UFC Light Heavyweight Vitor Belfort secured an arm bar on champion Jon Jones in the first round that was visibly hyper-extending the arm. Jones didn't tap and managed to escape although he was visibly hurt, favored his right arm for the rest of the fight, needed trouble putting his shirt on post-fight and wore a sling to the press conference.

Belfort spoke to Brazil's Globo TV about the arm bar:



"I've always had great respect for Jon Jones and know he is a great champion. When I felt his arm snap, I decreased the pressure, and he got out. Simple as that. During the bout, he managed to work his elbows well (from the top), but I was never afraid. But he was very good in the fight."

Jones later said he feared he had suffered nerve damage from the arm bar but won't be able to get it checked by a doctor until today since he traveled to Maryland to see his brothers (both starters for NFL teams) play in yesterday's Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots game.

For his part, Jones said Vitor did him a favor, per MMA Fighting:

"I just remember getting to that second round, thanking God that I had gotten out of that armbar, and thanking God for that adversity. ... I honestly thank God just for having a hurt arm, just to prove to myself and prove to my coaches that all the speeches and all the stories I heard about warriors, just to be able to prove that I can be a warrior as well, I was grateful to be able to come back from something."

SBN coverage of UFC 152: Jones vs. Belfort