Special to Sports News Highlights

(SNH) — According to Fight Matrix, UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones is in a class of his own and has seen his career progress rapidly at just under six hours of Octagon time.

One thing is for sure: his story still needs a final, fitting chapter.

Even if Jones stops competing, it’s hard to envision anyone catching up to his record of 15 championship victories anytime soon, regardless of promotion (Bellator, PFL, RIZIN, ONE Championship, etc.).

According to UFC Stat Leaders, no active or former UFC fighters claim that number in the top 20. Stipe Miocic, the former UFC heavyweight champion and a potential future opponent for Jones, is the closest, as he sits in a three-way tie at No. 11 with six title wins.

Jones is a rare talent who continues improving with age (currently 36). He entered the summer of 2023 with 16 title fight appearances (a UFC record) and became the UFC’s 18th heavyweight champion in March 2023 after a three-year layoff, bulking up to 248 pounds. Jones underwent rehabilitation for a torn pectoral muscle, thus forcing him out of his would-be November title fight with Miocic, which has yet to be rescheduled by the UFC.

However, Jones’ journey began when he was 43 pounds lighter and a newer talent in the MMA space.

Only 23 years old, Jones earned the distinction as the youngest champion in UFC history by knocking off then-light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in March 2011. To this day, the record remains untapped.

Jones had earned his first promotional win 952 days prior, winning five of his next six bouts to earn the title fight. Little did anyone know what would come next for the Ithaca, NY native as he began his illustrious cleanout at 205 pounds.

An ascent of dominance followed that could only be described as effortless. Jones dismantled former champions Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Vitor Belfort and Glover Teixeira.

Jones submitted his opponent in three of those four victories, with two coming inside Round 4 (Jackson and Belfort). Eventually, Jones went on to earn the third-highest total of submission wins in light heavyweight history with five.

Jones’ career dipped in 2015, but not regarding his Octagon performances. Another defense of his light heavyweight title against former Strikeforce Grand Prix champion Daniel Cormier began a tumultuous two-year stretch outside the cage.

Legal troubles followed Jones, which included a hit-and-run accident involving a pregnant woman, a DUI charge and failed drug tests, causing him to relinquish his light heavyweight title for over two years, according to an ESPN timeline of his career.

Despite re-capturing the belt upon his return at UFC 214 in a July 2017 rematch against Cormier (who won the vacant title after Jones’ arrest), Jones was stripped of the title again after testing positive in a pre-fight medical screening. This result ruled the dominant Round 3 TKO victory a no-contest, hence why Jones’ 16th championship victory is not counted in the record books.

The long-awaited trilogy never came to fruition, as Cormier went on to move up and win UFC heavyweight gold before retiring after an Aug. 2021 decision loss to Miocic – the pair’s third-straight fight between each other – with Miocic earning two of three.

Jones eventually received a light heavyweight title shot after Cormier moved to heavyweight in January 2018. Jones finally returned at UFC 232 in a rematch against Alexander Gustafsson.

Although their first encounter was a close decision win for Jones in one of the greatest MMA fights in recent memory, the second fight left no doubt who the better man was.

In what was Jones’ third-to-last light heavyweight title defense, he dethroned Gustafsson with a TKO stoppage in Round 3, clinching the then-record for light heavyweight wins (title/non-title) with 17, according to Forbes. Jones also kept Gustafsson at bay, not allowing him to use his coveted wrestling base, and prevented him from landing fewer than 50% of his significant strikes.

Jones, meanwhile, maintained his composure and landed 86% of his significant strikes in Round 3, securing a near-flawless conclusion to the two-fight series.

Jones would compete twice before closing the historic chapter of his light heavyweight era, leaving the division with 19 victories.

Jones began moving up to heavyweight in 2020, where he remains today.  Some call him the GOAT.

Others call him a cheater and a bad influence on young people looking to become great at whatever they decide to do.

Just ask Cormier. His UFC 200 light heavyweight title fight did not happen because of Jones.

Nonetheless, Jones' numbers remain in a rare category regarding MMA dominance. Nearly 12 years undefeated and part of a heated rivalry that earned the UFC over $6 million in gate revenue (UFC 182 and UFC 214 combined), plus a move up in weight to win a second title, leave him far and away the best male fighter MMA has ever seen.

15 UFC title fight wins the equivalent of six NBA championships for the Bulls or seven Super Bowl rings for Tom Brady.

It does not happen often, but when it does every few generations, it’s remembered forever.

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