The UFC light heavyweight division has long been the weight-class that produces the face of the company. From Tito Ortiz to Chuck Liddell and now to reigning champ Jon Jones, the biggest names of the sport reside at 205 pounds. But is Jones the best of them all?
He might very well be. Jones became the longest-reigning champion in the division's history on Sunday with 1,261 straight days with the belt. He surpassed Ortiz's record of 1,260 days. "Bones" became the youngest fighter to win a UFC championship when he won the title in 2011 at the age of 23 with a TKO win over Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. He has since defended the belt a record seven times.
"It's my competitive nature, my pride and my desire to set records - that's what brings out the beast in me," Jones told Fighters Only magazine. "That's what brings out this whole new mentality in me. It's a 'cannot lose' mentality."
Jones has defeated multiple legends and past champions, holding notable wins over Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort. His most recent defense was in April when he dominated Glover Teixeira to earn a unanimous decision win.
Jones' dominance has yet to be solved. His 84.5-inch reach gives him an advantage over just about any fighter in the division. The only man who came close to dethroning Jones was Alexander Gustafsson last September. In arguably the best fight of 2013, Jones was battered but dug deep in the final rounds to pull out the unanimous decision victory.
There is still a slew of contenders in the light heavyweight division that Jones will have to defeat to be considered the greatest of all time. His next defense will come on Jan. 3 at UFC 182, when he faces former Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier.
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