• UFC 140

I'll never be the same again after UFC 140 - Jon Jones

ESPN staff
December 11, 2011
Jon Jones has won four fights in 2011 © Getty Images
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Jon Jones plans to take some time off following his UFC 140 victory over Lyoto Machida, a fight that he believes will propel him towards a new level inside the Octagon.

Jones got hit for the first time in Saturday's title collision with Machida, but he ultimately ended things in spectacular fashion, rendering Machida unconscious with a standing guillotine choke.

Victory was his fourth of the year, three coming against former UFC champions, so he will now take a period away from the cage to continue his evolvement. And at the age of 24, he admits the Machida fight will act as the wake-up call for him to get even better.

"I got the feeling I'll never be the same after this fight," Jones said. "I got the feeling that I'm going to grow after this fight.

"[A weak chin] was definitely something that was made up by media - that I couldn't take a punch," Jones said. "I just felt it was something I could address to quiet more critics. I knew I could take a punch and I'm glad I got to prove it tonight."

The turning point of the contest undoubtedly came when Jones put Machida on his back, delivering a nasty cut to the Brazilian with an elbow. Both men agreed that Jones had it won from that point onwards.

"I felt the fight was going great," Machida said. "But after the cut on my forehead, my vision got a little blurry. I felt like that was the beginning of the end."

Jones agreed: "That's when my confidence really started to skyrocket. I started to realise that on the ground, I would have success there. And seeing his blood made me think, 'alright, he bleeds.'"

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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