable had happened. "Bones" had been dethroned, not by one of the many legends he had faced, Gustafsson, Machida, Cormier, Shogun. He hadn't been caught with a lucky shot by the wild Santos, or a sneaky submission by BJJ blackbelt Anthony Smith. He had been outpointed by a relatively unknown Dominick Reyes, in the fight where he was supposed to match George St. Pierre's record for most title fight victories in UFC history (14). He had been considering going up to heavyweight, snatching a second belt, probably from Cormier. But now he had unfinished business home at 205 lbs.

===
[1] This is the POD. The fight between Jones and Reyes is held in Nevada instead of Texas, and has different judges.
===
Jargon Glossary:
Ground-and-pound: The practice of pinning an opponent to the ground and raining down strikes on them.
Unanimous/Split Decision: A unanimous decision is when all three judges decide that the same person won the fight. A split decision is when two judges score the fight for fighter A, and the other for fighter B. In these circumstances, fighter A is named the winner.
Finish: To either knockout the opponent or win by submission (with a chokehold, armlock or leglock).
Aggressive Counterpunching: Not as much of an oxymoron as it sounds. The fundamental idea is to put pressure on the opponent, forcing them to attack you in desperation, evading their attack and hitting them when they extend themselves and are therefore vulnerable.
Orthodox/Southpaw: Essentially right-handed and left-handed fighters. Whilst right-handed southpaws do exist, conventional wisdom says that when you stand in fighting stance, your non-dominant hand should be closer to your opponent than your dominant hand. Fighters usually hold a stand slightly turned, so as to make it harder for their opponent to hit vulnerable targets. Orthodox = left lead hand, right rear hand and southpaw is the opposite.
Crosses: A punch from the rear hand thrown with a straight trajectory (as opposed to a hook, which is thrown in an arc). More precise and less obvious than a hook, but with a good amount of power due to engagement of more of the body weight than a jab (lead hand straight punch).
Uppercuts: Punches thrown from lower than the target on an upward trajectory. Particularly devastating when opponents are hit under the chin with them due to the anatomical construction of the neck.
Head/Body Kicks: Given that kicks are, by definition, strikes thrown with the legs, the word that immediately precedes "kick/s" indicates the target.
Clinch: A position where both combatants are standing but are interlocked with their torsos and arms, allowing them to throw strikes, interrupt their opponents strikes, or transition to ground fighting. Who has the advantage in a clinch is dependent on the positions of various parts of their bodies, particularly their limbs, relative to each other.
Takedown: Any technique which results in successfully delivering the opponent to the mat/off their feet without striking them (trips, throws etc.). Takedown defense is therefore the ability to stymie these techniques when they are employed against a combatant.

 

[peeter]

Glad to see Reyes get the judge outcome he should have gotten in real life and not get robbed. Jon is the best of all time no doubt but as somebody who think’s he’s a POS glad to see him get taken down lol

 

[Hrvatskiwi]

Reyes' victory over Jones sent ripples through the MMA fan and pundit communities. The vast majority of fans (aside from the die-hard Jones idolisers) accepted that the correct man had won the UFC 248 main event. A constant topic of debate was "is Jon Jones in terminal decline?". The close win against Santos and the loss to Reyes was contrasted against the victory over Gustafsson and the narrative shifted to Jones as losing his edge. The most charitable fans claimed that Jones was simply "uninterested" in fighting the new generations, implying that keeping the prestige and title wasn't enough to motivate him (a view somewhat insulting to Jones' opponents). Some of the more perceptive analysts noted that there was by now lots of footage of Jones, and that the new generation of light heavyweights had been studying Jones' game since before they even got into the UFC.

The rematch between Reyes and Jones was set as the main event for UFC 255, on November 21st, 2020. Taking place during the COVID-19 global pandemic, UFC 255 was held in the smaller cage at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas. It featured three title fights on the main card. The first of these, a Women's Flyweight Championship bout between defending champion Valentina Shevchenko against Brazilian Jennifer Maia, went to the scorecards with a unanimous decision win for Shevchenko, although Maia had given her a run for her money, winning round 2 with superior wrestling. It speaks to Shevchenko's prior dominance in that division that her opponent winning a single round was considered shocking. The second title fight was for the Men's Flyweight title, with Brazilian champion Deiveson "Deus da Guerra" (Portuguese: God of War) Figueiredo, defeating Mexican-American Alex Perez in just under two minutes via guillotine choke. See below for a recap of the main event:

===
Round 1: A passive start for both opponents. Jones seems to have realised the danger of Reyes' pull-counter left hand and uncharacteristically sits back, waiting for Reyes to come to him. Reyes steps forward behind a jab but Jones evades. Jones begins to manipulate Reyes' guard in hand-fighting exchanges, rolling elbows over the top of Reyes' arms and catching the champion with several. Likely conserving his energy, Reyes is noticeably less aggressive than in their first match. Aside from the elbows, not much of note has landed for either side after two and a half minutes. Jones lands a couple of jabs and teeps, establishing an early numeric lead. With a minute to go, Reyes slips to the outside of a Jones jab and hits him with a beautiful uppercut followed by a left cross. Reyes follows Jones as he retreats from the pocket, landing a lead hook and a jab as Jones circles away. Jones lands a stomp to Reyes' right knee and then a kick to the same leg. Jones throws a jab which Reyes parries. The champion hits the challenger with a hard left cross to the body before the round ends. Greater volume for Jones, but Reyes seems to have got the harder shots off, particularly late in the round.

Judges scores: Chris Lee - 10-9 Jones; Michael Bell - 10-9 Reyes; Junichiro Kamijo - 10-9 Reyes

Round 2: Jones begins this round less passively, walking down Reyes, who circles to the outside foot position (his right). Jones effectively cuts him off, compelling Reyes to back himself towards the cage. Pocket exchanges start similarly to round 1, but Jones adjusts by more assertively taking the outside foot position. Reyes is still having some success, particularly with left crosses to Jones' body, but Jones largely nullifies single jabs from Reyes by parrying them and jarring Reyes' right knee with chasse kicks. Jones is having noticeably more success forcing his hand-fighting on Reyes as the latter has his back to the cage and is unable to simply pull back like he did in their first fight. Elbows roll over the top once again and Reyes is cut on his right cheek. Reyes lands a triple jab combo with starts the development of a small mouse under Jones' left eye before a teep kick from Jones shoves him back to the fence. Jones uses long left hands against both the body and head of Reyes. Reyes makes an effective adjustment, kicking Jones in the right leg twice near the end of the round, although he seems to abandon this technique moving forward.

Judges scores: Chris Lee - 10-9 Jones (20-18 Jones); Michael Bell - 10-9 Jones (19-19); Junichiro Kamijo - 10-9 Jones (19-19)

Round 3: A sloppy right hand thrown to the champion's body by Jones is immediately punished by a left cross, right jab, left cross combination from Reyes. An attempted high kick by an overzealous Reyes causes him to fall down on his backside, although he pops back up before Jones can capitalise. Jones attempts to initiate a clinch, but is shrugged off by Reyes. Jones utilises a new approach to entering boxing range, ducking and slipping his head to his right whilst throwing a long jab with his left. This technique is successful in pushing Reyes back, although the champion circles to prevent himself from getting stuck on the cage. Jones throws a wheel kick, which misses, but succeeds in its true intended purpose, to drive Reyes back towards the cage. Jones shoots in for a double leg takedown; Reyes braces against the cage and manages to keep his footing. Unable to take him down, Jones focuses on trying to wear out the champion. He grinds his forehead against Reyes jaw and digs short hooks to Reyes' ribs before reengaging in clinches. Reyes breaks free with a couple of seconds left in the round, and Jones pursues his opponent and lands a hard body kick as Reyes circles away.

Judges scores: Chris Lee - 10-9 Jones (30-27 Jones); Michael Bell - 10-9 Jones (29-28 Jones); Junichiro Kamijo - 10-9 Jones (29-28 Jones)

Round 4: Early round 4 begins with exchanges of leg and body kicks by both sides. Reyes steps in and is poked in the eye as Jones frames off of his face. Referee Herb Dean stops the action and after about 25 seconds, Reyes says that he is ready to continue fighting. Battle is resumed. Reyes is noticeably slowing, likely due to the clinch exchanges of the prior round. Jones continues to walk forward with jabs and kicks, putting on a steady but maintainable stream of offense against the defending champion. It seems as if the momentum has shifted decisively to the former champion's side, until all of a sudden Jones is blasted by a huge head kick by Reyes! He was doing the duck to the right-jab move he had employed in the last round and Reyes timed it perfectly! Jones' knees buckle but incredibly he's still conscious and cognizant! Reyes charges, like a shark smelling blood. Jones weaves under two wide hooks from the champion before eating a clean uppercut. Jones turns his back to Reyes and runs a full circle around the cage away from the visibly frustrated Reyes. The challenger attempts to retake the initiative with a long left hook, but is intercepted by a 1-2 by Reyes. Retreating behind a long guard, Jones once again frames against Reyes' face with splayed fingers, and his ring finger digs deep into the champion's eye. Dean halts the action once again, and Reyes is angrily complaining about Jones' foul. No point is deducted, however, and action resumes after only a few seconds and a warning by Dean to Jones to keep his fingers closed. Reyes pushes forward, landing a nice combination, beginning with a left cross to the body and following it up with a short right hook and another cross upstairs. Jones steps forward trying to hand-fight, but eats a double jab from Reyes, followed by a jab to the body and a cross to the head. A classic of a round!

Judges: Chris Lee - 10-9 Reyes (39-37 Jones); Michael Bell - 10-9 Reyes (38-38); Junichiro Kamijo - 10-9 Reyes (38-38)

Round 5: All things point to the final round as the decider of this contest. Will Reyes retain his title and make it 2-0 against the greatest of all time? Or will Jones take back the throne from the upstart Reyes? The cameras glance at each of the fighters. Jones looks a little uncomfortable and unusually apprehensive, but still calm. The head kick from the last time is one of the only times he has ever been seriously rocked, so this is a little unsurprisingly. Nevertheless, he maintains poise in the face of stiff resistance from Reyes. Reyes glares intensely across the cage at his opponent, but unlike Jones is breathing heavily out of his mouth. He looks much more tired, and a slick of hair damp with sweat sticks to the champion's forehead. The fifth and final round starts. Immediately Reyes fires off a headkick, with Jones evades by simply stepping back. Reyes steps forward and throws a notably slower kick to the body, which is caught by Jones. Jones "treetops" Reyes, lifting Reyes' leg high above his head and kicking out the champion's other leg, leaving Reyes tumbling to the mat. Reyes falls to his back but immediately turns to his hands and knees. As he stands, Jones steps forward and locks both hands around Reyes' waist. Reyes uses his athleticism to push forward, leaning his head against the cage and trying to break Jones' grasp with his own hands. Jones uses his left hook to off-balance Reyes by stabbing his heel into Reyes' left Achilles tendon, then uses the bodylock to simultaneously jerk Reyes to the left. With no leg under him, Reyes is unable to resist and is dragged down to the floor by Jones. Reyes powers back to his feet, but Jones maintains the bodylack and the exertion is clearly fatiguing Reyes. Jones drags him back to the canvas. Jones attempts to flatten Reyes out, but is unable to hook his legs around Reyes' in a manner that would allow him to do so. A puffing Reyes manages one more time to get to his feet and manages to break Jones' grasp this time, albeit with an audible grunt exposing his exhaustion. Sensing the champion's vulnerability, Jones amps up the pressure. The threat of a long left hook from Jones pushes Reyes to the fence, and Jones grabs the back of his head, establishing a Thai clinch. Jones slams Reyes' temples with a right and then a left elbow. The second also opens up a cut on Reyes' hairline. Jones is forced to abandon the clinch to avoid a gigantic uppercut which Reyes invested most of his remaining might into. Jones doesn't let off his opponent, driving a front kick into Reyes' gut and following it up with a few non-committal jabs. Reyes throws a lead hook, by now sluggish and telegraphed. Jones parries it and transitions to the back, dragging Reyes down to the mat once again. Jones lands two weak punches to the side of the head and the horn sounds for the end of the fight.

"Ladies and gentlemen, after five rounds, we go to the judges scorecards for a decision. The judges score this contest 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47 for your winner by unanimous decision.... AND NEW! Undisputed UFC Light Heavyweight Champion of the world, Jon "BONESSSSSSSS" Jonessss!" A muted applause sounds from the largely-empty UFC Apex.

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, interviews were done backstage in front of a screen. A split-screen perspective of Joe Rogan in one room and the fighters in another was broadcast to the world.

"Jon, first of all congratulations on winning back the title, I think all the fans are wondering, you and Dominick are one and one now, will there be a trilogy?"
"You know, I think its about time for a new challenge. Credit to Dom but you know last time was a bad day at the office and he barely got the decision, this time I think I left no doubt".

Cameras pan to Reyes, who glares at Jones and shakes his head. "I almost knocked your ass out tonight Jon, there's plenty of doubt" he yells out. "Who's bleeding Dominick?" the restored champion retorts. Offscreen, Reyes is escorted out of the room by security.

Rogan resumes the interview. "So who is next then Jon?"
"Well Joe, Corey Anderson was talking a lot of smack and got his mouth busted up by this Polish dude Jan Blachowicz. He did me a favour and shut him up so I might have to give him an opportunity" a smiling Jones replies.

===
Guillotine choke: Also known as a front naked choke, is a choke where the opponent's head is buried under your armpit and you utilise your forearm to apply upward pressure on the throat of the opponent.
Pull-counter: A type of counterpunch where you shift your weight back and then forward for more power.
Pocket: A term in MMA and boxing for the range where both fighters can be hit. Essentially within range for hooks.
Lead hook: A hook punch thrown with the lead hand (left hook in orthodox fighters, right hook in southpaws).
Parrying: Redirection of an incoming strike. Typically done by swatting with an open hand.
Chasse kick: A type of kick from French kickboxing-like martial art Savate. Popularised in MMA by Jon Jones during his early career. Done by balancing on one leg whilst stomping above the opponent's knee with the other leg. When done well, threatens to hyperextend the knee and is effective at stopping opponents' forward movement. Also known as an "oblique kick".
Mouse: A term borrowed for boxing for a small grey bruised swollen area around the eye.
Teep kick: A term borrowed from Muay Thai for a straight kick to the opponent's body.
Rocked: A term in striking sports for being dazed from your opponents strikes. Called as such because peoples' bodies often "rock" due to limited coordination as result of impact on the brain.
Framing: To use your arms as barriers to control your opponent's posture at distance.
1-2: A very common combination in boxing, a jab followed by a cross.
Long guard: A type of defence, often used by long armed fighters, where your arms are outstretched to interrupt your opponent and prevent them from closing distance on you, or to interrupt their offense, as the fists are closer to the target and therefore can be thrown very fast, albeit with less power.

 

[Kyle Robinson]

Of course Jon won using the finger poke. If John McCarthy had been refereeing the fight, Jones would have gotten a point taken away during round 4.

 

[Hrvatskiwi]

Of course Jon won using the finger poke. If John McCarthy had been refereeing the fight, Jones would have gotten a point taken away during round 4.

I mean its Herb so no chance of any actual punishment.

Big John seems to despise Jon so I wouldn't be shocked but he was long gone at UFC events by then.

I think Marc Goddard will be reffing Jon's next fight though.

Hope you're enjoying the TL so far regardless!

 

[Hrvatskiwi]

Despite regaining the title in the rematch with Dominick Reyes, Jones received a great deal of criticism after the dust settled post-UFC 255. Debate raged about Jones' durability. Whilst the head kick that Reyes landed in round 4 would have knocked out the vast majority of fighters on the planet, it was the first time that a knockout victory against Jones had seemed a real possibility. Critics of Jones also focused on the eye poke that halted action late in round 4, as well as Herb Dean's unwillingness to take a point despite two significant eye pokes in that single round. If Dean had taken a point, Reyes would have retained the title in a majority draw. Furthermore, despite his victory, Jones had experienced a tough fight against Reyes, and his reluctance to entertain the possibility of a third matchup against the southpaw was viewed by many as cowardice.

Nevertheless, a new legitimate contender had emerged. Jan Błachowicz had defeated Corey Anderson in a rematch at UFC Fight Night: Anderson vs Błachowicz 2 at Rio Rancho, New Mexico on February 15th 2020, knocking his American foe out in the first round and calling for a fight against either Reyes or Jones after the match. Jones, who was in attendance, had shown some interest but made it clear that he wanted to settle scores with Reyes first. Not wanting to remain inactive, Błachowicz took a fight against Anthony Smith at UFC 253: Adesanya vs Costa, defeating him in round 3 by TKO[2]. Smith had given Błachowicz some concern with an effective jab in round 1, but Błachowicz began to parry them and would bludgeon Smith with heavy counters with his fists and feet. The former European Muay Thai champion Błachowicz also nullified the threat of leg kicks from the lanky Smith, checking the kicks with his dense shinbones. Błachowicz began to take over the fight in the second round, and would knock down Smith with an uppercut before following up with hammerfists on the ground until referee Jason Herzog intervened and put an end to the contest. Although few had given Reyes a chance against Jones before their first fight, even less gave the older Błachowicz much faith; Reyes had been an undefeated young prospect, Błachowicz would be 37 and was considered a journeyman, having five UFC losses.

The match between Jones and Błachowicz was set as the main event at UFC 259 on March 6th, 2021. The main card also featured another Light Heavyweight matchup between Austrian Serb Aleksandar Rakić and Thiago Santos. This bout, which had seemingly promised violent action, in fact turned into a boring slog of a fight, Santos unable to effectively close distance due to lingering mobility issues from his fight with Jones and the tall Rakić unwilling to take risks at close range. Rakić won by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27). Russian lightweight title hopeful and close friend of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev, defeated American Drew Dober by submission. The rest of the main card was dedicated to title fights. The Men's Bantamweight title bout between incumbent champion, Russia's Petr Yan and Jamaican-American challenger Aljamain Sterling had a shocking result. Aljamain Sterling put intense pressure on Yan from the opening bell, but the latter was able to steal the first round with a late knockdown of the challenger. Yan gradually took over the fight, but when it looked like he was about to finish Sterling, an illegal knee resulted in Yan's disqualification, and he had the dubious honour of being the first UFC champion to lose his title by disqualification. Sterling also suffered reputational damage from the result, with many fans criticising him for "acting" in order to secure the DQ win. The co-main event was a Women's Bantamweight title bout between two-division champion, Brazil's Amanda Nunes, against Australia's Megan Anderson. Despite being much taller than Nunes, Anderson was clearly intimidated by Nunes, who took little over two minutes to defeat the Australian challenger, knocking her down and submitting her on the ground with virtually no resistance. See below for a recap of the main event:

Tale of the Tape:
Błachowicz Jones
Age: 37 / 33
Record: 27-8 / 26-2 (1 NC)
Finishes: 8 KO, 9 SUB / 10 KO, 6 SUB
Height: 6 FT, 2 IN / 6 FT, 4 IN
Reach: 78 IN / 84 IN
Stance: Orthodox / Switch
Nickname: "Prince of Ciezsyn" / "Bones"
Nationality: Polish / American

===
Round 1: Jones crawls to the centre of the Octagon whilst Błachowicz stands his ground expectantly. Jones throws a long left hook which Błachowicz parries. The challenger charges forward with a three-punch combination, all of which fall short as Jones retreats with arms outstretched. Jones throws a right high kick but Błachowicz blocks with both arms. Jones follows up with a chasse kick which the Pole nullifies by simply raising his leg, preventing the kick from jarring the knee against the ground. Thus far neither man has landed against the other, and the more restless in the crowd start to boo. As soon as Jones' kicking leg touches the ground, Błachowicz lands a thudding low kick to Jones' right inner thigh. Jones switches to southpaw and feints a low kick. Błachowicz steps forward, seeking to blast Jones on the chin with a right hand, but Jones steps back and side kicks Błachowicz's torso. Jones backs up Błachowicz with a spinning kick which doesn't land as Błachowicz leaps back awkwardly. Jones throws a spinning elbow which is blocked on Błachowicz's left elbow and a massive right uppercut thrown from down by Błachowicz's knees narrowly misses the champion's face. Jones steps back out of the pocket but doesn't let Błachowicz come forward to the centre. With Błachowicz's back still to the fence, Jones switches back to orthodox and lands two light jabs. Both fighters simultaneously throw leg kicks, their shins loudly clattering off of each other. Jones takes a step back gingerly, his thin legs coming off second-best against Błachowicz heavy shins. The tense but low volume round ends with Błachowicz posturing with his hands open wide, calling on the champion.

Judges scores: Sal d'Amato - 10-9 Jones; Derek Cleary - 10-9 Jones; Junichiro Kamijo - 10-9 Jones

Round 2: The round begins with Jones and Błachowicz staring each other down in the centre of the cage, silently daring the other to pull the trigger first. Błachowicz feints a low kick with his lead (left) leg, but he instead steps forward on that leg and throws a right low kick with lands on Jones' left calf. Jones switches to southpaw, prompting excited, if somewhat premature claims from Joe Rogan on commentary that Jones' left leg is injured by the Polish challenger's kick. Jones moves forward with his hands outstretched in a mummy guard, attempting to seize control of Błachowicz's wrists to manipulate his guard and posture. Błachowicz refuses to allow this, instead landing a hard jab to Jones' body and a follow-up jab to Jones' nose. Jones leans back to avoid an uppercut from Błachowicz but absorbs a heavy kick from Błachowicz that lands on Jones' ribs. Jones steps back into range behind a right hook to Jan's body and is seemingly unperturbed by a right cross from the Pole that lands hard on Jones' temple. Jones somewhat lazily pushes forward trying to secure a body lock, but it stymied by double underhooks from Błachowicz. Błachowicz turns and shoves Jones off of him, landing a thunderous right hook reminiscent of the one which he finished former Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold with. Unlike Rockhold, the more durable Jones kept his footing, but hastily backs off and returns back to the centre of the cage. Błachowicz rushes forward with a sloppy three-punch combination (the infamous "Błacho-Blitz" which got him knocked out by Santos in 2019), but the fleeter-footed Jones simply circles out. The round ends with Błachowicz barking out another challenge to Jones.

Judges scores: Sal d'Amato - 10-9 Błachowicz (19-19); Derek Cleary - 10-9 Błachowicz (19-19); Junichiro Kamijo - 10-9 Błachowicz (19-19)

Round 3: A confident Błachowicz starts the round behind a body jab and a low kick. A follow up low kick slides up Jones' thigh and hits him in the groin, and referee Marc Goddard stops the action to give Jones time to recover. Noticeable swelling has begun to emerge on Jones' left calf. Action resumes and Błachowicz makes a gesture in apology. Jones throws a powerful right body kick which slams into a classic Muay Thai check. Jones falls to his backside but quickly stands back up before Błachowicz can string together more offense. Jones reaches low to gauge Błachowicz's reaction to a double-leg takedown threat, but is spooked off by a feinted uppercut by Błachowicz. Both fighters exchange jabs from orthodox and Błachowicz lands a right uppercut to the body and a left hook to the head of Jones. Jones grabs Błachowicz's wrists before the Pole can retract them, and stomps Błachowicz's right knee. He then grabs a Thai plum and pulls Błachowicz's head down, buzzing the challenger with a knee to the face. Błachowicz stumbles back and swings a massive overhand right which lands flush, turning Jones' head around and forcing the champion to temporarily abandon his pursuit. Jones throws another low kick, again checked by Błachowicz. The pace of the fight starts to increase, albeit with a greater volume of low-committal strikes from both fighters, who exchange jabs and low kicks with relatively equal success. With fifteen seconds left in the round, Błachowicz throws a bit right hook but misses, Jones takes the opportunity to get behind Błachowicz and establish a bodylock. He pushes Błachowicz to the cage and knees him twice in the thigh before the buzzer.

Judges scores: Sal d'Amato - 10-9 Błachowicz (29-28 Błachowicz); Derek Cleary - 10-9 Jones (29-28 Jones); Junichiro Kamijo - 10-9 Błachowicz (29-28 Błachowicz)

Round 4: Jones begins the round with two jabs, both blocked by the challenger. Błachowicz blasts Jones' left leg with a low kick, jabs Jones' body, then throws another low kick. Significant bruising has become visible on the outer side of Jones' calf and the champion winces as he switches stance to southpaw. Błachowicz takes advantage of the now open stance matchup by kicking Jones in the body with his right leg. Illustrated his lesser skill at boxing from southpaw, Jones throws a sloppy jab. Błachowicz slips to the inside of the punch and catches Jones with a left hook. Błachowicz steps in with a big right hook but Jones evades it. Jones sees Błachowicz's hip shift and assuming it to be another leg kick, pulls his lead leg back. Instead, the kick comes high and glances off of Jones' head, although incredibly the champion seems no worse for wear. Jones lands a lead right hook, but his awkward punching mechanics from southpaw means that it lands with little authority. Striking with Błachowicz has become increasingly difficult for Jones this round, as the accumulative damage to his legs makes it difficult to trade kicks with Błachowicz and Błachowicz's parrying guard and superior power with both hands has made boxing with him difficult also. Jones sees his most likely path to victory now as reliant on forcing grappling exchanges late in the fight to fatigue Błachowicz. Despite Błachowicz's black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, he has shown difficulty getting up when taken down by effective control wrestlers, something that cost him his bout against Gustafsson back in 2016. With a minute left in the round, Jones suddenly reaches low with his long arms and ankle-picks Błachowicz, who lands on his back. Jones maintains top position in half-guard and is unable to pass to side control. He taps Błachowicz on the side of his head with short, pitter-patter arm punches. Attempts to posture up into a better position for delivering ground-and-pound are halted by Błachowicz, who pulls Jones' head down, preventing the champion from getting leverage and stalling out the position. With 20 seconds left, Jones manages to pin Błachowicz's head down, and drops two posting elbows before the horn.

Judges scores: Sal d'Amato - 10-9 Błachowicz (39-37 Błachowicz); Derek Cleary - 10-9 Błachowicz (38-38); Junichiro Kamijo - 10-9 Błachowicz (39-37 Błachowicz)

Round 5: A visibly-tired Błachowicz, drenched in sweat and open-mouthed breathing, trudges to the centre whilst the champion appears poised and present. Jones attempts a double-leg shot, but is shoved away by the challenger, who audibly grunts when doing so. Błachowicz begins to back away to the fence as Jones walks him down, seemingly hoping that the fence will help him resist takedowns from "Bones" and Jones starts to pick away at him with body kicks. Some are blocked, but the challenger is looking lethargic and he is unable to prevent them all from getting through. Unlike in earlier rounds, he is answering far less frequently with counter attempts. Jones steps forward to throw an elbow but is intercepted with a right cross from Błachowicz. Rather than pursuing Jones, he instead stays in place and inhales deeply. Jones lands two jabs to the face of the "Prince of Ciezsyn" and then a front kick to the body, before getting overconfident and throwing a wheel kick. As Jones is throwing the kick, Błachowicz steps forward and kicks the balancing leg out from under Jones, the latter falling to the ground awkwardly. Instead of hitting the champion as he gets up, instead Błachowicz tries to lock up a standing d'Arce choke, but he doesn't have the right angle. As Błachowicz squeezes with all his might to little effect, Jones grabs a single leg and drags Błachowicz to the floor, right into full mount where he drops a couple of elbows on the wide-eyed Błachowicz. Jones transitions to side control and locks up an arm triangle, whilst Błachowicz desperately bucks to try and relieve pressure. The round ends, by the looks of it with Błachowicz saved by the bell.

"Ladies and gentlemen, after five rounds we go to the judges scorecards for a decision. Judge Sal d'Amato scores this contest 48-47 ... Błachowicz! Judge Derek Cleary scores this contest 48-47... Jones! And judge Junichiro Kamijo scores this contest 48-47 for the winner by split decision...AAAAAAAAAND NEW! Undisputed Light Heavyweight Champion of the world, Jan Błachowicz!"

Journeyman no more: Jan Błachowicz​

Jones looks visibly angry, much more so than after his loss to Reyes. Jones and Błachowicz shake hands and exchange words, with Błachowicz heaping praise on Jones and Jones reluctantly reciprocating.

As usual for UFC pay-per-views, Joe Rogan interviews the victor.

"Jan Błachowicz, congratulations on the win. You've had a long career, there were a lot of twists and turns, how does it feel to be here, now, as UFC champion?"
"Thanks Joe, it feels really good, really amazing. You know I come into UFC in 2014, but I only win two in my first six, you know? I had changed teams but I went back to my team in Poland that got me here and since then I lose only to Santos you know, because I do something stupid in the fight but I come back. They have me as underdog in all these fights but I keep winning and I knew that I had a chance against Jon. He's tough opponent, great opponent, of course, but I think I had stronger legs, I have good striking. I have the 'legendary Polish Power' but I also think about what I'm doing you know. I am so happy!"
Jan then takes the microphone from Rogan and streams out a speech in Polish, met with raucous applause from a section of the crowd holding red and white Polish flags.

Rogan then goes over and interviews Jones.
"Jon, this was a really close fight, you closed strong, but the judges gave the split decision to Jan. What are your thoughts?"
"You know Joe, I really thought that I won this one, that I did enough to win. I wasn't hurt, I wasn't rocked. He was getting really tired at the end there and he was saved by the bell. Its very frustrating. You know I feel like I'm the better fighter. Not to take away from Jan, he did some good stuffs, his legs are sooo hard man, but this is now two fights in my last three that the judges haven't seen it my way. So I'm gonna reflect on that, they clearly aren't seeing things the way I'm feeling them, so maybe I need to go work on that."
"Thanks Jon, hope to see you in the cage again soon"
==
Checking kicks: Using the hardest part of your shin to intercept kicks to the leg, preventing the oncoming kick from hurting more vulnerable areas and often damaging the attacker's leg.
Hammerfists: Closed fights thrown downward, landing with the bottom of the fist instead of the knuckles like a conventional punch.
Mummy guard: A form of striking guard where arms are held outstretched, reminiscent of mummies from old movies. Typically used in MMA to make grabbing the wrists of an opponent easier.
Thai plum: Holding the opponent's head with two hands. Considered a very dominant position in Muay Thai and MMA, as it allows the holder to pull the opponent's head down into oncoming knees.
Open stance: When two opponents have opposite stances (southpaw vs orthodox)
Ankle pick: A takedown where the attacked grips the back of the opponent's ankle and pulls it towards them whilst driving forward, taking away the opponent's balance.
Half-guard: Also known as the "Turk ride" in wrestling, this is a ground position where the top combatant is lying on top of the other, whilst the bottom combatant has control of one of the top grappler's legs by using both of theirs. An intermediate position between side control and full mount.
Posting elbow: When a combatant has their arm stretched out whilst pushing their opponent's head down, then suddenly closing their elbow and dropping it on the opponent's head. Utilises gravity to help multiply damage.
D'Arce choke: A form of BJJ choke from a front-headlock position that involves controlling the defender's shoulder and neck to apply pressure to it.
===
[2] Jan Błachowicz did not fight Anthony Smith IOTL, instead fighting Reyes for the vacant title after Jon Jones left LHW. With Jones still around, he takes a fight against Smith and what I wrote reflects what I believe the most likely outcome of such a match would be.

 

[Hrvatskiwi]

A rematch between Błachowicz and Jones was set for UFC 267 on October 30th, 2021. The match wouldn't end up going ahead, however, due to an incident on September 24th, when police were called in the early hours of the day to the Caesars Palace resort hotel in Las Vegas, responding to a domestic incident between Jones and his long-time fiancée Jessie Moses. The call had been made by a security guard on the request of the couple's youngest daughter. Jones was arrested and would end up with a mere slap on the wrist, but the incident led to Jones being banned from Jackson-Wink Academy, where he had been coached since 2009. With these disruptions, Jones couldn't make the October 30th date and Jones was instead replaced with Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya. Adesanya was defeated by Błachowicz in a fairly clear decision, despite Adesanya being seen as the favourite by most pundits and by Vegas bookies. The UFC itself had clearly banked on Adesanya defeating Błachowicz and setting up a superfight between Jones and Adesanya, who had engaged in a heated rivalry over social media. With that idea now dead in the water, and a timeline for Jones' return unclear, the Light Heavyweight division was in need of a new challenger.

It found one in Czech striker Jiří Procházka, an enigmatic and colourful figure that burst onto the scene in July 2020, when he knocked Volkan Oezdimir out cold in round 2 of his UFC debut. Prior to entering the UFC, he had amassed a record of 26-3-1 with 21 first-round knockouts, spending most of his career with Japanese promotion, RIZIN, where he was the Light Heavyweight champion. He had long been on the UFC's radar, and had rejected their first offers to join the promotition, citing a desire to improve his skillset to "take over" when he did move to the world's premier MMA company. Following up his KO of Oezdimir by finishing former champion Dominick Reyes in May 2021 with a spinning elbow, the creative and relentless Procházka felt like an "ominous presence" in the division, as pointed out by play-by-play announcer Brendan Fitzgerald. A title eliminator matchup was set up between Glover Teixiera and Jiří Procházka. Their fight would turn out to be one of the greatest in the history of the division, a back-and-forth affair that ended unexpectedly with Procházka submitting an exhausted Teixiera towards the end of round 5.

Jiří Procházka​

In June 2022, at UFC 275 at Singapore Indoor Stadium, the Light Heavyweight title bout between Błachowicz and Procházka would serve as the main event. Earlier in the card, Australian Welterweights Jack Della Maddalena and Jake Matthews knocked out their opponents (Ramazan Emeev and Andre Fialho, respectively), a Women's Strawweight title eliminator (and rematch) between China's Zhang Weili and Poland's Joanna Jędrzejczyk ended in a spinning backfist KO for the Chinese fighter, and Women's Flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko won a close- run fight against Brazilian grappler Taila Santos. See below for a recap of the main event:

Tale of the Tape:
Błachowicz / Procházka
Age: 38 / 29
Record: 27-8 / 29-3-1
Finishes: 8 KO, 9 SUB / 25 KO, 3 SUB
Height: 6 FT, 2 IN / 6 FT, 4 IN
Reach: 78 IN / 80 IN
Stance: Orthodox / Orthodox
Nickname: "Prince of Ciezsyn" / "BJP"
Nationality: Polish / Czech


===
Round 1: A slow start to round 1, primarily Procházka moving and feinting with Błachowicz not committing yet to counters. Błachowicz backing up nevertheless as the Czech challenger bounces back and forth on his odd, karate-inspired stance. Błachowicz chips away with a couple of low kicks as Procházka edges too close and switches stances. Procházka steps in with probing body jabs, trying to test the waters and see if he can pull apart Błachowicz's parrying guard. Błachowicz parries a jab up top and steps forward behind a right hand. Procházka sways back and touches Błachowicz with a long lead uppercut to the chin. Błachowicz stops his forward momentum, and the fight once again settles into a positional chess match. An American or Brazilian crowd would likely be booing, but the spectators in the arena stay respectfully silent. There is a tension in the air as both the champion and the challenger evade large swings and body kicks from their opponent. Whenever Procházka steps forward, Błachowicz commits to a same-time counter. They both eat a couple of glancing shots from each other, and the champion is winning the leg kick battle while the challenger pops the champ's head back with jabs, although no follow-up rights have yet landed for Procházka. Błachowicz attempts to clinch up with his Czech foe but Procházka shoves the Pole away. A spinning back kick lands for Jiří, but Jan immediately steps forward and pops him in the face with a double jab. Procházka dips away from the right cross which follows, and the simmering round ends.

Judge's scores: Michael Bell - 10-9 Procházka; Ben Cartlidge - 10-9 Procházka; Clemens Werner - 10-9 Błachowicz

Round 2: Błachowicz takes the centre early, trying to push Procházka backwards. Jiří meets Jan with a body kick and a big right hook. The pace starts to increase, with both landing in the pocket but Procházka driving Błachowicz back with uppercuts and hooks around both sides of the guard. Jan fires back with clubbing hooks which make Jiří's knees wobble, but he fires back. The challenger will not be denied! The high pace is pushing Błachowicz, who is breathing heavily as he throws all his might into massive hooks, his back against the cage, most of which Procházka ducks out of the way of. Błachowicz grabs the challenger's neck and is trying to get a standing d'Arce choke! He is shoved off and Procházka steps back before unleashing a powerful body kick. Jan responds with a thunderous body kick of his own. The way these shots are landing sounds like they're hitting each other with pool cues rather than fists and feet. Jiří steps back into the pocket and they're both wobbling each other with gigantic shots! Someone will have to go down soon! "BJP" leans back from a gigantic right hook thrown by the "Prince of Ciezsyn", which skims past the whiskers of Procházka and nails the champion with an uppercut thrown from the floor. The Polish champion is out on his feet, and he is nailed by a crane kick from Procházka which spins Błachowicz's chin and puts him on the floor. The glassy-eyed Pole reaches for Procházka's legs out of pure instinct but Procházka lands two more hammerfists, one putting him out and the second one seemingly waking him back up, before referee Marc Goddard steps in to put an end to the bout. A huge win for Procházka crowns him the new champion and leaves Poland 0-2 tonight.

Marc Goddard puts an end to the fight at 3:48 of round 2. Jiří Procházka is declared the winner by technical knockout.

Joe Rogan steps forward to interview the new champ.

"Wow. Jiří Procházka, what an amazing finish and congratulations on becoming the new champion, how do you feel?"
In broken English, Procházka expresses respect and admiration for Błachowicz, happiness at achieving his greatest goal, and expressing a desire to fight again soon. He refers to Miyamoto Musashi's Book of the Five Rings as an inspiration for him, as well as stating that he sacrifices a great deal to live his life according to a "bushido" code.

"Great, now who do you want to fight next?"
"Jon Jones! Where are you!?"

"Wow, I really hope we get to see that! Thank you sir"
Rogan then interviews the former champ, who expresses congratulations for his opponent and a bit of disappointment with his performance, but reiterates that he plans to stay fighting in the foreseeable future and claims that he will one day regain the title.

 

[peeter]

As a Jon Jones hater I’m LOVING this story. His re-match against Reyes being tainted by the eye poke was enjoyable to read. I knew Jones was likely gonna win but that added detail and him losing to Blachowicz in his next fight was nice to see

 

[Hrvatskiwi]

As a Jon Jones hater I’m LOVING this story. His re-match against Reyes being tainted by the eye poke was enjoyable to read. I knew Jones was likely gonna win but that added detail and him losing to Blachowicz in his next fight was nice to see

Thanks @peeter I'm really glad to hear that! The next update will probably be the final one in the story (by my standards finishing a TLIAW in just over two isn't too bad) featuring a fantasy match between Jones and Procházka.

I know a lot of people would balk at Jan Błachowicz beating Jones, but his last few LHW fights were pretty lackluster and Błachowicz has some skills that prior opponents of Jones didn't have, so I still based the outcome on analysis rather than just going out of my way to screw Jones.