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UFC 152: Jones vs. Belfort was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 22, 2012, at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
By the time Jon Jones is finished with this sport, he’ll be undeniably the greatest martial artist to ever grace the Octagon. I’ve felt that way for some time already, but his performance on this night further cemented it for me.
The main event was UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones facing former champion Vitor Belfort. Originally, Jones was set to defend his title against Dan Henderson at UFC 151 on September 1, 2012, in Las Vegas, Nevada, but UFC President Dana White announced on August 23, 2012, that Henderson had a tear in his MCL and would not be able to compete. It was then revealed that Jones declined a fight against Chael Sonnen, who offered to take the fight on eight days’ notice. As a result, the event was canceled. This marked the first time the UFC had canceled an event, with the official fight card having been announced, in the organization’s history.
Following the cancellation of the event, White said that UFC 151 simply will not exist. Jones was set to face Lyoto Machida in a rematch at this event after the cancellation of that event, but Machida declined the fight. Subsequently, Belfort was chosen to take Machida’s place. Jones was a massive favorite coming into the bout. It was later reported that Belfort fought Jones with a broken hand. He also had elevated free testosterone levels found on a pre-fight test.
After both Lyoto Machida and Mauricio Rua turned down the chance to rematch the champion, Belfort finally became the problem solver as he happily accepted a fight against Jon Jones.
Belfort came into the fight knowing the deck was stacked against him, and if he wanted to defeat Jones, the Brazilian would have to be close to perfect inside the Octagon. The miracle moment nearly happened as Belfort swung his hips around to secure a tight armbar. The fight was nearly over, but somehow, the champion persevered through the pain.
After that, it was virtually all Jones, but Belfort continued to press the action. It wasn’t Belfort’s best showing by any means and likely won’t affect his standing in the middleweight division, but the old lion still showed a few new tricks in the UFC 152 main event.
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