Once the fight began, however, Jones was once again a tour de force of MMA virtuosity, completely shutting down Bader's offense over the ensuing 9:20 of action. Bader, for his part, entered the Octagon undefeated, with what was believed to be the superior wrestling of the two men. He sought to back Jones up in the early going with aggressive standup and big overhand strikes. Jones measured his standup strikes carefully and did not open up excessively. But he wrestled Bader to the canvas more than once in round one, where Bader's work on the bottom in half guard was leaving openings for Jones to attack with a variety of front chokes, including Guillotines and D'Arces.
That theme spelled the end of the fight in round two, as Bader once again discovered himself foundering helplessly on the bottom in half guard as Jones worked for chokes. The fight-ending submission from Jones officially came at 4:20 of round two as a Guillotine forced Bader to tap. Bader had connected with a total of one solid punch in the entirety of the fight, a left hook to Jones midway through. It was his only bright spot on a night in which he was completely outclassed.
The drama continued in the Octagon immediately after Jones's victory as he was informed by ringside announcer Joe Rogan during the post-fight interview that his close friend and teammate Rashad Evans, who had been scheduled to fight Mauricio "Shogun" Rua for the title, had been forced off the card due to a knee injury. Jones was being granted an immediate title shot in his place. An overjoyed Jones fell to his knees in thanks. Shogun entered the cage moments later and welcomed the challenge. Reports were that Ticketmaster phone lines lit up within moments of the live announcement as fans sought a chance to see the UFC's apparent next big thing fight for the title in person.
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