Rory MacDonald vs. Che Mills (James Law/HeavyMMA)
Jon Jones, Rashad Evans settle grudge at Philips Arena in Atlanta
ATLANTA – HeavyMMA is at the Philips Arena in Atlanta for Saturday’s UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans pay-per-view. We’ll have live round-by-round and fight-by-fight coverage of each bout on the main pay-per-view card right here starting at 10 p.m. Eastern.
The main event at UFC 145 features the long-awaited light heavyweight title fight and grudge match between champion Jon Jones and his former friend and training partner, former champ Rashad Evans.
Other action on the pay-per-view includes a co-main event welterweight bout between Rory MacDonald and Che Mills, a heavyweight tilt between Brendan Schaub and Ben Rothwell and a bantamweight contenders fight between Miguel Torres and Michael McDonald.
Mark Bocek vs. John Alessio
Round 1: Alessio on the outside, but eats a leg kick right out of the gate. He misses with a combination. Bocek with a takedown attempt. He gets it, but Alessio gets back to the feet. Alessio turns, giving Bocek his back. Bocek is working knees. He drags Alessio to the mat. Half guard for Alessio. Bocek is pounding away. Nice elbows. Alessio defending nicely, as Bocek is unable to land any significant shots. Until now. Vicious elbow from Bocek. Bocek works for the back. He has it and is looking to sink in the choke. Body shots from Bocek, and Alessio is in trouble. Round comes to a close. Not much action, aside from Bocek dictating the ground game. Heavy.com scores it 10-9 for Bocek.
Round 2: Alessio lands a nice jab, but it does little. Leg kick from Bocek. Another jab lands for Alessio. Bocek is looking takedown, but has not commited yet. Alessio with more nice shots on the feet. Takedown attempt from Bocek. Alessio is down, but trying to stand back up. Bocek with elbows from the top. He moves to half guard. Bocek seems to like the position, as he is able to land nice shots. He moves to side control. Alessio works his way back up. Bocek with a leg kick. He shoots in for another takedown, clearly not interested in the striking game. Clinch up against the cage. Round comes to a close, and it’s Bocek’s. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Bocek.
Round 3: Alessio looking to land on the feet early, as he should. Bocek with a long straight right. Nice combination from Alessio as Bocek shoots in. Leg kick follows shortly after. Alessio with a straight kick to the body, but he gets taken down. Bocek on top, maintaining back mount now. Alessio is in trouble. Bocek looking to lock on a choke, as he gets the body triangle. Alessio defending nicely. Shots from Bocek. Alessio scrambles out and is back to the feet. Good work from the underdog. Leg kick lands for Bocek, as does a right. He brings the fight back down, and Alessio gives up his back. Alessio back to the feet in the clinch. He is looking takedown. Bocek reverses and now has his opponent pressed up against the cage. 30 seconds in the round. Alessio back to the feet. Nice left hook from him, followed by another solid strike. Round comes to a close. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Bocek.
Official Decision: Bocek def. Alessio via unanimous decision
Mark Hominick vs. Eddie Yagin
Round 1: Yagin with a nice overhand right that lands flush. Hominick counters, but eats a combination from Yagin. Leg kick lands for Yagin, who is finding unexpected success in the striking game early. Hominick looks for a combo, but walks into a straight right. Big left hook misses for Yagin. He lands a shot, and Hominick is floored. Yagin looking for the finish, but Hominick defends nicely. They are back to the feet, and Yagin misses with a spinning back kick. Punch to the body from Hominick, but he misses with a left head kick. Neither fighter seems to be able to land right now, as each move in and out of range. Head kick from Yagin is blocked. Round comes to a close without much action. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Yagin.
Round 2: Yagin misses with a long jab, but lands a leg kick shortly after. Nice left lands for Hominick. Fighters trade leg kicks. Hominick presses forward with a combo, landing nicelt.Yagin does not appear affected at all. He lands a nice leg kick. Hominick with a left hook that lands flush. Yagin with a right that floors Hominick. The Canadian recovers, but Yagin is in his guard. Strikes from Yagin, who has Hominick cut up. They move back to the feet. Hominick lands a nice hook. Yagin comes back with a combination, but misses. Hominick lands a jab, followed by a shot to the body. Yagin comes back with a combo. One minute left in the round. Nice body shot from Hominick. Jab follows shortly after. 10 seconds left. Neither fighter lands anything significant. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Yagin.
Round 3: Yagin urges the crowd to chant, and round three is underway. He misses with a leg kick. He mixes kicks and punches, but misses. Hominick with a jab. Hook follows. Yagin misses with a kick. Nice left lands for Hominick. He is finding his range, as he puts together a combination. Nice straight left by the Canadian, followed by another. Yagin with a spinning back fist. He misses. He lands a left, and Hominick is staggered briefly. Two minutes left int he round. Yagin with a nice jab. Hominick fakles a shot to the body, but nothing comes of it. Yagin with an overhand right. Hominick comes back with a combination. Yagin may be hurt, but he fights his way out with another overhand right. Spinning back fist misses for Yagin. Hominick misses right after. Round comes to a close. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Hominick.
Official Decision: Yagin def. Hominick via split-decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Miguel Torres vs. Michael McDonald
Round 1: Kick lands for Torres, but McDonald counters. McDonald misses witha n uppercut. Nice jab from Torres. Fighters trade on the feet. Nice right hand lands for Torres. Mouthpiece out, but Torres picks it up during a break in action. Nice right hand lands for McDonald. Torres is in trouble. He is floored. McDonald with more strikes. This fight is over. Knockout win for McDonald. Very impressive.
Official Decision: McDonald def. Torres via knockout at 3:18 of Round 1
Brendan Schaub vs. Ben Rothwell
Round 1: Touch of gloves, and we are underway. Rothwell fakes a shot. Rothwell pressing forward. They exchange up against the cage. Rothwell with a takedown attempt. Nice uppercut from Schaub. They trade. Schaub gets dropped. He is in trouble. Couple more punches from Rothwell to Schaub on the mat. This fight is over. Schaub landed a nice left prior, only to get dropped by a counter. Much-needed win for Rothwell.
Official Decision: Rothwell def. Schaub via technical knockout at 1:10 of Round 1
Rory MacDonald vs. Che Mills
Round 1: Head kick misses for MacDonald. Mills lands a nice leg kick, but misses with a straight kick to the head. He is pressing forward, clearly not intimidated. Clinch from Mills. He is looking takedown now, but MacDonald is defending. He comes forward and takes Mills down. Nice work from Rory. He is landing from top position now. Mills looks fr an arm, but MacDonald quickly throws that aside. Mills is in trouble. Strikes from MacDonald. He has an arm trapped, gaining crucifix position. Mills is bloodied up. More strikes from MacDonald. He moves to mount after a brief period in side control. Mills is, to say the least, in trouble again. MacDonald moves to the back. Mills survives the round, just barely. Heavy.com scores the frame 10-8 for MacDonald.
Round 2: Touch of gloves starts the second frame. MacDonald misses with a leg kick. He takes the fight down without a problem. Strikes from MacDonald. He is in side control. He moves to the back with ease. He rolls to mount and pounds away. Back to back-control. MacDonald is striking again. This fight is over. Mills does not respond to MacDonald explosion. Impressive stuff.
Official Decision: MacDonald def. Mills via technical knockout at 3:20 of Round 2
Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans
Round 1: No touch of gloves to start this contest. Jones takes the center of the cage. Head kick from the champion is blocked. Both guys seem extremely hesitant. Jones looks for the clinch, but Evans counters nicely. Kicks from Jones. He misses with a shot to the head, but lands a straight kick to the body. Evans with a kick to the body. He misses on his second attempt. Jones with a shot to the body, but it’s blocked. Leg kick misses for the former champion. Nice right from Evans. 10 seconds left in the round. Jones fakes a takedown in the waning moments. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Evans.
Round 2: Jones misses with a long jab. Brief clinch, but the champion separates. Leg kick lands for Jones. Evans counters with a solid leg kick. Jones misses with a body kick. Evans taunting him now. Rashad seems to have no fear of the champion. He lands a leg kick. Midway point of the unexciting frame. Evans lands another leg kick. Jones with a left hand. Evans is hurt, but recovers nicely. Jones clinches, and Evans lands shots to the body. They separate. Evans with a shot to the body, followed by a leg kick. Jones lands a nice shot. Flying knee from the champion, and the round comes to a close. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Jones.
Round 3: Evans lunges forward with a combo, but misses. He lands a leg kick. Jones with an overhand right. It misses. Leg kick lands for Evans. Jones comes up just short with a straight right. Jones misses with a kick. They trade, but neither land anything significant. Nice elbow from Jones. Evans was hurt, but recovers nicely. Flying knee from Jones. Evans appears to be fine. Kick to the body from Jones. Evans misses on the counter. Kick to the body lands for the former champion. Brief clinch, but neither take advantage. Evans lands on the feet, but it’s Jones’ round. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Jones.
Round 4: Leg kick from Evans to start the fourth round. Jones looks to land, but fails. He follows up with a nice straight left. Spinning elbow misses for the champion. He misses again with an overhand right, and Evans clinches. They separate. Jones counters Evans’ leg kick. Both fighters seems a bit hesitant. Jones hops up and down, and Evans shoots in. Jones defends nicely. Evans with an overhand right, but misses. They clinch again. Knee from Jones. They separate. Jones shoots in at the last second, but Evans defends nicely. Heavy.com scores the round 10-10.
Round 5: Jones lands a jab. They exchange, bit neither land flush. Evans on the outside. Jones with a strike. Evans misses on the counter. Brief clinch at the halfway mark, but neither capitalize. Jones lands his jabs, followed by a low kick. Jones pushes Evans down, but the former champion rises back up quickly. Jones pulls guard, but Evans doesn’t get anything done. Fight ends without anything major. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Jones.
Official Decision: Jones def. Evans via unanimous decision