UFC 197 – Results & analysis

The fight was fairly uneven, with the usually dominant Jones looking tentative (he acknowledged that in the post-fight interview)in the beginning, but found his range much better in the later rounds. OSP, For his part, seemed to fight like he was content going the distance with Jones, as he avoided leg kicks and just couldn't find the mark with his straight lefts. Once Jones was able to shake off the cage rust, he landed a couple of takedowns on OSP in the 4^th round, and again in the 5^th round. However, he was unable to finish the fight and won by a Unanimous decision, to win the interim Light Heavyweight championship.

In the co-main event, Demetrious 'Mighty Mouse' Johnson proved again what a complete mixed martial arts fighter looks like, when after giving up a takedown to Henry Cejudo, had the Olympic Gold medallist in a world of hurt just a minute later, with some beautifully effective knees in the clinch. Cejudo was thought to be the last stiff test for the champion at 125 lbs, but he managed to steamroll through him with relative ease. It would be interesting to see where he goes from here.

The Anthony Pettis vs. Edson Barboza fight was expected to be a 'banger' and it was exactly that. With both men possessing dangerous & innovative stand-up technique, the fight was mostly contested on the feet, but Barboza was just a bit better than the former Lightweight king. The Brazilian battered Pettis with a barrage of left hooks and inside kicks, that turned the inside left thigh of Pettis looking like minced meat and earning him a unanimous decision.

Robert Whittaker scored a big win over Rafael 'Sapo' Natal, who was rocked early in the first by some big shots from Whittaker, but managed to come back a bit in the third round with some leg kicks of his own. However, it was enough and Whittaker continued his quick ascension up the Middleweight ranks and remains unbeaten since his move up to the 185 lbs. category.

The main card was off to a rollicking start as exciting young prospect Yair Rodriguez put a stamp on his presence in the featherweight division with a spectacular knockout of Andre Fili, via a flying roundhouse kick in the second round. Prior to that, Rodriguez dominated the action with his high-risk style and great ground control.

The full results for UFC 197 are below:

UFC 197 Main Card results

• Light Heavyweight Jon Jones def. Ovince Saint Preux via unanimous decision (50-45 x2, 50-44).
• Flyweight Demetrious Johnson def. Henry Cejudo via TKO (knees & punches) at 2:49 of Round 1.
• Lightweight Edson Barboza def. Anthony Pettis via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28x2).
• Middleweight Robert Whittaker def. Rafael Natal via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27x2).
• Featherweight Yair Rodríguez def. Andre Fili via KO (flying head kick) at 2:15 of Round 2.

 Preliminary Card Fox Sports 1

• Flyweight Sergio Pettis def. Chris Kelades via unanimous decision(30-27x3).
• Welterweight Danny Roberts def. Dominique Steele via unanimous decision (29-28x3).
• Women's Strawweight Carla Esparza def. Juliana Lima via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
• Lightweight James Vick def. Glaico Francavia unanimous decision (29-2x3 30-27).

Preliminary Card UFC Fight Pass

• Heavyweight Walt Harris def. Cody East via TKO (punches) at 4:18 of Round 1.
• Light Heavyweight Marcos Rogerio de Lima def. Clint Hester via submission (arm-triangle choke) at 4:35 of Round 1.