Jon Bones Jones Has The Heart, And Skill, Of A Champion

Last week, I wrote that UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva was the baddest dude on the planet. 

“Giving Ron Pawlus the next 4 Heisman Trophies” thinks I spoke too soon.

On Saturday night, Jon “Bones” Jones sauntered into the UFC Octagon as the challenger to champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the light heavyweight division. 

Shogun is a legend in MMA, the UFC light heavyweight champion, and one of the most decorated fighters of all time.  All the decorations on the planet couldn’t save Shogun from what was about to happen.

Jon Jones stands 6’4, and has a “Dhalsim-like” 84.5” reach.  Jones’ striking skills are much improved in his time at the UFC, and what’s more impressive is that he has NEVER been taken down in his eight UFC fights. 

How do you beat a guy with an enormous reach that can’t be taken down?  You can’t, and Shogun quickly found that to be true.

Jones annihilated Rua, and that may be an understatement.  “Bones” dominated every facate and every stage of the fight.  His muay thai was flawless and his ground and pound was vicious. 

Never was he in danger of losing the fight… and in mixed martial arts, that isn’t a very common thing to hear.

As if becoming the youngest title holder in UFC history wasn’t impressive enough, earlier in the day Jon Jones did something evern more extraordinary. 

He ran down a criminal and held him on the street until the police arrived — while documenting the entire episode on Twitter.

Think about that for a minute…  literally HOURS before the biggest fight of his young career, Jon Jones put himself in harm’s way for a greater good.

Jones won the fight… but even if he hadn’t, it’s clear to anyone paying attention that this kid is a champion.