"That was an insane stretch" - Ben Askren highlights Jon Jones’ epic 2011 tear while fans debate greatest UFC fighter year ever

Ben Askren recently highlighted Jon Jones' "insane" 2011 run in the UFC while reacting to Matt Brown wondering whether Merab Dvalishvili could have the "greatest single year" as a fighter if he beats Petr Yan in December.

For context, Dvalishvili picked up his third win of the year against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320 earlier this month. He beat Sean O'Malley via third-round submission in their title rematch in June and outpointed Umar Nurmagomedov in January. 'The Machine' is now set to face Yan at UFC 323 in December.

Reacting to the news, Brown took to X and wrote:

"Man, if Merab wins this fight, this has to be the greatest single year ever for a fighter. What other year/fighter would compare? I’m not coming up with anything off the top of my head."

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Askren soon reposted Brown's X post and pointed out that Jones beat four high-profile opponents in 2011, during which he also won the UFC light heavyweight championship.

Jones beat Ryan Bader via second-round submission in February 2011 before beating Mauricio Rua via third-round TKO to win the 205-pound title a month later. He then defended the championship against Quinton Jackson in September and Lyoto Machida in December.

Responding to Brown's query, Askren wrote:

"Jon Jones, 2011. He beat [Ryan] Bader, [Lyoto] Machida, 'Rampage' [Quinton Jackson], and [Mauricio] Rua. That was an insane stretch."

UFC icon previews potential Alex Pereira vs. Jon Jones heavyweight super fight

UFC icon Daniel Cormier recently shared his thoughts on a potential Alex Pereira vs. Jon Jones super fight. Cormier believes that Pereira would cement himself as the greatest fighter ever if he could beat Jones at heavyweight.

In a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Cormier broke down the implications of Pereira beating Jones and said:

"Alex is 38 years old and probably thinking at this point, 'How do I go and make another statement that I am the guy?' Hell, if he went to beat Jon Jones at heavyweight, Alex Pereira, who's already considered one of the greatest fighters of all time, in the most expedited timeline I have ever seen, would literally cement himself to almost stand above everyone because he would have beaten a former UFC light heavyweight champion and heavyweight champion, and a guy many consider as the greatest of all time."

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