Jon Jones’ coach believes pupil won a clear-cut decision against Thiago Santos
At UFC 239, Jon Jones was looking to defend his light heavyweight title against Thiago Santos. There, many expected “Bones” to dominate the fight, which appeared to not be the case. When the fight went to the judge’s scorecards, it was ruled a split-decision.
Now, looking back at the fight, Jon Jones’ head coach in Brandon Gibson does not agree with the split-decision.
“I was surprised,” Gibson said to MMA Fighting. “It is part of our job as coaches and trainers to be aware of how a round could have gone. We knew the first round was ultra-competitive but I thought [rounds] 2 through 5 were clearly Jon and I thought we were up.
“We weren’t asking Jon to coast or fight safe or anything like that or protect the lead. We’re always hunting. I was surprised that one judge saw it that way. And I was a little surprised some media members I really respect saw it in Thiago’s favor.”
He says sitting in the corner he could really see what was happening and knows Jones dominated the fight from the get-go. While when Santos went in for blitzes he missed most of the time.
“I just think I have a view as good as any judge during the fight. I thought Jon’s pressure, his feints, his volume, his defense, won us that fight,” Gibson said. “Thiago missed a lot on his counters but maybe the judges thought they were landing.
“They were glancing shots, they were shots that were hitting Jon’s chest or Jon’s shoulders but Thiago came hard to fight for sure.”
Regardless, Jon Jones got it done whether or not they agree with the split-decision doesn’t matter. The light heavyweight king now has to focus on his next fight and show he is still one of the best fighters to ever do it.
