UFC 135: Rampage Jackson submitted by Jon Jones – admits he has handed over torch to a champion

JON JONES FLAWLESS IN TITLE DEFENCE AGAINST RAMPAGE JACKSON – SUBLIME STRIKING THEN SUBMITS JACKSON IN FOURTH ROUND

There is no other walk to the Octagon which comes close to that of Rampage Jackson. “Switch on, switch on” his boxing coach Mark Kinney screamed at him over the thumping sounds accompanying Quinton Jackson's, slow, deliberate march up the steps and into the fighting arena here at the Pepsi Center in Colorado. Slow. Deliberate.

“Head on,” his team told him. They had been studying the movement of Mike Tyson, bobbing head, moving from the waist. He’d worked on it in training. Could he replicate it to get in close against Jon Jones, the UFC light-heavyweight champion ? Rampage waited. Now it was Jones…head upright, air of the champion, head shaven. Looking the business. There was huge anticipation here this week as fans and writers, analysts and the bookmakers debated whether Jones is simply too skilled, and has come to the fore ready to wipe out a generation of fighters with global acclaim.

Jones squatted to pray at the open door of the Octagon. The 23-year-old appears to grow as he steps into the fighting arena. He punched a pillar, wobbling it, twice, with his left hand as a sign to his rival Rampage Jackson.

There was an eagerness about Jones. They met in the middle. Jones did not look Rampage in the eye.

Jones began the opening seconds in a crouch. They clinched. Jackson was against the wall of the Octagon. Vicious elbow from Jones . Two minutes against the cage wall. They separated, and both were breathing heavily.

Kicks from Jones. Rampage seemed calm in there waiting for his opportunity. He was caught by a spinning back elbow, but then ducked under a huge reverse kick from Jones, yet ended the round pursuing the champion, as the partisan crowd reached fever pitch.

The second round was just as compelling. Jones was still scoring with single shots, leg strikes and punches mainly from the southpaw stance, but you could sense Jones’s fear – or a deep respect – when Rampage was throwing bombs, anywhere near him. He seemed to know that it might only have taken one big shot to change the course of the fight.

In the third, Jones had Rampage down, in side control, and then in full mount. When he regained his feet, there was a spiteful, heavy right-left from Jones; then more kicks.

Rampage seemed confused. He was bleeding from the right eye. Jones indulged in some showboating. He looked away, as a feint, and threw a left which landed.

They came out and boxed at the beginning of the fourth. Jones was dancing. He scored a few times, then took Rampage down, and then transitions on the ground to submit Jackson by rear-naked choke. It was one-sided, but utterly compelling. There is an argument that Jones has still not been fully tested. Yet it was a great performance.

Jones said: “He insulted my striking, so I lifted it up a level.”

“The kid is good. I thought he was hyped. But I take my hat off to him,” said Jackson. “But you know what, I’m staying home and getting drunk tonight. I want to fight Shogun in Japan in February. Make it happen UFC.”

UFC 135: Can Rampage Jackson bring his A-Game against Jon Jones ? Prelims/Facebook reports

Underway in the mile-high city….the spiritual and physical birthplace of the UFC back in November, 1993.

REPORTS ON THE PRELIMS AND FACEBOOK FIGHTS

A bizarre 47-second contest between James Te Huna and Ricardo Romero to open the night. To the uninitiated, it resembled one man looking for his glasses on the floor in the dark – Romero – while Te Huna swatted flies around his knees. To those who follow the mad mix of styles, Romero wanted a ground fight, while Te Huna wanted to let his hands go. He did, knocking Romero down with a right uppercut and then finishing him by boxing the New Jersey man around the ears.

"I'm feeling really relieved. I was glad to get it over. I took my time and followed it up with one punch after another

I was looking to catch him with the uppercut and caught him and hurt him. My last fight i wasn't mentally there but tonight i got everything right," said Te Huna. One of his training team revealed to The Telegraph he had damaged his fingers in training three weeks ago. Little wonder Te Huna was relieved.

Romero said: "My game plan was to fight my fight. I guess I lost." Not much.

Brilliant fight between Takeya Mizugaki and Cole Escovedo. It lasted thirty seconds short of ten minutes, the Japanese fighter bringing a brutal finish with sharp, accurate left-right combinations, and right uppercuts, sending Escovedo to the ground. Bravery from Escovedo, clinical stuff from Mizugaki. Escovedo suffered from not releasing from the Thai clinch. It was almost impossible to separate the pair in the first round. Arguably 10-10. All three judges gave it to the Japanese fghter. Both bowed together in the Octagon after the contest. Moving end; great sportsmanship.

"I'm not tired but I didn't follow my game plan. The liver shots were piling up but I can take those," said Escovedo. "I needed to maintain the distance and shoot in. Obviously, I wasn't successful."

Mizagaki was visibly emotional after the victory. "I finally was able to score a KO in the Octagon and show the American fans what I'm made of. I really needed this win."

Junior Assuncao defeated Eddie Yagin in a stop-start contest not appreciated by the stentorian crowd in the Pepsi Center, 30-26, 30-26, 30-27.

Tim Boetsch battered Nick Ring for the last two of three rounds to earn 29-28, 29-28, 30-27. Ring moved and evaded in the first, but then Boetsch the battering ram caught up with him and showed some adeptness on the ground, throwing Ring to the ground with a hip toss. Boetsch continues to look good at middleweight.

Tony Ferguson defeats Aaron Riley. Doctor stoppage at end of round 1. Riley, as I suspected at the time, has broken jaw. Ferguson, the last Ultimate Fighter winner, looks to have some talent as a lightweight, though he was expected to beat veteran Riley. Riley was unable to speak afterwards and was clearly in discomfort after the first stanza.

UFC 135: Live blog main card Jon Jones versus Rampage Jackson

Rob Broughton, from Wolf's Lair in Warrington and the only British fighter on this event, was defeated 30-27 unanimously by Travis Browne, in a sluggish heavyweight contest.

UFC 135: Can Rampage Jackson bring his A-Game against Jon Jones ?

Underway in the mile-high city….the spiritual and physical birthplace of the UFC back in November, 1993.

A bizarre 47-second contest between James Te Huna and Ricardo Romero to open the night. To the uninitiated, it resembled one man looking for his glasses on the floor in the dark – Romero – while Te Huna swatted flies around his knees. To those who follow the mad mix of styles, Romero wanted a ground fight, while Te Huna wanted to let his hands go. He did, knocking Romero down with a right uppercut and then finishing him by boxing the New Jersey man around the ears.

Brilliant fight between Takeya Misugaki and Cole Escovedo. It lasted thirty seconds short of ten minutes, the Japanese fighter bringing a brutal finish with sharp, accurate left-right combinations, and right uppercuts, sending Escovedo to the ground. Bravery from Escovedo, clinical stuff from Misugaki. Escovedo suffered from not releasing from the Thai clinch. It was almost impossible to separate the pair in the first round. Arguably 10-10. Both bowed together in the Octagon after the contest. Moving end; great sportsmanship.

UFC 135: Mile-high in Denver and howling at the moon with Rampage Jackson…plus Telegraph picks

It has been a cool three days in this most temperate of cities. The calm around UFC 135 shattered only by the off-the-wall humour of Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson, a God-fearing man, fighter turned Hollywood star, who surely, when we are not looking, howls at the moon, and climbs sideways up buildings.

I am convinced I saw him out late after midnight last night, in a dimly-lit area of downtown, jogging past, hood up, his steely eyes looking straight ahead, his face etched into a smirk, that huge chain swinging pendulously side to side with a regular chink. But then again, I could well be wrong.

My point is this: Rampage is not just a fighter; he has been enveloped in a cloak, of celebrity and personality. He is a quasi-cartoon-like character from a work of fiction. Huge head, angular face, vicious-looking, yet drunk with fun.

The sublime apposition, indeed, is Quinton's manager, Anthony McGann, an Englishman so Liverpudlian he crushes coal as he speaks. Just yesterday, he turned to me and said (in a nice way): "You're a t*** mate, but at least your our t***, Gareth." I felt like crushed coal myself. Believe it or not, he meant it in an endearing way (I think).

McGann just grinned, and held out his hand, laughing. McGann and Rampage, and a group of scousers including Rob Broughton – a bear of a man who was born with his feet the wrong way round and had multiple operations to rectify the impairment and now fights at heavyweight – and Cheick Kongo, another huge heavywight with lethal striking yet the most elegant way of speaking English with his soft French accent, have been ensconced with a group of Americans in a staggeringly advanced training facility called MusclePharm, in a suburb of Denver for the last eight weeks.

The 35,000 sq feet facility has everything needed for a camp for a champ – including 60 seat cinema, apartment, recovery oxygen chamber, under water exercise machines. Truly state of the art.

But after two months, the camp are restless, and ready to fight.

Where Mike Tyson exuded menace, Rampage brings colour. Make no mistake, the man is teak-tough, has legendary status going back almost a decade in mixed martial arts to the days of the PRIDE championship in Japan, but everything he does is laced with humour.

They said Rampage was grumpy on Wednesday at the head to head news conference. Jackson had talked about how much he enjoyed his training camp in Denver, where he visited the zoo and "made a friend" — a monkey that he said looked just like Jones. It just comes out…Curb Your Enthusiasm. A tense moment saw all fall about laughing – even the UFC light-heavyweight Jones was grinning.

Rampage was 'grumpy' on Thursday, too, we were told at the fighter workouts. But he ended up talking about The Queen with your correspondent on more than a couple of occasions. He did the last time we were together. He likes the UK. He has had half a dozen camps there, in Warrington.

The team around Rampage, incidentally, mentioned the name of Mike Tyson more than once in the fighter workouts on Thursday, and the former champion may need that movement from head and waist if he is to get on the inside and become the first opponent to really test Jones's chin. The wise money is saying that he will not. His team are convinced that Jackson, who looks trim, will have the wherewithal to do so. I'm not so sure.

I think we may have already seen a changing of the guard with the emergence of Jones. Yes, Jackson is very tough, and yes, Jones is raw, but his physical advantages are quite incredible. But many are fascinated to see what transpires. Should Jones deal easily with Jackson – the heaviest puncher in the division – it may be a long time before Jones gives up the belt.

DANA WHITE ON MICHAEL BISPING AND A POSSIBLE TITLE SHOT AGAINST ANDERSON SILVA

Telegraph Sport spoke to UFC president Dana White on the record this week about Michael Bisping and a potential title shot for the British middleweight. As expected, White confirmed that Bisping is treading water in the contest with Jason 'Mayhem' Miller, on Dec 3 in Las Vegas. It is merely the tip off point for the end of the fourteenth series of The Ultimate Fighter, with Bisping and Miller opposing coaches. White confirmed a win over Miller would not move Bisping into title contention, but that he is in the top five mix in the division. Bisping would have to fight a top contender after Miller to get a shot at 'the Spider', regarded as the best all-round mixed martial artist of all time.

Telegraph main card picks:

Jon Jones to beat Rampage Jackson and retain the UFC light-heavyweight belt.

Josh Koscheck over UFC legend Matt Hughes

Nate Diaz over Takanori Gomi (hardest pick in my book)

Rob Broughton to take a surprise win over Travis Browne

Big Ben Rothwell to defeat Mark Hunt (but this could so easily go the other way)

Also looking forward to speaking to Cole Escovedo, who has an amazing background story and is one of those who suffers, quite brilliantly, from the triumph of the human spirit. And if you've read this far, you will have wondered if the altitude in Denver has got to me, I'd probably say 'yes'. But it's great to join the mile-high city club. If the UFC began here, it wasn't a bad place to start. Let's hope the event at the Pepsi Center lives up to the hype.

UFC 135: David Haye works out at UFC gym and comments on Jon Jones versus Rampage Jackson

David Haye, the former WBA heavyweight champion, has long been a fan and an admirer of the UFC. Last week, he trained at the UFC gym in Las Vegas. Haye has been Octagonside for some events.

Here, he gives his take on the main event at UFC 135, in Denver, Colorado. The Telegraph will be reporting live from the event on Saturday night.

Listen here for this week's ESPN UFC Podcast. I join the boys in the studio on the phone from Denver, Online: http://es.pn/kRAf1o iTunes: http://bit.ly/eRhWHQ