Former two-division Cage Warriors champion Jones and longtime UFC veteran Stephens both made their returns to the UFC after time away from the promotion, but it was Jones who showed that he’s back for good as he looked a step ahead of Stephens throughout their lightweight bout at UFC Des Moines, Iowa.
The Welshman’s victory extended his win streak to five as he tacked his UFC win over Stephens onto a run of four straight Cage Warriors victories. But, despite impressing with his display, Jones apologised to the Des Moines crowd for switching from striking to wrestling in the final round to ensure he secured the victory.
“I wanted to go out there and strike with him,” he said.
“He’s a legend – I grew up watching him fight. I’m sorry about that last round, but I had to make sure I got the job done. That was two good rounds.
“I kicked him in the face with some heavy shots, and he just looked at me and winked, and I thought, yeah, this guy’s who I thought he was. So yeah, I appreciate the love.
“I came out here, I gave you two hard rounds. Thank you back home for the support. I’m starting my [UFC] career back. It’s a stepping stone for me. For my career to advance, his must end, but thank you for the love.”
And, speaking backstage after his victory, Jones explained how he’s approaching this stage of his career as he looks to give the UFC and their fans exactly what they want to see – exciting fights.
“With this game, a lot of people don’t understand,” he explained.
“This is television. This is film. No one wants to see someone hold someone down. This is all about exciting fights. I give exciting fights.
“I go out there and I want to go out there and beat people like Justin Gaethje beats people. I don’t go out there and take people down and hold them down. Like, even Khabib’s couple of fights, I know I remember him taking a short notice one where he literally had a tough fight where he was just wrestling the guy and taking him down.
“You have to do it eventually, but I want to go out there and give exciting fights. I want to go out there and decimate people. I want to destroy people on TV.
“But, as it comes to bargaining power, we earn it. We earn it as we go. And for me, it doesn’t matter the names attached to those [fights].
“I lost a close fight against Mike Davis that I think I won. I smashed Alan Patrick, and he took it away from me after the accidental eye poke that was nothing.
“I beat David Onama in a mess, and then I went out to Ludovit Klein trying to be a hero, and messed it up.
“Today, I proved that I’m experienced enough that I can get the win, no matter what. I go out there and give exciting fights, and then I can make the win happen. I went out there with the whole mentality of, I’m going to set fire to his career, burn what’s left of it, and mine’s going to grow from the ashes.”
UFC Des Moines: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Cory Sandhagen def. Deiveson Figueiredo via TKO (injury) – Round 2, 4:08
- Reinier De Ridder def. Bo Nickal via knockout (knee to the body) – Round 2, 1:53
- Daniel Rodriguez def. Santiago Ponzinibbio via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 1:12
- Montel Jackson def. Daniel Marcos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Serhiy Sidey def. Cameron Smotherman via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Mason Jones def. Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Yana Santos def. Miesha Tate via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Azamat Bekoev def. Ryan Loder via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:44
- Gillian Robertson def. Marina Rodriguez via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:07
- Quang Le def. Gaston Bolanos via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:15
- Thomas Petersen def. Don’Tale Mayes via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-26, 30-26)
- Juliana Miller def. Ivana Petrovic via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
