By: Manpreet Jhass
Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, Georges St. Pierre, Anderson Silva and Brock Lesnar. These are usually the names that will garner most of the spotlight when it comes to mixed martial arts, or even when the sport is brought up. These are the names that people that do not have much knowledge in the sport of MMA will mention to pretend like they are MMA-smart. Most of those names have seen the spotlight of the main stream media with Chuck having a cameo on Entourage, Randy Couture being in movies, GSP starring in lower budgeted movies and even Brock Lesnar with his professional wrestling background. Though I personally believe, none have had the timing right to shine the brightest when all is said and done than the man who recently put his name in the UFC record books.
Jon “Bones” Jones has skyrocketed from nowhere to the top of the heap in no less than three years. It takes years for an individual to achieve what Jon Jones did in a dominating 8 fight winning streak (I count that Hamil fight as a win) in the UFC. With the style and swag he brought to the octagon, Jones began seeing the spotlight after his domination of Matt Hamil at the Ultimate Heavyweights Finale. Though he was disqualified for illegal elbows, up until that moment of the fight he was completely obliterating a decorated mixed martial artist with ease. He headlined the card of his next two fights running through Brandon Vera and Vladimir Matyushenko stopping them both. Next he made a very dangerous Ryan Bader look like an amateur as he made him tap, setting up something you would probably only see in World Wrestling Entertainment.
After his demolition of Bader, Jones was offered a fight against one of the most feared and legendary fighters of this day and age of mixed martial arts, Mauricio Shogun Rua. Without much hesitation he took the fight with only 6 weeks to prepare for it. Coming into the fight Jones was seen as the favorite which outraged numerous MMA fan boys, including myself. Jones not only showed why he was the favorite, but made a case of why he should have even been more of a favorite. Completely dismantling Shogun, Jones became the youngest ever UFC title holder at the age of 23. What’s next could be something we as MMA fans have never seen before.
Already having an entire half hour show dedicated to him leading up to the Shogun fight, the spotlight continues to grow exponentially for Jon. He has an upcoming interview on Jay Leno, something a UFC fighter has never done, let alone any mixed martial artist. Having met Jon Bones Jones back in October of 2010, there’s just something about this man that not many other people have, that star swag. Polite, enthusiastic and very loyal, the phrase “sky is the limit” does not even fit the description of what Bones can achieve in his still very young career.
Jon Jones is exactly the type of fighter and role model the UFC needs at this point in their ever growing business. UFC has slowly taken the forefront of the sports world and as the sport grows, Jon Jones grows with it. He has the perfect personality, perfect look and perfect overall package to lead the UFC into even bigger audiences. He already has his own shoe coming out courtesy of K-Swiss, and it will not be long before we see his face everywhere. It is unfortunate that the greats of yesteryear did not have the exposure that MMA has nowadays, but that is how the world turns, and Jon Jones managed to be in the sunlight at the right time.
Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture will always be one of the best, but their timing is not anywhere as right as Jon Jones. In a time where the UFC is in demand all over the world and the fan base has grown in masses since the time of Chuck and Randy, Jon Jones has the timing just right for being the dominant fighter he is along with role model material persona he has. I do hope I do not jinx any of the success Jones has ahead of himself, but we must realize this people; we are in an era that will forever be looked at as one being led by one of the brightest stars, if not THE brightest star, the sport has ever seen.
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