Filed under: UFC
It would be overdramatic and not completely accurate to claim that a star was born in the main event of UFC 128. Jon Jones was already a star, which is why the UFC did a pre-fight special on him after giving the champion, Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua, no such fully-focused push.
But while Jones showed up at the Prudential Center in Newark already a celebrity, it was his domination of Rua that made him an instant colossus in this sport. With that will come a lot of fame, money, and attention — all things that can derail any 23-year-old if he’s not ready for them. Whether this will be one more rule that simply doesn’t apply to Jones as it does to mere mortals, time will tell. For now, he gets to relax and enjoy being champ. He just shouldn’t enjoy it too much, since this title has had a way of slipping through the fingers of his predecessors.
Now on the biggest winners, losers, and everything in between after UFC 128.