Not only will Jon Jones defeat Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165 on Saturday night, he will also cement himself as the greatest light heavyweight in UFC history.
Jones is entering this fight as the Light Heavyweight champion in the UFC. He took the belt away from Mauricio Rua back in March of 2011 and has held it ever since. He’s taken down five fighters while defending the title: Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort and most recently Chael Sonnen back in April.
Having defended his title five times, Jones is tied for the record for most times holding off opponents with Tito Ortiz, who defended his five times and held his belt for 1,260 days.
At the moment, Jones has held his belt for just over 900 days, so he has a while to go in regards to that record, but he can break the other this Saturday by taking down The Mauler.
Entering his 20th career fight, Jones is already 18-1-0 with nine wins by way of knockout. He has also won six fights by submission and three by decision.
What makes Jones such a great fighter is his incredible reach. At 6’4”, Jones has a reach of 84.5 inches and almost always has a significant advantage in that regard. Gustafsson, who is 6’5”, might be one of the few fighters that’s nearly eliminated that advantage, but his reach is still shorter at 81.5 inches.
The statistics on Jones are as impressive as his prestigious career. According to FightMetric.com, Jones lands 53 percent of his significant strikes and defends 67 percent of his opponents’ strikes. Even more impressive, he has never been taken down in his career, with a perfect takedown defense of 100 percent.
To put things in perspective, Gustafsson, who is considered the top contender in the light heavyweight division, has landed 36 percent of his significant strikes and defended against 56 percent of them (via FightMetric.com). His takendown defense is impressive at 84 percent, but it’s still not where Jones is.
With a career record of 18-1, Jones has already defeated five world champions in his career. He was the youngest fighter ever to win a title at just 23 years old, and he’s continued to hold that title since.
The only loss Jones has had in his career came in an unusual way against Matt Hamill back in 2010. Jones dominated Hamill in the first round, taking him to the ground and hitting him with repeated elbows to the face.
Unfortunately, the referee declared that the final elbow shot was illegal, and Jones loss due to disqualification.
With such an incredible resume built up, Jones has a chance to make history this Saturday and hold his title belt once again. He will win, and he will be considered the greatest UFC Light Heavyweight of all-time.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com