Picture Credit: Jon Jones’ Instagram
Founded in 1993, The Ultimate Fighting Championship, aka UFC, has been around for over three decades, making it home to some of the greatest combat sports athletes in the world by becoming the home to the largest battleground of Mixed Martial Arts with millions of fans across the globe.
Over the past thirty years, UFC fans have witnessed many resilient, fearless, technical, and courageous warriors in the octagon, who have contributed wholeheartedly in creating their legacies in the octagon. However, a name that stands head and shoulders above is the reigning UFC Heavyweight Champion, Jon Jones. Considered to be one of the well-rounded and accomplished fighters across all divisions, Jon Bones Jones’ name comes up while discussing the best fighter of all time in UFC history. Here are the reasons why he fits the criteria.
Technically An Unbeaten Career
Jones Jones is regarded as the greatest MMA fighter of all time for his extraordinary record. Competing in 30 professional MMA fights, he has 28 victories, 1 no-content, and 1 loss. However, his sole defeat came through disqualification, not by a proper loss.
Facing Matt Hamill at The Ultimate Fighter’: Heavyweight Finale on December 5, 2009, a young Jon Jones was dominating his opponent, delivering an array of his weapons in the cage. While being on top of Matt, Jones landed an illegal elbow that wasn’t in UFC’s rule book.
Seeing the move, the referee immediately stopped the bout. An astounding Jon couldn’t wrap his head around it after a victory was handed to Matt due to disqualification. Given the York-based fighter was in control during the encounter, he would have walked out with a win without the disqualification., keeping a perfect unbeaten record on paper.
Youngest UFC Champion In History
Following his UFC debut in 2008, Jon Jones consistently fought each year, delivering impressive performances for three years before receiving his first UFC Championship opportunity as a replacement.
Jones’ sparring partner, Rashad Evans, was scheduled to take on the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Mauricio Rua at UFC 128. Due to Evans’ training injury, Jones became his replacement and the new challenger for the champion.
Dominating the champion for a majority of the championship bout, Jon Bones walked out as champion with a TKO win, cementing his name as the youngest champion in UFC history, a record that is still intact today. He was 23 years old when he wore the gold around his waist.
16 Years Of UFC Career
Jon Jones comes from New York, and a number of his family members are known for athletic prowess. Both his brothers were NFL players, representing teams such as the Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, and Las Vegas Raiders. Naturally, Jon Jones is also a phenomenal athlete, holding the throne of the best UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight for many years.
UFC is the acme of Mixed Martial Arts, where only the elite fighters survive sustain for a lengthy period. Whereas a myriad of top-level fighters struggle to remain at the top for a decade, Jon Jones has been a prominent UFC fighter for 16 years, remaining the reigning, defending heavyweight champ.
Bearing in mind his stellar UFC legacy and longevity, particularly in competitive divisions like lightweight and heavyweight, Jon Jones automatically qualifies to be the best fighter of all time in UFC history.
His Variety In Fights
Jon Jones is a perfect mixed martial artist, owing to his mastery of different types of martial arts. Jon Bones Jones blends different styles seamlessly in his fights, ranging from wrestling and Brazilian Jij-Jitsu to Judo during his takedowns or takedown defenses.
On the other hand, his striking array includes lethal front kicks, roundhouse kicks, and oblique kicks, besides his vicious elbow blows and punches. Hence, the reigning UFC Heavyweight Champion has clinched wins through submissions like guillotine choke and rear naked choke, TKO such as spinning back kicks and elbows, and conventional KOs like powerful punches.
The range of maneuvers in his contests makes him stand out from the rest of the fighters across all divisions. Due to his approach of incorporating various martial arts styles during his matches, he becomes unpredictable to his opponents.
Jon Jones’ Brilliant Fight IQ
Most UFC fighters enter the octagon after specific game plans, and they usually stick to it. Nevertheless, it doesn’t concern Jon Bones Jones because of his high fight IQ. The 37-year-old often alters his game plan as per the progress of the fight and situation, accounting for his monumental success in the octagon.
For instance, at UFC 285, Jones encountered an elite striker like Ciryl Gane. Stepping into the octagon after three years, many believed Jones would lose his previous momentum and Gane might knock him out. Proving haters wrong, Jones went for a submission despite being proficient in standing toe-to-toe with Gane in striking content. He took a little over two minutes to finish Gane via guillotine choke. He did the same thing to Lyoto Machida, who possessed the same threat at UFC 140.
Due to his height, Jones often has a reach advantage. His high fight IQ enables him to read his opponents instantly and act according to the situation without sticking to the perfect game plan beforehand. If Jon Bones Jones finds an opening amid a fight, he would utilize and try to finish the fight as quickly as possible.
Avik Das is an English Literature graduate with an experience of over six years as a professional writer. He has written for renowned publications such as The Sportster, Sportskeeda, Pinkvilla, and The Things
