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This weekend at UFC 285, Jon Jones will attempt to become a two-division champion when he faces Ciryl Gane for the heavyweight title. If he pulls off a win, it’ll definitely reaffirm his greatness.
Whether or not he wins this weekend, Jon Jones has already proven himself to be one of the greatest fighters in UFC history on multiple occasions.
Some of his victories, and some of the wars he’s had in the octagon, are amongst the most well-remembered bouts in UFC history. They often involved Jones performing phenomenal feats.
Here are five times that Jon Jones proved his greatness in the octagon.
#5. Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen – UFC 159
Many fans probably wouldn’t consider Jon Jones’ victory over Chael Sonnen at UFC 159 to be one of his best performances given that Sonnen hadn’t really earned a shot at Jones’ light heavyweight title and hadn’t even fought at 205 pounds in years.
However, given what happened in the octagon, it’s hard not to consider the bout one of the many times that Jones proved his greatness.
That’s because during the fight, which saw ‘Bones’ thoroughly dominate Sonnen, he suffered a badly broken toe during a takedown attempt.
Nobody actually realized that he’d suffered the injury at the time. They were too busy watching Jones pin ‘The American Gangster’ to the ground and destroy him with elbows and punches for a first-round TKO.
When the fight was over, though, the extent of the injury was revealed, as Jones’ toe was basically hanging off. It was such a bad injury that he needed to conduct his post-fight interview while sitting on a stool.
Quite how he’d simply fought through an injury that actually would’ve resulted in a stoppage had the referee noticed was anyone’s guess, but ‘Bones’ had somehow managed it. It was proof of his incredible toughness – and his greatness, too.
#4. Jon Jones vs. Shogun Rua – UFC 128
At the start of 2011, Jon Jones was seen as a high-level prospect, but also one who didn’t have too much elite-level experience. His best wins, in fact, were over Brandon Vera and Vladimir Matyushenko – both good fighters, but not true title contenders.
However, after he submitted Ryan Bader, he was greeted with an unexpected opportunity. With top contender and Jones’ teammate Rashad Evans injured, the UFC decided to offer ‘Bones’ a shot at light heavyweight champion Shogun Rua.
Given that Jones was only 23 years old at that point, it was a huge ask for him to take on the consensus GOAT at 205 pounds despite his massive talent, particularly on six weeks’ notice.
However, ‘Bones’ accepted and then stunned everyone by absolutely dismantling the Brazilian over three rounds. Shogun simply couldn’t handle the youngster’s power, wrestling ability and unorthodox attacks. Midway through the third, he went down for the final time.
Jones had claimed the UFC light heavyweight title and become the promotion’s youngest-ever champion in the process. More to the point, it was the first demonstration of true greatness from ‘Bones’ inside the octagon.
#3. Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida – UFC 140
After dispatching Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson in his first UFC light heavyweight title defense, Jon Jones was expected to face his former teammate Rashad Evans next.
However, with Evans on the shelf with an injury, the promotion instead matched ‘Bones’ with former champion Lyoto Machida.
It looked like a tricky stylistic match for Jones, as he’d never faced a fighter with the unorthodox striking style of ‘The Dragon’. While he still came in as the favorite, there were definitely some doubts.
Sure enough, the first round saw Jones struggle for the first time in his UFC career. Machida was able to control the distance of the fight, landing some clean punches, including a pair of left hands that appeared to hurt the champion.
Between rounds, it was clear that Jones would need to make adjustments to win the fight.
In the second round, those adjustments were made. Rather than allow Machida to control distance, ‘Bones’ quickly rushed him and took him down, opening him up with an elbow before they came back to their feet.
From there, Jones continued to close the distance at speed. With Machida caught slightly unaware, he landed a left hand that dropped him. ‘The Dragon’ attempted to get to his feet – only to be caught in a guillotine choke.
Moments later, Machida was unconscious and Jones had defended his title for the second time. More importantly, he’d proven that he could fight through adversity for the first time – and proved his greatness in the process.
#2. Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier – UFC 182
Of all the great fighters Jon Jones faced off with in the octagon, one man stands out above the rest – former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier.
After moving to the promotion from Strikeforce in 2011, ‘DC’ picked up a couple of wins at heavyweight. However, it was always well-known that he had Jones and the 205-pound crown in his sights. After moving down in 2014, it didn’t take him long to secure a title shot.
With Olympic-level wrestling skills and heavy hands, Cormier seemed like a nightmare match for Jones. When they were finally matched together, many fans felt that ‘DC’ would come out on top.
However, at UFC 182, it quickly became clear who the better fighter was. Not only did ‘Bones’ score the better strikes throughout the fight, both from distance and in the clinch, but he even outwrestled the Olympian, taking him down on a handful of occasions.
It was a truly remarkable victory even for Jones’ lofty standards, and the fact that he finished Cormier via TKO in their second meeting just proved his superiority.
The positive drug test that he submitted after that fight, of course, brought the result into question. However, there was no questioning his first win over ‘DC’, as Jones absolutely proved his greatness at the highest level.
#1. Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson – UFC 165
While Daniel Cormier probably stands as Jon Jones’ greatest-ever rival, it’s almost unarguable that his greatest performance came at UFC 165 in 2013 against top contender Alexander Gustafsson.
While few fans were giving Gustafsson a chance of unseating Jones for the light heavyweight title, ‘The Mauler’ actually proved to be a much trickier opponent than anyone had given him credit for.
Using his long reach, he was able to hit Jones from range, where many of his other foes had always been unable to. The Swede even stunned observers by taking ‘Bones’ down at one point, becoming the first man to do so in the octagon.
By the fourth round, Jones was at best two rounds in the hole, and he looked likely to lose that stanza, too. Had he done so, his title reign probably would’ve been over.
Instead, though, as ‘The Mauler’ looked to continue to land successful blows, Jones caught him with a spinning elbow to the temple. The shot stunned Gustafsson, and while Jones was unable to finish him with a follow-up, it turned the tide, not only in terms of winning him the round.
In the fifth, the Swede looked both hurt and spent, and Jones took the fight to him, winning the round and securing a razor-close decision victory.
The fact that Jones, who had always been a frontrunner to that point, had shown such toughness and durability to defend his title was truly remarkable. A decade on, it remains one of the greatest showings from any UFC champion in the promotion’s history.
