With his upcoming return to the octagon at UFC 197 on April 23rd, 2016, Jon Jones will look to recapture the light-heavyweight title that he never lost.
Although Jon has struggled outside of the octagon with a number of issues, he is still practically flawless within mixed martial arts competition. His only loss coming by the way of disqualification in a fight he was absolutely dominating, he has proven that he is a force to be reckoned with. After debuting within the UFC in 2008, he tore through the light-heavyweight roster until the organization was forced to give him a title shot.
Since then he has become the longest reigning light-heavyweight champion in the company’s history. He is undeniably the best light-heavyweight to ever compete within the sport and still to this day he continues to improve every time we see him step into the cage. It will be interesting to see how he handles the ring rust when he returns this coming April to challenge the current champion Daniel Cormier, who he has already beat once before.
Do you think Jones will return to his previous form or come back at a different fighter? Let us know when you think in the comments below!
8) Quinton Rampage Jackson vs. Jon Jones
-UFC 135, September 24th, 2011
After winning the title against Shogun Rua, Jones defended his new title for the first time against fan favorite knockout artist Rampage Jackson. Jones picked Jackson apart throughout the fight before submitting him by rear naked choke in the fourth round, making Jones the first fighter to finish Rampage within the octagon.
7) Stephan Bonnar vs. Jon Jones
-UFC 94, January 31st, 2009
When the fight took place, Bonnar was a tough fight for anybody. Which made it all the more impressive when Jones absolutely ran through him in just his second UFC fight. Jones showcased many of his signature moves for the first time in this fight, including his spinning elbow and throws from the clinch. Jones picked up a unanimous decision victory, moving his official UFC record to 2-0.
6) Ryan Bader vs. Jon Jones
-UFC 126, February 5th, 2011
Both men were up and coming undefeated prospects when they were scheduled to fight. Bader had won the Ultimate Fighter and many people thought this fight would show who the future king of the light-heavyweight division would be, those people were very right in that assumption. After Jones stopped Bader in the second round by guillotine choke, in the post-fight interview he was offered a title shot against the then current champ Shogun Rua in what would be a clash of old school vs. new school.
5) Vitor Belfort vs. Jon Jones
-UFC 152, September 22nd, 2012
After a series of complications that caused UFC 151 to be canceled, Jon Jones was scheduled to take on another MMA legend in Vitor Belfort. Jones opened as a massive 13-to-1 favorite in the match up, but faced his first bit of adversity inside of the cage when in the first round Belfort locked him up in an armbar, but refusing to tap Jones yank his arm out of the submission attempt and continued to fight on. Jones eventually finished the fight in the fourth round by americana, equaling Chuck Liddell’s amount of title defenses in the process.
4) Rashad Evans vs. Jon Jones
-UFC 145, April 21st, 2012
Jon Jones and Rashad Evans became huge rivals in the buildup to UFC 145. It all stemmed from UFC 128, when Rashad Evans was originally scheduled to fight for the title. Evans was injured in training and had to pull out from the bout, but Jones was offered to replace him and did. So when Jones won the title from Shogun Rua, it put the two training partners in an awkward situation. The two eventually gave in to fighting one another and when they did, it turned out to be just another dominant victory for Jones.
3) Lyoto Machida vs. Jon Jones
-UFC 140, December 10th, 2011
Jon Jones has a very unique frame, his reach of 84.5 is absolutely unheard of and paired with his height of 6’4, you have an incredibly long fighter to deal with. It is almost impossible to get within range to strike against Jones without throwing yourself into the wood chipper, receiving more damage than you can deal. Which is why so many people thought Lyoto Machida would be the one to dethrone Jones, with his use of karate blitzing to close that distance. The first round ended up being the closest of Jones’ career up until this point, but only for him to come out in the second round to strangle Lyoto completely unconscious in a standing choke then dropping his body to the mat below him.
2) Alexander Gustafsson vs. Jon Jones
-UFC 165, September 21st, 2013
This was thought to be a gimme fight for Jones, but it resulted in being the toughest in his career. In a five round war, Gustafsson and Jones pushed each other to their limits and brought the best out of one another. The two went back and forth in a fight that the judges could of scored either way, but Jones ended up getting a unanimous decision victory, once again defending his title against the best of the best.
1) Mauricio Shogun Rua vs. Jon Jones
-UFC 128, March 19th, 2011
This is the fight and the night that Jon Jones claimed his rightful spot as the light-heavyweight champion of the word. Replacing injured training partner Rashad Evans, Jones stepped in last moment to take on Mauricio Rua. The fight was thought to be a clash of styles, Jones being a large but lanky wrestler with awkward striking taking on the Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist in Mauricio Shogun Rua. Many had a prediction coming into the fight, but no one predicted it to be as one-sided as it was. At the opening bell Jones threw and landed a flying knee that was only the beginning of the three round beatdown. Jones forced Shogun to tap out to strikes midway through the third.
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