ATLANTA (AP) — Jon Jones used his reach advantage to take a unanimous decision over former teammate Rashad Evans on Saturday night and retain his UFC 145 world light heavyweight championship.
Jones (16-1), whose 84.5-inch reach was the longest in UFC history, was ahead 49-46, 49-46 and 50-45 on the judges’ cards after the fiver-round fight at Philips Arena.
In the final round, and only for a few seconds each time, did the fighters leave their feet and neither man was left bleeding.
Evans, 32, and Jones, 24, were once teammates training under Greg Jackson’s MMA in Albuquerque.
Evans (22-2-1) became world light heavyweight champion on Dec. 27, 2008, but lost the title in his only defeat, to Lyoto Machida, on May 23, 2009.
