UFC 172 Results: Full Winners and Analysis for Main Card

The main card for UFC 172 has a little bit of everything. 

Headlining the event is arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world—Jon Jones—who will defend his light heavyweight title against Glover Teixeira, who has tallied 20 consecutive victories.

As if that's not enough, the rest of the card is loaded. 

Two up-and-coming young talents in Max Holloway and Andre Fili square off in what could easily be the fight of the night. Veteran Jim Miller faces Yancy Medeiros, who looks to turn around a forgettable start with the company. Luke Rockhold has a chance to establish himself as a middleweight title contender, and Phil Davis vs. Anthony Johnson is extremely compelling. 

Let's take a look at how the main card plays out at Baltimore Arena on Saturday night. 

Max Holloway vs. Andre Fili

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After 2013 saw Max Holloway go 0-2 with a couple of defeats via decision, the 22-year-old Hawaiian is right back on track.

“Blessed” stopped Will Chope in the second round with the Knockout of the Night back in January, and on Saturday, he took care of a fellow young, talented featherweight in Andre Fili.

The win will serve as a major resume booster for him going forward. This was not a win that came easy.

Both fighters put on a good show in the first two rounds, as they exchanged strikes and appeared to be heading to the scorecards. However, Holloway had other plans in the third round. His perseverance in the stand-up game ultimately led to the knockdown and a guillotine submission victory.  

He is an intriguing prospect. He is now just 5-3 in the UFC, but he has more experience (his losses came against top competition like Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor) than most fighters his age and is still clearly improving.

He still has yet to prove he can beat a Top 10 opponent, but with two impressive wins in a row, another chance may be on the horizon.

Jim Miller vs. Yancy Medeiros

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A long-time contender in the lightweight division, Jim Miller finally stopped a three-year streak of alternating wins and losses (although a loss to Pat Healy was turned into a no contest), knocking off 26-year-old Yancy Medeiros to score his second victory in a row.

Miller's grappling ability and experienced carried the day against the young Medeiros. After a brief encounter on the feet Miller added to his resume as a finisher of fights with a devastating guillotine in the first round. 

In the grand scheme of things, Miller didn’t have a ton to gain with this fight. He was expected to beat “Frisson,” whose previous win over Yves Edwards was overturned due to a positive test for marijuana, but if he lost it would have been a major blemish on the 30-year-old’s resume.

Nevertheless, the solid victory continues the momentum for the division’s ninth-ranked fighter, and he should get a much stiffer challenge the next time in the Octagon.

Luke Rockhold vs Tim Boetsch

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Luke Rockhold’s UFC debut didn’t go how he imagined, as he was knocked out in the first round on the “road” to Brazilian Vitor Belfort in Jaragua do Sul last year. But he returned the favor against Costas Philippou, and after a dominant win over Tim Boetsch on Saturday night, it’s clear he’s ready for the top of the middleweight division again.

Rockhold showed he was clearly hungry for the finish from the outset. He immediately took down Boetsch and looked for a triangle choke before switching to the Kimura and locking up the victory in Round 1.

It will be intriguing to see what’s next for the 29-year-old.

Champion Chris Weidman is set to face Lyoto Machida at UFC 175, and Dana White recently said Belfort would be in line for a title shot before Rockhold.

Perhaps a rematch with Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza or Tim Kennedy, both of whom he beat in Strikeforce, will be next for Rockhold, or maybe he’ll just wait until the title picture clears up. Either way, the arrow is clearly pointing up.

As for Boetsch, his UFC lifeline may have just stopped ticking.

Phil Davis vs. Anthony Johnson

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Welcome back, Anthony Johnson.

After being booted from UFC in 2012, “Rumble” hopped around with Titan Fighting Championship and World Series of Fighting before returning against Phil Davis on Saturday night.

Not many were expecting the 30-year-old to come out on top, but he pulled off a huge victory.

Johnson showcased his power early on. He stunned Davis with a well-time uppercut in the opening round and opened up a cut that would be indicative of how the rest of the fight would play out. Rumble imposed his will for all three rounds to earn the nod on the judges’ scorecards.

Many believed Davis shouldn’t have been ranked No. 4 in the division, but a top-five win is a top-five win, and Johnson should receive another top fight as he continues his impressive comeback.

Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira

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The top pound-for-pound fighter in the world according to UFC.com, Jon Jones successfully defended his light heavyweight title for the seventh time in a row.

This time around he found a way past 34-year-old Glover Teixeira via unanimous decision.

As we've come to expect, the reigning champ Jones utilized his significant reach advantage to pummel the challenger in the beginning of the fight. However, as the fight wore on he was able to close the distance and beat the power puncher at his own game in the clinch. 

The judges rewarded Jones with a clean sweep on the scorecards and there's no doubt that the decision was justified after the champion's thorough title defense.

“Bones” continues to impress, and a win over the man who hadn’t lost since 2005 is just another in a long line of accomplishments.

He has some options, but a rematch between “Bones” and Alexander Gustafsson, who produced the fight of the year at UFC 165 in September, is likely going to be what the majority will want to see next.