UFC 247 saw Jon Jones become the most decorated UFC champion of all time, claiming a record 14th title fight victory with a unanimous decision win over Dominick Reyes. In a card which was littered with highly debatable judges’ decisions, women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko ensured they were not a factor in her own title defence, finishing number one contender Katlyn Chookagian in vintage fashion. Check out every result and all the fallout from top to bottom in our fight card recap.

Note: Round-by-round scores are our opinion only, and not that of the judges.

MAIN CARD:

Light Heavyweight | Jon Jones [C] def. Dominick Reyes [4] via decision (unanimous) 48-47, 48-47, 49-46

Round-by-round:

Rd 1 – 10-9 Reyes

Reyes lands a sharp left down the middle to start, they clinch and exchange knees to the body. Reyes gets after it early, trying to attack the legs first and a big high kick follows. Jones is also finding his range through kicks, the two clash shins with Reyes reacting lightning fast whenever Jones lifts for a kick. Reyes puts on good pressure and lands up top when closing the distance, but sits Jones down with a stiff left hand to the body and continues to let it go, backing Jones up. Jones is starting to take up the centre as the round ends, lands a left high kick with Reyes constantly moving and changing stances.

Rd 2 – 10-9 Reyes (20-18)

Jones lands a sweet body kick but Reyes starts throwing leather, Jones retreats. Nice counter to a leg kick from Jones, grabbing and going down the pipe. Jones takes up centre, looking to work his teep kicks but Reyes is still disturbing his rhythm and landing better, including a nice lead uppercut. Jones lands a nasty left hook and a sharp jab later, but Reyes lands his own uppercut and hook combination through a tightened Jones defence. More significant strikes gives Reyes the round, but very close.

Rd 3 – 10-9 Reyes (30-27)

Huge left high kick from Reyes lands, as does a hard kick to the body, he is responding well to Jones’ forward movement with a great pace kept up. Nice counter again from Reyes, this time an uppercut, is met by a well timed takedown shot from Jones but Reyes’ defence is solid, landing an elbow over the top as they break from clinch. Mostly a boxing fight towards the end of the round, Jones’ pressure is good but Reyes again lands the more effective blows.

Rd 4 – 10-9 Jones (39-37)

Beautiful boxing combos from Reyes land up top, backing Jones up. Jones wraps up and looks for the takedown, dragging Reyes down momentarily twice but unable to keep him there against the fence. Reyes looks a bit more laboured but is standing up well to Jones’ grappling advances as the champ begins to look desperate to change proceedings. Nice elbow up top from Jones on entry to the clinch as he pressures due to being behind, but Reyes fires back late, his movement still good. Lovely left hook from Jones very late and a long right, his round.

Rd 5 – 10-9 Jones (48-47)

Reyes starts with a left down the pipe, his combos still looking good despite being thrown with less pop. Jones with a nice shot, pulls Reyes down with a double leg but Reyes keeps getting up in a troublesome trend. Jones keeps the pressure and advancement on, maintaining a greater output as he looks for points. Nice left hook from Jones after more body shots, not headhunting or looking particularly desperate for a finish. Beautiful spinning kick to the body from Jones, his octagon control and takedowns won him the last two rounds clearly.

We had it: 48-47 Reyes – Rounds 1-3 go to Reyes, with the first the only conclusive one of the three, while Jones takes out the championship rounds. Could have gone either way, talk of a robbery is silly.

Fallout: There is plenty for Jones to think about with a move to heavyweight possible, as Jan Blachowicz and Corey Anderson ready for their number one contender bout. Reyes will want a rematch, but he will surely get his shot down the line. A hotly debated decision, a true GSP-Hendricks moment for Jones.

W. Flyweight | Valentina Shevchenko [C] def. Katlyn Chookagian [1] via TKO (elbows and punches) 1:03 Rd 3

Rd 1 – 10-9 Shevchenko

Both women look to find range and get a gauge of the other, Shevchenko remains patient in picking her shots while moving forward. A good counter left from Shevchenko lands, as does a spinning backfist with Chookagian coming in, nice. Chookagian is leading the dance, which is not what she said would happen in the build-up. Shevchenko is just so sharp, constantly touching Chookagian with two punches and a kick. Shevchenko grabs a Chookagian leg kick to land a takedown beautifully into Chookagian’s guard, and a big elbow from the top slices Chookagian right open over her left eye.

Rd 2 – 10-9 Shevchenko (20-18)

Shevchenko keeps making Chookagian miss, kicking to the body and moving out of range – there’s a clear pace difference with Chookagian struggling to land at the end of her range. Unreal counter striking from Shevchenko is the feature, staying in the pocket to lands up top on one occasion, and slipping back out quickly. Shevchenko lands a beautiful wheel kick that lands up top, inches away from getting the KO before landing a takedown to work from the top again. Chookagian can only defend from the bottom, being outclassed.

Rd 3 – Finish, 1:03

Chookagian finally finds her range on the feet, landing a couple of kicks but getting too eager with a knee and allowing Shevchenko to lock up and get a trip to takedown. From there, Shevchenko gets into a crucifix position to reign down elbows and punches. It’s done.

Fallout: The champ has run out of challengers, so may have to wait for another worthy opponent, while Chookagian will pick herself back up and try not to slide back into the pack. A truly universal fighter, Shevchenko may even look for a third bout against Amanda Nunes at 135lbs.

Heavyweight | Justin Tafa def. Juan Adams via TKO (punches) 1:59 Rd 1

Justin Tafa finally got to showcase the skills to justify the hype surrounding his UFC entrance, KO’ing Juan Adams in the first round. The Australian seized on his opportunity beautifully, with Adams looking to keep a distance but unable to withstand Tafa’s power on the way in. As soon as Tafa got close, he landed a right hands and two sneaky uppercuts to get the American’s attention, before looping a right hand up top to back Adams up and finish him with a deadly uppercut. Impressive performance, reminiscent of Mark Hunt.

Fallout: Tafa can push for the heavyweight rankings with a few more wins like that, but a loss here for Adams is a big blow. The Contender Series alum has now lost his last three bouts.

Featherweight | Dan Ige def. Mirsad Bektic via decision (split) 28-29, 29-28, 29-28

Dan Ige ground out a gruelling split decision win over former-ranked featherweight Mirsad Bektic to make his own claim for a number at 145lbs. The Hawaiian looked slick from the start, applying smothering pressure to the Bosnian with terrific work in the transitions between striking and grappling. He simply beat Bektic to the punch early on, before being reigned back in the second round. Bektic got his ground game going on the back of improved defence up top, timing a double leg well and staying heavy from top position. But Ige, a proficient BJJ practitioner survived a strangling arm triangle attempt and some good shots from his opponent. The third round saw Bektic’s momentum halted, with Ige again proving better at range on the feet and not allowing the takedown. Bektic was desperate to get it, but to no avail.

We had it: 29-28 Ige – Round 1 clearly Ige’s, Round 2 clearly Bektic’s, and the third was super tight. Ige gets it with his work on the feet and stingy takedown defence.

Fallout: Ige can push for the rankings after a fifth-straight UFC win, while Bektic’s slide from the numbers becomes more profound now.

Heavyweight | Derrick Lewis [6] def. Illir Latifi [12 LHW] via decision (unanimous) 29-28, 29-28, 29-28

Derrick Lewis improved to 10-0 in his home state of Texas with an entertaining unanimous decision win over heavyweight newcomer, Illir Latifi. ‘The Black Beast’ showed off some new tricks, going harder for longer with his improved cardio and a flying knee he had clearly practiced. He immediately took up the centre of the octagon, patiently looking for his shot and standing up to Latifi’s grappling advances. The power differential was clear as the Swede failed to complete deep single leg entries, with Lewis’ experience against wrestlers shining through. Lewis also looked to have added a quick left high kick to his repertoire, but was bettered in Round 2 as Latifi began to clinch up and land a takedown. In a somewhat disappointing move, Latifi hardly looked to advance his position, instead being satisfied with the points and being stood up. With every round starting on the feet, Lewis reverted back to his boxing early in Round 3, before going for one too many flying knees and being taken down. It mattered little, with Lewis’ late rally helping him edge over the line to the delight of the crowd, almost putting Latifi away with an uppercut.

We had it: 29-28 Lewis – 1-1 heading into Round 3, and Lewis gets it done with his late forward push for a finish.

Fallout: Latifi’s effort is probably enough to justify a heavyweight ranking, but he will need to prove himself against a contender. For Lewis, a top fiver will surely be in his sights with the gatekeeper role not favourable for any fighter. He remains a contender.

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PRELIMINARY CARD:

Middleweight | Trevin Giles def. James Krause via decision (split) 28-29, 29-28, 29-28

In 25 or less: Krause is an absolute warrior and very nearly outpointed Giles, but by his own admission was pieced up on the feet by the bigger man.

We had it: 29-28 Giles – Krause gets Round 1 due to his submission work, with 2 going to Giles and 3 the close one. Giles’ bigger shots on the feet get him over the line.

W. Flyweight | Lauren Murphy [7] def. Andrea Lee [8] via decision (split) 28-29, 29-28, 30-27

In 25 or less: A controversial decision which halts Lee’s momentum, but Murphy is tough and won on account of her boxing impressing the judges more than Lee’s kickboxing.

We had it: 29-28 Lee – Lee clearly won Round 2 but 1 and 3 were very tight, Murphy’s corner thought she was up 2-0, bizarre.

Welterweight | Khaos Williams def. Alex Morono via KO (punches) 0:27 Rd 1

In 25 or less: Massive win for the UFC debutant on short notice against a recognised name, showing great killer instinct to snare a quick finish. Impressive.

Bantamweight | Mario Bautista def. Miles John via TKO (knee and punches) 1:41 Rd 2

In 25 or less: Great win for Bautista after possibly being behind, with Johns unable to make the adjustment and being taken out by a well-timed knee.

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EARLY PRELIMINARY CARD:

Bantamweight | Journey Newson def. Domingo Pilarte via TKO (Punches), 0:38 Rd 1

Bantamweight | Andre Ewell def. Jonathan Martinez via decision (split) 28-29, 29-28, 30-27

Featherweight | Youseff Zalal def. Austin Lingo via decision (unanimous) 30-27, 30-27, 30-27