Saints sign UDFA DE Michael Heldman
New Orleans Saints sign undrafted free agent DE Michael Heldman from Central Michigan.
Jon Jones' victory over Glover Teixeira at UFC 172 in 2014 led to significant changes in MMA rules regarding eye pokes. The fight prompted officials to amend the Unified Rules of MMA by 2016, making extended fingers a foul.
Jon Jones' light heavyweight title defense over Glover Teixeira in 2014 is historically significant for a couple reasons.
It's been 12 years since Jones, who was 26 at the time, left Teixeira a bloody and mangled mess in the UFC 172 main event in Baltimore on April 26, 2014. Jones swept the judges' scorecards for a dominant decision and extended his UFC record with a seventh straight light heavyweight title defense.
But along with Jones' legitimate violence through elbows and head kicks and spinning attacks and an entire litany of offense, Jones continued to be criticized – and in fact has never been criticized more – for his use of extended fingers toward opponents' faces, particularly their eyes.
Against Teixeira, it reached a boiling point, and afterward UFC CEO Dana White said something needed to be done about it. So did officials, other fighters, athletic commissions – and by 2016, the Unified Rules of MMA were amended to make leading with a finger-extended hand a foul, even if it doesn't lead to an eye poke.
These days, it's a regular warning from referees to fighters to close their hands. Call it the "Jon Jones Rule," if you must. Has it made a difference? Some would argue it hasn't mattered a bit. (Ask Tom Aspinall.)
The other thing to note about Jones' win over Teixeira is, it really was the last time fans had a Jones fight that wasn't also tainted with some kind of Jones-related controversy. Sure, he had his DUI arrest when he wrapped his Bentley around a light pole in 2012. But after the Teixeira fight in April 2014, Jones really headed into "that Jon Jones" territory. And you all know the one that means.
So relive the last of an era, sort of – Jones' win over Teixeira at UFC 172 – above.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: April 26, 2014 in MMA history: Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira, UFC 172
The fight prompted the amendment of the Unified Rules of MMA to classify leading with a finger-extended hand as a foul.
The 'Jon Jones Rule' refers to the prohibition of leading with an extended finger towards an opponent's face, introduced after the UFC 172 fight.
Jon Jones won the fight by a dominant decision, marking his seventh consecutive light heavyweight title defense.
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