“It’s definitely my most satisfying victory,” Jones said immediately following the fight. “With who I beat, it was very important to me.”

From the opening bell, it was all Jones. Using a long reach to his advantage, the champ delivered a diverse array of attacks to the body and head of Evans, including kicks, strikes, and some devastating elbows that we’ll get to in a minute. In the first round, Bones mixed up his attack, hitting “Sugar” Rashad with a big head kick and knee early on, but it was Evans who had the round’s most significant strike when he seemed to stagger Jones with a head kick of his own at the latter part of the round.

As the fight worn on, though, Jones landed some vicious elbows. He began to extend his arms out to measure the distant between both fighters, during which he would sneak in and catch Evans with elbows time after time. Mid-way through Round #3, Evans had lost all confidence. With a swelling welt on the side of his head (as a result of the elbows) and blood streaming out of his mouth, his attack output dwindled to almost nothing.

Although the fight was in Jones’ favor from the beginning, in the score cards, he never stopped his onslaught. In the final round, he danced around, threw jabs and strong right hands almost at will. And, in the closing seconds, Jones pulled guard on Evans, toying with him as he had been doing in the final, championship rounds.

In the end, each judge ruled in favor of Jones for a unanimous decision, maintaining his nearly flawless MMA record — he had one lost in 2009, as the result of a DQ — and continuing his reign as the undisputed Light Heavyweight UFC champion.

Despite his near flawless performance, Jones admitted that he didn’t feel in top form after the fight, and was even a little disappointed he couldn’t finish Evans off in the final rounds.

“I had a goal to finish this fight. I’m definitely surprised [I couldn't put him away],” he said, before holding his hands in victory for the cameras. “Hat’s off to Rashad … I really didn’t feel the cleanest on my feet. But, I’m sitting here very grateful here.”

There was a bitter rivalry between both fighters going into the fight, but in his post-fight interview, Evans congratulated Jones on the dominating victory … and admitted he was the better fighter this particular evening.

“I give him props. He was pretty crafty and tricky and stuff like that. He was creative and kept me on my toes. I gotta give it up for him,” he said. “I played the wrong game all night. He came in with those tricky elbows and was able to get me.”

From here, Evans says he’ll continue working toward another title. At 32, he says he’s got many more years left in the sport. “Continue to get better. I’m only 32 years old, and got a long career ahead of me. So, just get better and build my way to the top [is my plan],” he said when asked about the future.

Jon Jones improves to 16-1, and as of press time, it’s unclear who his next opponent may be. Evans’ record falls to 17-2, following a four-fight win streak. His only other lose came at the hands of Lyoto Machida in May 2009.