Very few fighters are able to achieve longevity at the pinnacle of the sport, and then there’s ‘Bones’.
Jon Jones has received plenty of criticism during his current feud with Tom Aspinall with both heavyweight titleholders sitting at the top of the division.
However, there is a reason that when you talk about the greatest fighters in the history of mixed martial arts, most people have Jones as the best to ever do it.
The current heavyweight and former light heavyweight champion holds the records for the most UFC title fights, most title fight wins and the most successful title defenses.
Whilst Jones’ claim to be undefeated has been questioned by Demetrious Johnson, he earned a huge record in just his 8th UFC fight on this day 13 years ago.
Jon Jones dominated Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua at UFC 128 to win his first title
Aside from a controversial disqualification loss against Matt Hamill that remains on his record, Jon Jones hit the ground running in the UFC.
The super prospect arrived in the light heavyweight division and either side of his DQ, he put together six consecutive wins with four finishes.
His submission victory over Ryan Bader at UFC 126 in February of 2011 would end up being a huge win for his young career after what happened in the light heavyweight title picture.
In his post-fight interview following the win, Jones was told that his teammate Rashad Evans was no longer going to be able to face Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua for the title at UFC 128 which meant that ‘Bones’ would take his place.
Rua, who made his name in PRIDE before debuting inside the Octagon in 2007, knocked out Lyoto Machida the previous year in a rematch but nothing could prepare the Brazilian icon for what was to come.
At just 23-years-old with a record of 12-1, Jones famously started his first UFC title fight by throwing a flying knee at the champion.
It was quickly clear to the fans inside the Prudential Center in Newark that they were witnessing something special as a changing of the guard took place.
Jones dominated the first round whilst demonstrating his well-rounded skillset and seemingly hurting his opponent in the process.
Not only did the challenger secure a takedown 30 seconds into the fight, he unleashed a trademark arsenal of knees, side kicks and spinning elbows.
Jones once again dominated the second with Rua clearly starting to slow down without having much success against the creative striking and dominant top control of his opponent.
After ‘Bones’ continued to reign down devastating ground and pound in the third, he put the champion away once they both got back to their feet, closing the show with a beautiful body shot and follow up knee to a falling ‘Shogun’.
Jones said in his post-fight interview that he would be ready for any and all challengers and after vacating the title nine years later following 11 title defenses, he was right.
“It means a lot to me but now I know I have a huge target on my back and when you guys come and strike at me, I’ll be ready to strike right back.”
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Jon Jones’ legacy is already assured
Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall would likely be the biggest fight of 2025 if it does happen.
Though plenty of fans and fellow fighters have accused Jones of trying to duck the interim champion, ‘Bones’ doesn’t have a history of this and to some degree, his legacy has already been defined.
Whilst the fight has to happen if the champion does decide to stick around, whether it does or not isn’t going to change everything that he has accomplished inside the Octagon.
It will, however, impact his public perception because of how long this saga has gone on for without any positive signs from Jones that he’s interested in the fight.