On This Day: Jon Jones Defends Title At UFC 159

Jon Jones

Ten years ago on this day, Jon Jones stepped inside the Octagon at UFC 159 and almost lost his coveted light heavyweight title.

No, Jones did not really have any trouble with challenger Chael Sonnen from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, it was a self-imposed injury instead.

You might remember that Jones cut his toe severely and nearly lost it while taking on Sonnen. No one noticed the injury as the fight came to a conclusion in the first round, but had it gone on, it is very possible that the doctor would have called a stop.

Jones still gave a post-fight interview before realizing the seriousness of the injury at hand.

The card featured a co-main event that saw Michael Bisping score a technical decision over Alan Belcher after the fight was stopped due to an accidental eye poke.

That was the second such bout to end like that, as the prelim fight between Ovince Saint Preux and Gian Villante also was ended early with an eye poke. Saint Preux went on to earn the technical decision.

The main card opener between Pat Healy and Jim Miller earned “Fight of the Night” honors, but was overturned to a no-contest when Healy tested positive for marijuana.

Roy Nelson knocked out Cheick Kongo and Phil Davis picked up a decision over Vinny Magalhaes.

On the prelims, Rustam Khabilov finished Yancy Medeiros after Medieros suffered a thumb injury, while Sara McMann and Bryan Caraway were winners by finish.

All in all, a very interesting card with all of the broke ligaments, eye pokes and post-fight failures.

With over 20 years of experience in journalism, Dana brings an understanding of what it takes to present the... More about Dana Becker

Mentioned In This Article:

More About: