Jon Jones fends off title challenge at UFC 247

 Jon Jones faced his most serious challenge in years and ultimately held off Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 on Saturday night, retaining his UFC light heavyweight belt following a surprisingly strong opening by Reyes. unanimous decision of 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 was met with scattered applause and loud boos from crowd, as many felt challenger had proven eugh to take title. Jones (26-1-1) handed fourth-ranked Reyes (12-1) his first loss, improving to 15-0 in title fights. He became all-time leader in UFC title defenses.

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Jones' first fight in a while

Jones was fighting for first time since last July’s win over Thiago Santos at UFC 239, his longest period between fights in more than five years.Reyes came out on attack in first round, briefly kcking Jones to ground less than two minutes into bout. Jones bounced back in second round, landing several strong hooks to Reyes’ head. lively crowd swayed back and forth in support of eir fighter, chanting both names at different points.In third round, Reyes landed blows to Jones’ head, and he drew blood early in fourth round. Jones finished that round strong and once-lively crowd became quiet and tense in anticipation of final round.

Jones ramped up his attack in final round, but Reyes seemed to keep eugh separation from champ to put it in judges’ hands. In co-main event of UFC 247, flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko defended her title against Katlyn Chookagian, stopping challenger in third round. Kyrgyzstan-native Shevchenko (19-3) won her fifth bout in a row, fending off Pennsylvania-native Chookagian (13-3), who entered as top-ranked contender for belt. After fight, Shevchenko did her trademark cartwheels and dancing in ring.

Earlier on pay-per-view portion of 12-bout event at Toyota Center, Houston-native heavyweight Derrick Lewis (23-7) beat Ilir Latifi (15-8) via unanimous decision with a surging rally late. Lewis, . 6-ranked heavyweight who rescued flood victims during Houston’s Hurricane Harvey in 2017, played Houston hip-hop music entering and exiting ring and had rousing support from crowd. Ar Houston-native, heavyweight Juan Adams, had a much more bitter homecoming, getting stopped in under two minutes by New Zealand-born Australian Justin Tafa, who earned his first UFC win.

Also on main card, fearweight Dan Ige (13-2) won his fifth straight fight, taking a split decision over Mirsad Bektic (13-3). Before pay-per-view portion of event, UFC hored Kobe Bryant, his daughter, Gianna, and or seven victims of Jan. 26 helicopter crash with a video tribute and a nine-second moment of silence. Bryant was a partner of UFC sponsor Body Armor and was an investor in UFC, president Dana White said. Houston sports stars spotted in attendance included J.J. Watt, Deshaun Watson, Russell Westbrook, Eric Gordon, Carlos Correa, and ors. Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta sat near UFC fan and actress Halle Berry.

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(Im Courtesy: AP)