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Even if former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones never fights in the promotion again, he will go down as one of the greatest of all time.
Jon Jones has only one loss on his record, which came against Matt Hamill in December 2009 via disqualification due to illegal elbows. UFC president Dana White has often said that the loss should be overturned to a no-contest, since Hamill was being pieced apart by 'Bones' before the stoppage.
Jon Jones also has an NC on his record, which he received after failing drug tests following his rematch against Daniel Cormier. The rest of his record is spotless, although it must be said that there have been a few contentious decisions along the way.
Here are the five UFC fighters who came the closest to beating Jon Jones. Note: Hamill's win has been excluded for obvious reasons.
#5 Chael Sonnen - faced Jon Jones at UFC 159
Technically, Chael Sonnen didn't really come close to beating Jon Jones because of his fighting ability. 'The American Gangster' faced off against Jones at UFC 159, where he lost via first-round knockout.
However, had Sonnen survived the first round, he would've probably been awarded the win via doctor stoppage. Jones had gotten his big toe stuck in the cage during the first round's grappling exchanges, leading to a nasty injury, and might not have been deemed fit to continue.
It wouldn't have been a legitimate win in the conventional sense of the word, but it would've been a win nonetheless. Jones pointed out the same earlier this year when he engaged in an ugly, now-deleted Twitter spat with Sonnen.
#4 Vitor Belfort - faced Jon Jones at UFC 152
In the fourth defense of his UFC light heavyweight title, Jon Jones faced off against Vitor Belfort at UFC 152. And in the first round, he had an almighty scare.
Belfort locked in an armbar that visibly hyperextended Jones' elbow and had the champion grimacing in pain. But 'Bones' refused to tap and fought his way out of the submission, before locking in one of his own to put the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt away in the fourth round.
Speaking about the hard-fought victory, Jones said:
"I've never had my arm popped like that before. I was waiting for it to break, I was not going to tap out. I've never felt that before. I felt numb after, I threw it after and it had no power at all. I need to see what's wrong with it. But I've got a lot of work to do against southpaws for sure."
Jon Jones wasn't the only one who weighed in on the fight. UFC president Dana White gushed about the display, saying:
"There's no doubt this was his best performance. He got injured in the first round, there were questions over him, could he take a punch? He took a load tonight. There can be no more nay saying over Jon Jones. Love him or hate him, there's no denying he's one of the best in the world. Every time he comes to fight. Jones got caught in that armbar, his arm got popped, yet he got out of it and fought for four rounds like it wasn't popped. He made an injured elbow look like it wasn't injured. In my eyes, Jones looked unbeatable."
#3 Alexander Gustafsson - faced Jon Jones for the first time at UFC 165
Alexander Gustafsson and Jon Jones engaged in one of the best fights in UFC history at UFC 165 in September 2013. But while the Swede was able to give Jones his toughest test in the octagon at the time, he ended up on the wrong side of a decision loss.
Many believe that Gustafsson deserved the win, but the stats paint a different picture. 'Bones' outlanded his opponent 137 to 114, with his significant strike advantage being 134 to 217. He clinched the key moments in the fight, overcoming being taken down for the first time in his UFC career with some smart spinning elbows and backfists.
Jon Jones put his rivalry against Gustafsson beyond doubt at UFC 232, where he clinched a second-round TKO victory.
#2 Thiago Santos - faced Jon Jones at UFC 239
The only split decision on Jon Jones' professional MMA record, light heavyweight contender Thiago Santos pushed the champion to the limit at UFC 239 despite tearing several knee ligaments while throwing a kick in the very first round.
Santos threw as many as 166 significant strikes over the course of the fight, but landed only 43 at an accuracy of 25.9%. Jones, meanwhile, was far more efficient with 59 significant strikes at an accuracy of 65.6%. And although 'Marreta' had the edge when it came to volume, 'Bones' fought a smart fight and clinched the narrow decision win.
Santos has never been the same since his injury, having lost to Glover Teixeira and Aleksandar Rakic. Jon Jones, on the other hand, faced his toughest test yet in his next fight.
#1 Dominick Reyes - faced Jon Jones at UFC 247
Did Jon Jones lose his fight against Dominick Reyes at UFC 247? UFC president Dana White, various sections of the MMA media and a large percentage of fans certainly think so.
'The Devastator' outlanded Jones 116 to 104 in the significant strikes category, throwing 259 when compared to his opponent's 166. While his accuracy was almost 20 percentage points less than the champion, he appeared to do more damage. But the judges ruled in favor of 'Bones', who came into his own during the championship rounds on controversial scorecards that differed vastly and split opinion.
Like Santos, Reyes has gone on a losing streak since fighting Jon Jones, with losses to Jan Blachowicz and Jiri Prochazka.
