UFC: Jon Jones: The Birth of a Legend
On Saturday December 10, 2011, Jon Bones Jones defeated Lyoto “the Dragon” Machida in the toughest fight yet for the anointed legend. To date, Jones had simply blazed his way through the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s Light Heavyweight Division, with his most significant sweat worked up in the locker-room before the fights. With only one loss on his record – by disqualification; not by defeat – Jones had mixed-martial arts fans ranking him as the most dominating fighter since the Brazilian legend Anderson Silva, who continues to utterly dominate opponents, himself. Perhaps only time will tell whether or not such a comparison are warranted; but up to this point in Jones’ career, little argument can be made against it.
A sign of impending greatness for any fighter is when fight fans must look out of the current division for potential challengers. Few fans have any real confidence that any current Light Heavyweight (205 lbs. at weigh-in) stands a chance against Jones, given that, up until his most current fight Saturday, his battles had been unquestionably one-sided, even ridiculously dominant at times. His September fight against the formidable boxer-wrestler, Quinton Rampage Jackson, displayed the problems presented by his sheer length, athleticism, and array of striking moves. It was Rampage’s first loss by submission; despite the fact he’s renowned for the great resistance and defense he had against submissions.
The Road to the Championship
Mauricio shogun Rua is one of the most skilled and powerful fighters in the UFC, and has made a career of handing out convincing and devastating defeats to challengers in all the mixed-martial arenas in which he’s participated. His array of fighting skills had succeeded in garnering him the championship belt, having defeated the likes of Rampage Jackson, Hall of Famer Chuck “the Iceman” Liddell, and Lyoto Machida. In September, Jon Jones fought the Muay-Thai wrecking-ball that many consider Shogun Rua to be; the battle was so one-sided, that had it occurred outside the Octagon it would have been considered unlawful assault by a trained fighter against a non-combatant. After battering Shogun, Jones displayed one jaw-dropping move indicative of the surreal length of his arms (he possesses a reach longer than any other fighter, and often enjoys a reach advantage of well over half-a-foot in every fight, and nearly a full foot in some). The spinning elbow he executed out of the clinch essentially ended the fight; Shogun would stagger on gamely for but a few seconds more before dropping to his knees to avoid any more damage and tapping out.
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