Now that Brock Lesnar has exited mixed martial arts, who will take over his mantle?
Though the former world champion is a relatively relaxed and unassuming figure outside of the cage, the behemoth heavyweight has garnered the attention of the sport by storm, as the ex-WWE star impressed with surprise victories over Heath Herring, Randy Couture, Shane Carwin and Frank Mir, given his relative inexperience in entering the cage.
One comparison can be made, however, as another man has walked almost the same path as Lesnar’s.
The North Dakota native entered the UFC on the heels of a dominant victory over the unheralded Min-Soo Kim under the K-1 banner. Just eight months later, Lesnar was Octagon bound and immediately made waves in the division.
Jon Jones, the current light heavyweight kingpin entered the UFC in August of 2009, just three months after his professional debut. Though he had cultivated some experience in racking up a six-fight win streak before entering the big leagues, he was thrown into the fray quickly, much like Lesnar.
In his second bout with the promotion, Jones took on season one finalist of The Ultimate Fighter in Stephan Bonnar, dominating the grizzled veteran with spinning back elbows and suplexes galore which eventually earned him the clear-cut decision win.
Since then, Jones has defeated many formidable opposition which eventually earned him his shot at then champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in March of last year, besting the Brazilian by third-round TKO and later defending his newly acquired crown twice against former titleholders Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Lyoto Machida, submitting both men before the final bell.
So, could Jones, the spark plug of the light heavyweight class, be ready to fill in Lesnar’s shoes? UFC head honcho Dana White seems to think so.
“Jony “Bones” Jones,” said White when asked who will be marketed as his next top guy following Lesnar’s exit.
“He might be the baddest dude on earth.”
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