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The final UFC main event of 2018, UFC 232, sees the return of two top-drawer 205-pounders who are set to re-enact one of the greatest world title fights in UFC history.
Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson met at UFC 165 and put on a fight for the ages, as reported by ESPN as they battled for five breathless rounds in Toronto at UFC 165. By the time they were lined up for the judges’ scores, nobody was 100% sure of the winner.
Eventually, it was Jones who took the unanimous decision as he retained his UFC light-heavyweight world title. But even though he held on to his title, there was no doubt that Gustafsson pushed him harder than any fighter before.
Nobody has fared better since, either. Not even Daniel Cormier, who twice lost to Jones, with the second loss – via spectacular head-kick KO – eventually being scrubbed from the record books due to a failed drug test.
Another fresh start
Now with his anti-doping issues behind him and clearance granted to fight by the California State Athletic Commission, Jones is ready to return once again at UFC 232 and, he hopes, kick off a new chapter in his career.
But his next test is a considerable one. Gustafsson possesses similar physical gifts to the American – indeed, he may actually hit harder than the former world champion – and he is fired by the desire to avenge his razor-thin loss to Jones in their first fight.
Gustafsson remains convinced he won that fight at UFC 165, and he plans on making the absolutely sure second time around at UFC 232 in Las Vegas.
Both men have been absent for lengthy spells – Jones has been out for 17 months. Gustafsson 19 months – so cage rust could be prevalent, especially in the early rounds. But ultimately we’ll see two extremely well-matched athletes going head to head for a second time.
Jones is the betting favorite with bookmakers Betway, who have the former world champion a 1/3 shot to reclaim the title he never lost in the octagon. Gustafsson, meanwhile, is a 9/4 underdog.
They’re both a little older, (hopefully) a little wiser and there’s a shiny new world championship belt waiting for the winner.
It couldn’t possibly beat the first meeting, could it?
https://youtube.com/watch?v=dOrm10Vl8ik
Be careful what you wish for..
The night’s co-main event features a women’s world title fight between the two most destructive strikers in the sport.
Facing Cristiane Justino, known to the MMA world as Cris Cyborg, is a genuinely terrifying prospect. The UFC women’s featherweight champion has thumping punch power, an excellent gas tank and superb jiu-jitsu skills. If “Cyborg” has any serious weaknesses in her game, nobody seems to have found them yet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93qtHs45zso
She’ll take on fellow countrywoman and the reigning UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda “The Lioness” Nunes. Nunes is the woman who defeated Miesha Tate to win the world title, obliterated Ronda Rousey in 48 seconds in the former champion’s comeback fight at UFC 207, then cemented her spot as the premier 135-pound female fighter in the world with victories over Valentina Shevchenko and Raquel Pennington.
Nunes has made her name from walking forward and putting pressure on her opponents, but Cyborg says “The Lioness” is a different fighter when forced onto the back foot, and she believes she has Nunes’s number ahead of their big fight on December 29.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhB7WFUYRkE
Interestingly, Nunes actually asked for this fight. She asked to move up and challenge Cyborg for the featherweight title. The fact that a fellow countrywoman decided to voluntarily jump weight classes to face her appears to have irked Cyborg somewhat, who says she’s ready to send Nunes back from whence she came… without any additional baggage.
Unsurprisingly, defending featherweight champion Cyborg is the odds-on favorite for the contest, at 4/11, with division-jumping bantamweight champ Nunes the 2/1 underdog.
