UFC 239: Jon Jones gets decision over Thiago Santos; Amanda Nunes takes out Holly Holm with huge head-kick
- ‘Bones’ retains his light-heavyweight title with split decision in main event of a thrilling show
- Amanda Nunes gets first-round TKO over the American in Las Vegas title fight
Jon Jones retained his light-heavyweight title with a split decision win over Thiago Santos, who was hampered by a badly injured knee in their UFC 239 main event.
Santos got Jones’ attention with some calf kicks in the first round and even grazed the American with a couple of punches – one of them dislodging Jones’ mouthguard.
The Brazilian seemed to badly hurt his left knee throwing a kick early in the second round as Jones began to find his distance more. Joe Rogan on commentary said it appeared indicative of a torn ACL.
Santos had a hard time moving on his left leg and fell down throwing another kick. But “Marreta” kept calm and reminded Jones of his ferocious power with some big shots that narrowly missed, and he had a case for winning the first two rounds.
“Oh my goodness, boy was he tough. Hey guys, I am so sorry, I know a lot of you guys are booing me right now, but Thiago we all know his best chance of winning was to win by knockout,” said Jones after the fight. “I played it smart and I brought home this gold.