Current champ different than his predecessors
I understand why people want to hold off on declaring this “The Jon Jones Era.”
After all, the last time someone deemed a period in the light heavyweight division an era, Mauricio Rua went and leg-kicked the hell out of it the very next fight. Regardless of the verdict in the first fight, Rua showed that Lyoto Machida’s place atop the division wasn’t as solid as originally believed.
If that wasn’t reason enough to put a hold on sculpting a statue to immortalize Jon Jones, the fact that he’s in possession of the championship version of a hot potato sure does the trick.
In beating Quinton Jackson on Saturday night, Jones has equaled “Rampage” and Machida for the most defenses of the light heavyweight championship in the last four years; one. The 205 pound strap has moved around a lot since Jackson successfully defended the title against Dan Henderson, with each subsequent champion looking poised to enjoy a lasting reign the night they claimed the belt.
Those are both very valid reasons for taking a breath before proclaiming Jones on the verge of an extended stay at the top of the most tumultuous division in the sport.
Personally, they don’t worry me in the least.
Through 15 fights, Jones has shown us no reason to doubt him; quite the opposite in fact. Each trip to the Octagon has been better than the last, his dominance even greater despite the level of competition increasing as well.
In his last two fights, Jones has systematically destroyed a pair of decorated superstars, fighters who excelled in both Pride and the UFC and stand as two of the best the light heavyweight division has ever produced.
Rua and Jackson were both thoroughly over-matched and completely outclassed, supreme talents made to look inferior by the young star who is quickly proving to be the next evolution in the sport of mixed martial arts.
Prior to picking apart and submitting Jackson at UFC 135, I wrote that Jones had “Greatest of All-Time Potential.” Saturday’s showing made me want to offer a revision: Jon Jones is going to end up being the greatest fighter of all-time.
I don’t see anyone beating Jones any time soon, and I’m usually the guy who can make a case for anyone getting beat.
His abilities inside the cage are second-to-none, and even if he stopped developing new weapons and honing new skills right now, he’d still be an absolute handful for everyone in the division. But that isn’t going to happen.
Jones isn’t going to suddenly switch off that drive to be great—stop training, stop studying footage of his opponents, and become predictable in the cage. He will continue to grow, literally and figuratively, sharpening his already impressive collection of tools and added new ones to his arsenal at the same time.
And it’s not like he’s been squeaking out wins and battling through great adversity to emerge victorious so far either.
Jones has thoroughly dominated everyone he’s faced, beginning with Andre Gusmao and continuing through Jackson Saturday night. He’s actually taking less damage now than he was in his early UFC fights, utilizing his length effectively and avoiding punishment.
Each of his last five wins have been finishes, something that stands in stark contrast to Machida during his climb to the top of the division. There haven’t been any “near miss” moments for Jones either.
He’s completely smashing guys, fighters who are going out and putting it on people the next time out most of the time. Vladimir Matyushenko has collected two wins in less than three minutes combined since losing to Jones, and “Shogun” just crushed Forrest Griffin in Rio. Neither came close to testing Jones; no one has.
Rashad Evans is next in line and viewed as the toughest test to date for the young champion, but each of his last several opponents have been as well, and we’ve seen how those fights turned out.
The rule in mixed martial arts is that everybody loses somewhere along the line, but there are exceptions to every rule.
While most are hedging their bets and waiting for the loss they feel is inevitably going to come, I think Jon Jones is the exception.
We’re bearing witness to greatness, even if most are not quite ready to admit it just yet.