On August 9, 2008, a young 21-year-old named Jon Jones made his UFC debut after just two weeks notice.
Fighting on short notice was nothing new for Jones, as he fought three times in April that year.
Jones was a perfect 6-0 before his first UFC fight and had never went the distance.
The same year he made his UFC debut was also the year he became an MMA pro.
Fast forward to 2012 and Jones is sitting at the top of the MMA world.
The current UFC light heavyweight champion is arguably the second best fighter in the world despite only being in the sport for four years.
And despite recent controversies such as a DUI and not accepting a fight against Chael Sonnen to save UFC 151, it is hard to argue that Jones is still not the poster boy for the UFC.
But focusing on his in-ring ability alone, Jones has already had one of the best careers in MMA history.
After beating veterans like Brandon Vera, Stephan Bonnar and Vladimir Matyushenko, Jones faced off against another rising star with a similar record in Ryan Bader.
Jones dominated Bader, defeating him by submission at UFC 126.
Just one short month later, Jones would step in for then-friend, Rashad Evans, and take on Mauricio “Shogun” Rua for the UFC title.
Jones defeated Rua by TKO and would go on to defend the title against two other former champions in Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Lyoto Machida.
It’s not uncommon for young fighters to dominate older ones if they are past their prime.
But Jones not only dominated older competition, he dominated fighters who were champions and at the peak of their careers.
Jones added Evans to the list at UFC 145 in April.
Jones has often been called the leader of the new school. Although he has been freakishly dominating, he is not the only young fighter who has easily taken out the competition.
UFC champions Junior dos Santos and Jose Aldo have both proven to be great threats without getting in much trouble during a fight.
Aldo is just a few days away from turning 26, while dos Santos is 28 and has only had 16 fights in his pro career.
Like Jones, Aldo and dos Santos have one loss a piece.
But despite other fighters being good and his own recent downfalls, Jones is still the face of the next generation of MMA fighter.
While he may not be the most popular among fans or Dana White at the moment, until there is somebody who can stop his reign, Jones will remain the leader of the new school.
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