It's been argued that Jon "Bones" Jones is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the UFC. Jones has had many dominant fights in the light-heavyweight division. With such an incredible record it may be difficult to find his top five, but we've selected what we feel are the best fights of Jon Jones' career to date.
Fights in the UFC Light-Heavyweight division are often grueling matches where stamina and the ability to take punishment determine the winner, and title fights are no exception. At UFC 165, "Bones" Jones was set to defend his title against challenger Alexander Gustafsson in a much anticipated match. This match lived up to every expectation as it went the distance with neither fighter gaining the upper hand.
The match was essentially scored dead even through four rounds, and the final round would decide the winner. Jones' stamina was evident, and Gustafsson's body language showed he had little left in the tank. Jones made an attempt to finish the fight before the final bell with a flurry of kicks and punches, but the challenger was determined to stay on his feet and survive long enough to put the decision in the judges' hands. In the end, Jones successfully defended his title by a narrow two-point margin as the judges awarded him the victory by a score of 49-47.
After a grueling five-round match in their first fight, it took five years before "Bones" Jones and Alexander Gustafsson would meet in the octagon for a second time. There was nearly as much anticipation leading up to the rematch as there was before their first meeting, and fans were hoping for another legendary battle of attrition.
While not the match fans were hoping for, Jon Jones proved why he was considered one of the best in the business by dismantling Gustafsson over the course of three rounds. After two rounds of dominating ground and pound, Jones was given an opportunity to finish off Gustafsson after Gustafsson sustained a groin injury. "Bones" Jones took advantage by pounding Gustafsson on the mat and the officials had no choice but to stop the match.
At UFC 182, Jones was set to meet the Olympian Daniel Cormier in a match between two competitors who had only one loss on their respective records. Leading up to the match, Cormier dropped down from the heavyweight division to become a light-heavyweight in order to fight Jon "Bones" Jones. Jones had nothing but disparaging words for Cormier over the year leading up to the fight, so this match was one that went beyond the fight for domination in the octagon, it had become personal.
The obvious strategy for Jones would be to use his reach as an advantage and take away Cormier's Olympic-style wrestling attack, but Jones had something to prove so he put his mind to winning the takedown battle. Jones walked away by beating Cormier at his own game proving that no matter the opponent, he should always be considered a favorite.
Jon Jones was scheduled to defend his UFC Light-Heavyweight Title against fan-favorite Vitor Belfort, but most experts expected Jones to easily walk out of the octagon with his championship reign intact.
Belfort's chances for victory lied with him starting quickly and avoiding Jones' reach advantage, and he was able to do that by injuring Jones' arm early in the match. "Bones" Jones dealt with adversity well and fought through the pain to take the match into the fourth round where he was able to force Vitor to submit after locking him in a Kimura hold in the first minute of the round.
Initially, Jones was set to defend his title against Phil Davis at UFC 140, but Davis was struggling to recover from an injury, so Lyoto Machida stepped in to take his shot at the dominant Jon "Bones" Jones. Coming into the match, Machida had never lost a UFC match via technical submission, and many believed he would be the one to solve Jon Jones' fighting style and dethrone UFC's youngest ever champion.
The first round was dead even, with nothing separating the two fighters, but that quickly changed in the second round. Machida suffered a gash on his forehead that had to be checked by the cage-side doctor before the fight could continue, and any chance the challenger had of gaining an advantage was lost at that moment. Returning to action, Jones was able to take advantage and lock in a chokehold and held it until Lyoto Machida lost consciousness. Jones was criticized for how long he kept the hold applied, but even Machida acknowledged that these type of things happen in MMA fights.
At age 23, Jon "Bones" Jones was set to take on UFC Light-Heavyweight Titleholder "Shogun" Rua for a chance to become the youngest UFC Champion of all time. Jones used his reach to his advantage and completely baffled the current champ as nothing Rua did help him gain an advantage or momentum.
Jones took complete charge of the fight in the third round when "Bones" was able to land a heavy body blow to Rua's midsection and the official was forced to stop the fight to prevent injury to the prone Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. The result was Jon Jones claiming his first UFC belt and becoming the youngest reigning champ in UFC history.
TapouT sports beverages help MMA fighters and top athletes hydrate properly and recover quickly. All three flavors of TapouT contain all four essential electrolytes, plenty of vitamins and 240mg of sodium to help your body retain and utilize fluids during grueling training sessions.