From the first bell of the first round of the main event of UFC 128, Jon Jones and Mauricio Rua put on an exciting bout. Right out the gate, Jones launched a flying knee and looked to clinch, then blasted out a spinning back kick. Shortly after, Jones locked up a clinch and took down the champion. From there, and for the majority of the round, he blasted Shogun with strikes and avoided all submission trouble. When they returned tot he feet, Jones launched to knees that hurt the champion badly, putting Shogun on wobbly legs. Jones was careful not to over extend himself, and picked his shots. The round ended with Jones in top control, securing the first round easily.
The second round was all Jones once again, tooling Shogun in the stand up, using his length well. Shogun already looked winded and slowed as Jones blasted him with a right hand, and then scored a take down shortly after. From there, Jones once again worked his relentless ground and pound, With over a minute left in the round, blood was pouring from the face of the champion, and Jones was looking dominant as ever. Jones patiently worked from half guard, never allowing Shogun to attempt anything. With ten seconds left, Jones went for a leg lock, and when it wasn't happening, he fired off a punch to Shogun's face. Another round in the books for the challenger.
At the beginning of round three, Shogun looked beaten and exhausted. Just before the first minute passed, Shogun looked to lock up a leg, but ended up on his back once again for his troubles. Once again, the champion began eating powerful strikes. With the second minute passed, Jones unleashed brutal ground and pound. Shogun pushed him away, and tried to escape. Jones fired off a knee to Shogun's ribs, Shogun stood, backpedaling, hurt badly. Jones fired a left hook to the body, then a knee to the face as Shogun tumbled over, and just like that, Jon Jones crushed Shogun.