The goal is nearly finished at light heavyweight for Jon Jones, who is now two wins away from surpassing Tito Ortiz’s record for successful title defenses.
It has been two years since Jones defeated Mauricio “Shogun” Rua to become the youngest champion in UFC history.
The turnaround from hopeful contender to UFC champion and one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world has been rather dramatic. At only 25 years of age, things seem to be happening fast for Jones, who has already talked about moving to the heavyweight division.
Jones believes that breaking Ortiz’s record will solidify his position as the greatest light heavyweight in UFC history. On Sunday, he took to Twitter and teased about “closing in on a dream.”
Jones is set to defend his UFC title against Chael Sonnen on April 27 at UFC 159.
With a win, he would surpass UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell‘s record of four successful light heavyweight title defenses and tie Ortiz’s all-time record of five. An amazing feat like this would certainly add leverage to his case as an all-time great.
Ortiz’s record has remained intact for over a decade, but he knows it’s only a matter of time before someone breaks it. Back in June 2012, he told Newsday that he predicts Jones would be the fighter to finally surpass him in the history books:
“I would love for it to stick around, but I think Jonny ‘Bones’ Jones will be the one to beat me. If there’s any person in the world I’d love to see do it, I would love to see him do it because he’s such a good dude. He’s a good guy. I like him a lot…If he beats my record, then he’s done some great things.”
Records are meant to be broken, but will doing so truly mean Jones has surpassed UFC light heavyweight greats Randy Couture, Liddell and Ortiz?
History is being chased at UFC 159, and one determined Oregon gangster may be the only person capable of stopping it.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com