Former two-weight champion Jon Jones earned his first UFC finish on July 11, 2009.
The greatest fighter of all time took part in a forgotten fight on the undercard of UFC 100.
Jon Jones‘ cameo was overshadowed by Dan Henderson‘s sickening KO win over Michael Bisping, a Georges St-Pierre title fight, and Brock Lesnar cementing his heavyweight champion status by bludgeoning Frank Mir en route to a TKO victory.
‘Bones’ squared off against Jake O’Brien, who retired in 2012 with a 15-4 record that included defeats against Cain Velasquez, Gegard Mousasi, Andrei Arlovski, and the man he faced at the historic UFC 100 event.
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Jon Jones earned just $18,000 at UFC 100
As a wrestler, O’Brien naturally spent the vast majority of the fight trying to take down Jones.
‘Bones’ shrugged off all of his grappling attempts and showed off his impressive striking skills.
After eating a spinning elbow to the temple in round two, O’Brien desperately shot for his opponent’s legs, which proved to be the beginning of the end as Jones locked up the same choke he used to take out Ciryl Gane and win the heavyweight title years later.
O’Brien tapped out but lost consciousness before Jones released the choke that made him 3-0 in the Octagon.
It was later revealed that Jones’ base pay for the fight was just $9,000. The New Yorker earned another $9,000 as a win bonus after being snubbed for Submission of the Night, which Tom Lawlor took with a guillotine choke victory over CB Dolloway.
Jon Jones completes retirement U-turn
16 years later, Jones has earned millions and established himself as an undeniable legend of the sport.
The 37-year-old retired from MMA and announced a move into the world of business last month.
However, Jones completed a retirement U-turn after hearing about the 2026 UFC White House event.
UFC CEO Dana White says Jones is back in the drug testing pool and eligible to fight again.
On Thursday, the man himself explained why he had decided to end his short-lived retirement.
“Donald [Trump] made his announcement on the morning of the Fourth of July, I called the UFC headquarters that very same afternoon,” Jones said during an impromptu Q&A session on X. “I’ll just leave it at that. America! Now that tickles my pickle.”
In a later post, he replied to a fan predicting an all-time classic fight: “It would be, for me it’s about the opportunity to represent America at the White House. I don’t care who I fight that night. I found my reason why, that’s what I needed, something that was more than money.”