UFC 239 results: Jones survives Santos scare as Nunes stops Holm for tilte defence

Las Vegas, July 7: Jon Jones splits decison to defend light heavyweight title against a game Thiago Santos in the main event of UFC 239: Jones vs. Santos at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday (July 6).

Santos appeared to injure his knee in the opening round after he peppered Jones with leg kicks, but still took the fight to the distance with two judges scoring the contest 48-47 in the champion's favour.

The result meant, Jones won 16 consecutive fights since his controversial 2009 disqualification in a bout against Matt Hamill, while Santos had a four-fight win streak snapped.

.@JonnyBones ties Georges St-Pierre for most title fight victories in @UFC history with 13. #UFC239 pic.twitter.com/h7lyBuYMB4

— UFC News (@UFCNews) July 7, 2019

In the co-main event, Amanda Nunes successfully defended her UFC Women's Bantamweight title using her opponent's move for a first-round stoppage win over Holly Holm.

Nunes connected a right head kick to send Holm crashing to the mat and the champion finished off the fight with a few strikes at the 4:10 mark of the opening round. This result stretched Nunes'winning-streak to nine, with the last three ending in knock outs.

THE HEAD KICK DOES IT@Amanda_Leoa #UFC239 pic.twitter.com/FYl4TFWhZa

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 7, 2019

In the main card opener, Michael Chiesa won his second straight fight since moving to the welterweight division as he earned a decision win over Diego Sanchez with a trio of 30-26 scores.

Also on the main card, Jorge Masvidal set a record after stopping Ben Askren with one of the most violent knockouts in the history of the UFC. Masvidal used a hellacious flying knee to knock Askren out cold at 0.05 mark of the opening frame.

The victory meant veteran Masvidal has two straight knockout wins, while it also marked the first career loss for the former Bellator welterweight titleholder Askren.

OH MY GOD MASVIDAL STARCHES ASKREN IN 5 SECONDS!!!#UFC239 pic.twitter.com/8oWeqSIBhW

— UFC (@ufc) July 7, 2019

In a light heavyweight bout, Jan Blachowicz dropped Luke Rockhold in the first round before finishing him off with a brutal left hook at the 1:39 mark of the second round. The result meant Blachowicz got back among the win column, while Rockhold suffered his second straight knockout.

Earlier in the preliminary card there were decision wins for Arnold Allen, Claudia Gadelha, Chance Rencountre and Julia Avila, while Marlon Vera, Song Yadong and Edmen Shahbazyan earned stoppage wins.

💰 B O N U S E S ! 💰

🔺 @GamebredFighter
🔺 @Amanda_Leoa
🔺 Song Yadong
🔺 @JanBlachowicz @P3Protein #UFC239 pic.twitter.com/XLU97MtVqq

— UFC (@ufc) July 7, 2019

Here are the final results of UFC 239:

Main card

1. Light Heavyweight title bout: Jon Jones defeated Thiago Santos by split decision (47-48, 48-47, 4-47)

2. Women's Bantamweight title bout: Amanda Nunes defeated Holly Holm by TKO - Round 1, 4:10

3. Welterweight bout: Jorge Masvidal defeated Ben Askren by KO (flying knee) - Round 1, 0:05

4. Light Heavyweight bout: Jan Blachowicz defeated Luke Rockhold by KO (punch) - Round 2, 1:39

5. Welterweight bout: Michael Chiesa defeated Diego Sanchez by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)

Preliminary card

1. Featherweight bout: Arnold Allen defeated Gilbert Melendez by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

2. Bantamweight bout: Marlon Vera defeated Nohelin Hernandez by submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 2, 3:25

3. Women's Strawweight bout: Claudia Gadelha defeated Randa Markos by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

4. Bantamweight bout: Song Yadong defeated Alejandro Perez by knockout (punch) - Round 1, 2:04

5. Middleweight bout: Edmen Shahbazyan defeated Jack Marshman by submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 1:12

6. Welterweight bout: Chance Rencountre defeated Ismail Naurdiev by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 30-27)

7. Women's Bantamweight bout: Julia Avila defeated Pannie Kianzad by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)