Jon Jones recorded one of the best wins of his UFC career on this day 12 years ago.
On September 21, 2013, UFC 165 took place at Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The pay-per-view was headlined by Jones’ light heavyweight title defense against Alexander Gustafsson.
On a card that featured standout victories for the likes of Renan Barao, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Stephen Thompson, and Brendan Schaub, ‘Bones’ and ‘The Mauler’ stole the show in a main event that remains among the all-time UFC classics.
It was Jones who had his hand raised after the 25-minute war, and he broke a long-standing UFC record in the process.
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Jon Jones set new UFC light heavyweight record in Alexander Gustafsson barnburner
Across a UFC tenure that cemented his status as a leading name in the promotion’s GOAT debate, Jon Jones is not short on incredible performances and battles to look back on.
But not every fight was a walk in the park for the Rochester native, and Gustafsson undoubtedly gave him one of his toughest tests in their first fight over a decade ago.
The pair traded moments of success in a five-round showdown that earned Fight of the Night at UFC 165 and Fight of the Year at the World MMA Awards and from publications such as ESPN, Sherdog, and Fox Sports.
Jones vs Gustafsson was inducted into the Hall of Fame Fight Wing in 2021, further recognizing the title defense that saw the great ‘Bones’ break another record.
After becoming the UFC’s youngest-ever champion, Jones went on to surpass Tito Ortiz’s tally of five successful light heavyweight title defenses with his first victory over Gustafsson in 2013. He would record two more to set the number to beat at eight in a row at 205 pounds.
‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ had held the record for 11 years, after Ortiz’s victory over Ken Shamrock in 2002 marked his fifth straight championship retention.
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Jon Jones called Alexander Gustafsson his toughest-ever UFC opponent
Having been pushed to the limit across five rounds by ‘The Mauler’, it’s unsurprising that Jones has nothing but positive words to say about the ex-UFC star.
Speaking during a seminar in Thailand posted to the Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA YouTube channel earlier this year, Jones called Gustafsson the best opponent he faced across an illustrious 30-fight professional career.
“My best opponent would have to have been, what’s his name, Alexander Gustafsson,” Jones said.
“He was my best opponent, yeah. What was it, Switzerland or Sweden? Yeah, Sweden. Yeah, he was my best opponent, he really pushed me and he was the only person to take me down in the UFC.
“Man, he cut me open and made me dig really hard,” Jones added.