UFC
UFC 152 Results: Jon Jones survives armbar, submits Vitor Belfort in fourth round
Sep 23, 2012 - 12:05:14 AM UFC 152 Results: Jon Jones survives armbar, submits Vitor Belfort in fourth round

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Vitor Belfort nearly shocked the MMA world on Saturday night, catching UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones unawares with a tight armbar that nearly broke his arm. However, Jones survived the hold, and went on to dominate before earning a submission win of his own.

The armbar came in the first round after Jones took Belfort down, and came immediately after commentators Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan discussed how little Belfort had shown off his back throughout his career. Jones said after the fight that his arm went numb and he had never felt a pop in his arm like that before, but he ultimately survived the hold.

From there, the youngest Champ in UFC history continued his dominant run in the division, bloodying Belfort up with ground and pound, damaging him with strikes on the feet, and controlling every other aspect of the fight.

After three rounds of somewhat tentative yet still convincing action, Jones finally brought an end to the fight less than a minute into the fourth round. Belfort tried to pull guard, but Jones slipped past and into side control. He got into the mounted crucifix, but instead of raining down punches, Jones grabbed Belfort's right arm and wrenched an Americana to force the tap just :54 into the round.

The win was the sixth submission victory for Jones in the UFC, a record for the light heavyweight division. It also marked his fourth straight title defense, bringing him one behind Tito Ortiz for the most in the division's history.

[Jon Jones art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]