Teixeira, who has not lost since 2006, was considered to be a tough match-up for Jones, who is coming off a difficult title defense against Alex Gustafsson in 2013.
But Jones proved that he has fully recovered from that tough outing, using his superior striking skills to dominate Teixeira, landing a variety of shots including elbows and low kicks.
Teixeira’s best moment came in the second round, when he was able to close the distance against Jones and catch him with some shots, but the champion quickly recovered.
In the third round, Jones opened up a cut above the Brazilian’s right eyebrow with a barrage of elbows.
Jones was also able to knock Teixeira’s mouthpiece off with a well-placed uppercut in the third round, and again in the fourth round, this time with a jab. Teixeira lost his mouthpiece for a third time in the fifth round, and saw little success even at close
Jones was unable to earn a stoppage win, but all three judges scored the bout in his favor, 50-45.
“The game plan was takedowns and going at him from range,” Jones said after the fight, as quoted by MMA Fighting. “But I realized he was winding up on his punches, and you can’t do that when someone is on top of you.”
“I realized I was a lot better hand fighter than he was,” he added.
Jones won his 11th straight UFC fight, and his seventh consecutive title defense. Meanwhile, Teixeira saw his 20-fight winning streak snapped.
“My game plan was to push him, but hey, he’s a great champion,” he later said.
In the co-main event, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson marked his UFC return with a unanimous decision win against light-heavyweight contender Phil Davis.
Johnson used his power to his advantage, rocking Davis multiple times while also successfully preventing any takedown attempts.
All three judges scored the bout 30-27 in Johnson’s favor.
In another match, Luke Rockhold submitted Tim Boetsch in the first round with a kimura in the opening round.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
