By Max Lipari, Junior, Sports Management

Jon Jones is one of the greatest fighters of all time. Jon is well known for his mixed martial fighting style. In March 2011, Jon became the youngest champion in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s history by winning the title, he was only 23 at that time. The biggest UFC 285 event of 2023 (March 4th) thus far delivered at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The 14-fight lineup featured eight finishes and two new champions crowned. In the most anticipated event, (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) returned from a 37-month layoff and joined an exclusive club of two-division titleholders. The former longtime light heavyweight champion captured heavyweight gold with a submission in the first round against Ciryl Gane last Saturday which made him the undisputed greatest fighter of all time.

Going into the fight Jon Jones became the eighth fighter in UFC history to win titles in two weight classes. Jones became the third fighter in UFC history to win titles at heavyweight and light heavyweight, joining Daniel Cormier and Randy Couture. Going into his fight against Ciryl Gane, he was at a 19- fight undefeated streak which ranked the longest among UFC fighters. At the start of Jon Jones’s career, he was looked at as someone who could change the fight game forever. With his size and length, he had on the other fighters, his ceiling was high, and no one could come close to it. He started winning early and at 23 years old he got his first shot at a title. He fought well and ultimately won a world title. In an interview with legendary broadcaster and UFC commentator Joe Rogan he said that there are only two things that make a fighter great. Those two things were his technique and his mindset. He believed that his technique was above the rest, and it showed in his many fights in his career. But if he wanted to be great, he had to control his mind. He stated that he had to imagine that he was the champ and that in order for him to be the champ he needs to act like it. Everything he signs or says he end it with “Yours truley, the champ”. That line became a powerful line in his famed career and helped him become the greatest fighter of all time.

With the fame at a young age, he became reckless and his image as a professional was not good. He missed weight cuts; he was involved in many fights outside of UFC and most famously he failed many drug tests. He hosted big parties in Las Vegas or at other main UFC events that he was a part of. Dana White is the Co-founder and CEO of UFC and had many millions of dollars for giving fighters a platform to showcase their talents from around the world. Having so many different types of fighters over the years in UFC has brought a lot of good and bad to the sports. For example, Dana White has publicly stated that having a fighter like Jon Jones is not good for UFC and it is not good for sports. His ideal fighter is someone who is unique but also carries himself with respect and someone who is entertaining for the fans. Ultimately, he wants to make money from the fighters, but he wants the right fighters representing the UFC. However, Jon Jones is cleaning up his act by doing many things that he said that could have helped him when he was younger fighting for his first world title fights. He is parting less when there are big fight events, he is doing more charity work around where he lives which is in New Mexico and he is training other fighters who also want to seek greatness in the UFC. Although, his image will forever be damaged because of his actions in the earlier stages of his career; he is still considered to most as the greatest fighter to ever do it because of his 3 world titles and his record in the octagon. In order to be the greatest of all time described by Jon Jones, you must fight the greatest and you must not lose. He did exactly that in the UFC.