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#2: Jon Jones vs. Cain Velasquez
Again, flash back to 2015 for a second and to UFC 182 in particular. In one of the biggest fights in the history of the UFC Light-Heavyweight division, UFC 182 saw champion Jon Jones overcome perhaps his biggest test to date in the form of former StrikeForce Heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier. And scarily, Jones practically made the win look easy.
The victory was Jones’s 8th successful title defense, and despite the presence of a dangerous top contender in Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson, most fans were wondering if there was any fighter in the world at 205lbs that truly stood a chance against ‘Bones’. And so a lot of them began to talk about a potential dream match between Jones and another dominant champ at the time – then-UFC Heavyweight kingpin Cain Velasquez.
Velasquez had been on the shelf throughout 2014 with various injuries, but prior to that, he’d cemented his status as probably the best Heavyweight the UFC had ever seen by comprehensively beating rival Junior Dos Santos on two occasions. And despite being signed to fight top contender Fabricio Werdum, a fight with Jones sounded fantastic.
Would Velasquez be capable of pushing a pace that Jones would be unable to handle? Could Jones handle a bigger hitter like Cain? Or would the freakish reach of ‘Bones’ – as well as his frighteningly good wrestling – be able to overcome the big man?
Unfortunately, we’d never get to find out. Velasquez lost his title to Werdum and has only fought once since due to his injury-prone nature, while Jones has had a laundry list of personal issues to contend with, including failed PED tests. The likelihood of us seeing this dream match any time soon now seems very slim.
