RIO RANCHO, N.M. – The UFC on ESPN+ 25 main event conclusion was good news for Jon Jones for two reasons.
For one, Jan Blachowicz won in a manner which created a new potential challenger for Jones’ light heavyweight belt.
“That was an awesome fight,” Jones told MMA Junkie after the event. “I thought Jan Blachowicz did a hell of a job. His boxing looked great.”
Then there was the other side of the coin: Corey Anderson lost, and not only did he lose, but it was via devastating first-round knockout.
The fight was only 3:08 in duration. During that time, Anderson (13-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC), known for his wrestling game, was unable to get a takedown on Blachowicz (26-8 MMA, 9-5 UFC). In Jones’ eyes, the top contender didn’t look like himself when it came time to fight. There’s a lesson to be learned in that, Jones said.
“Corey seemed slow tonight,” Jones said. “It seemed like something wasn’t clicking in there. He looked slower and more hesitant on his takedowns.”
To what did Jones attribute Anderson’s failure? The UFC champ thinks Anderson was too concerned with what could’ve been next. It’s no secret Jones and Anderson had a war of words over the past few months. Many people predicted Anderson would be next for Jones if he won Saturday.
“Honestly, I think he was more worried about fighting me than fighting Jan Blachowicz,” Jones said. “It showed a valuable lesson of what happens when you look past opponents. I think Corey Anderson tasted humble pie tonight.”
On the UFC post-fight show on ESPN+, Jones took it a step further and went as far as to say, “I was happy to see Corey Anderson eat his words.”
Despite all of the bad blood between the two fighters, Jones said pre-fight he thought Anderson was going to win. In 188 seconds, Blachowicz proved him wrong.
“I would have gone with Corey Anderson,” Jones said. “I thought he was the more athletic of the two. I think he was more versatile. I honestly thought Corey was going to win the fight. Jan had other plans.”
Later, Jones took to Twitter to jab Anderson more. In classic Jon Jones fashion, the UFC champ posted tweets from Anderson in recent months.
UFC on ESPN+ 25 took place Saturday at Santa Ana Star Center. The event streamed on ESPN+.
Check out MMA Junkie’s UFC on ESPN+ 25 post-event interview with Jones in the video above.
A taunting Jon Jones says Corey Anderson 'ate humble pie' in KO loss to Jan Blachowicz
