UFC 182: Jones vs. Cormier took place on January 3, 2015 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In the first pay-per-view of the year, a bitter rivalry was going to be settled as one of the most anticipated matchups of recent memory would take place in the main event as pound-for-pound king and UFC Light Heavyweight Champions Jon Jones would put his title on the line against the former Olympian Daniel Cormier.
Check out our biggest winners and losers from UFC 182 below.
Winners:
Jon Jones:
Jon Jones came into UFC 182 as one of the most dominant champions in UFC history. The UFC Light Heavyweight Champion was set to take on a man he truly disliked, but a man who has made absolutely everyone he’s faced look bad in Daniel Cormier. Jones was looking to become not only the first person to beat Cormier, but also to become the first person to unanimously win a round against him. In what was a very exciting fight that was back-and-forth, Jones proved why he is the best in the world and one of the greatest of all time. It is not in many fights that Jones is truly tested, but this was one of them. Jones ultimately got the unanimous decision win, but something even bigger to hang his hat on is that he took Cormier down more times than Cormier took him down.
Donald Cerrone:
Donald Cerrone entered UFC 182 on an unreal winning streak that included the likes of Jim Miller, Edson Barboza, and Eddie Alvarez. ‘Cowboy’ was set to take on the undefeated and up-and-coming Myles Jury. Cerrone was taken down early, but proved once again to have an elite ground game and was able to control Jury and threaten with submissions for the entire first round. The majority of the fight from there on would take place on the feet and Cerrone would display his high level kickboxing. It was almost a masterpiece and ‘Cowboy’ looked pretty much flawless. Now increasing his winning streak to six, Cerrone is very close to challenging for another title, if that’s what he wants. One thing is for sure and that is that we will be seeing a lot more of Cerrone and probably sooner rather than later.
Cody Garbrandt:
Cody Garbrandt was set to make his UFC debut against the veteran Marcus Brimage. Garbrandt came in with a lot of hype as he was a Team Alpha Male member and was 5-0 in his career with all five wins coming by knockout. Brimage has had his ups and downs in the UFC, but surely was a tough test for Garbrandt and he passed with flying colors. The 23-year-old showed excellent stand-up as well as being patient and composed. After being up on the scorecards, Garbrandt went for the kill and got the TKO victory at 4:50 of Round 3.
Losers:
Myles Jury:
Myles Jury was set to have the highest profile fight in his entire career as he co-main evented a massive pay-per-view against one of the best lightweights in the world in Donald Cerrone. Jury came into UFC 182 with a 15-0 record and having not been really tested in his entire career. It was a giant leap in competition for Jury and that was evident in the fight. The Alliance MMA lightweight was outclassed from start to finish not only on the feet, but on the ground as well. Although still a top 10 lightweight and with a bright future ahead of him, Jury proved that he is not quite at that “elite level” just yet.
Danny Castillo:
Danny Castillo was coming off of a controversial loss to Tony Ferguson and was set to take on Rustam Khabilov at UFC 182, but visa issues would prevent Khabilov from fighting. So, Castillo was now set to take on Paul Felder who was a much lower ranked fighter and was taking the fight on short notice. The Team Alpha Male lightweight had almost no success in the fight. Castillo was ultimately brutally knocked out by a highlight reel spinning back fist. Castillo who was not too far from breaking into the top 15 is now knocked down another notch after a disappointing performance.
Alexis Dufresne:
Alexis Dufresne kicked the night off against Marion Reneau in a woman’s bantamweight bout on the UFC Fight Pass prelims. Dufresne had a bad weight cut and missed weight the day before and the fight would not go any better. The Team Quest product was absolutely dominated on the feet in what was a very tough fight to watch. Although she did not get finished, the fight probably should have been stopped as Dufresne proved to be almost too tough for her own good. The 24-year-old has now dropped both of her UFC fights after starting her career 5-0.
