Jon Jones’ heavyweight reign hasn’t been exactly like what fans first envisioned.
Once the UFC’s most dominant champion, Jones now is a bastion of inactivity and plagued by injuries. But this weekend, he faces former two time heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic in a legacy fight for the heavyweight title.
Jon Jones: Controversial and great
There are no if’s, and’s or but’s about it, Jon Jones is one of the most accomplished fighters of all time. Whether he’s one of the greatest or not is up for interpretation.
“Bones” past has been plagued for legal troubles. But actions outside the cage are not what people point to when it comes to holes in his resume. Hit and run with pregnant women and domestic violence carry no weight with his resume of what he’s accomplished during his career. It does make him an unlikeable person, sure, but it doesn’t hamper his accomplishments.
What does hurt Jon Jones’ record, however, is the drug abuse. Not cocaine, a drug in which he is a fan of, but steroids. We all have heard about Jones hiding from USADA under the octagon at JacksonWink. But that’s only rumors. Suspicions were confirmed when he failed ahead of his fight with Daniel Cormier at UFC 200. Remember the entire picograms debacle.
But throughout his career, despite all the in and out of the cage obstacles, Jon Jones has won. Time and time again, the JacksonWink champion has stepped in the cage, often facing a unique and tough opponent, and put them away.
One last challenge?
Does Jon Jones have it for one last challenge? Stipe Miocic is seen as the greatest UFC heavyweight champion. He often finds his own ways to win fights after digging deep. Both fighters have won their series over Daniel Cormier, another great at 205 and heavyweight.
Miocic has been out of commission since his knockout loss to Francis Ngannou in March of 2021. The time away could be good or it could be terrible for the Ohioan champion. Miocic has wins over most of the greats: Mark Hunt, Fabricio Werdum, Junior Dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, Daniel Cormier, Francis Ngannou.
These are all household names that Miocic has bested. Putting Jon Jones on that list is incredibly motivating.
But many have tried to put Jones on their list. As he constantly brings up, most fighters think they have the keys to beating Jon Jones. Then they get into the cage with the beast.
Shogun Rua, Rampage Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Glover Teixeira, Daniel Cormier. These have all been able to defeat Jones on paper. How many actually did?
