On July 29, Jon Jones will look to regain his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship belt against current champion Daniel Cormier. Jones currently has a 22-1 MMA record but his career was temporarily put on hold due to various issues with the law. However, Jones might be the greatest UFC fighter of all time and has a ton of memorable knockouts over the course of his career. Here are, in my opinion, the best knockouts of his career:
5. First Career Knockout vs. Brad Bernard
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BdmVOWJy50
Every legend must start somewhere and Jones’ legacy began on April 12, 2008 when he fought against Brad Bernard. Despite not being the fanciest knockout, this finish holds a ton of significance because it set the Jones train in motion. For that reason alone, I put this knockout at number five.
4. Knockout vs. Moyses Gabin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1xq7OkEF14
Prior to this fight, Jones was 5-0 in his career and looked to become the USKBA Light Heavyweight Champion. In order to do so, Jones had to defeat Moyses Gabin. Jones destroyed Gabin in the fight and knocked him out in the second round to win his first career championship belt. This fight is extremely significant because this was the fight that propelled him to an entrance in the UFC.
3. Knockout vs. Brandon Vera
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqvhmQbr2q0
On March 21, 2010, Jones was given his first UFC main event fight and was scheduled to fight fellow UFC Light Heavyweight Brandon Vera who boasted an MMA record of 11-5 at the time. Jones was coming off of his only career loss and was looking to improve his record to 10-1. This fight showed the world that Jones would, one day, be competing for the championship belt at some point in his career. significant because this was the fight that propelled him to an entrance in the UFC.
2. Knockout vs. Chael Sonnen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1cRyvVMJ3Y
On April 27, 2013, Jones was asked to defend his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship belt against UFC legend Chael Sonnen. Sonnen was 28-12-1 at the time and looked to use his wrestling prowess against Jones to win the belt. Unfortunately for him, Jones managed to pick Sonnen up and slam him down to the mat where Jones then got the top mount and knocked him out. The knockout itself is not that special. However, the significance behind it makes this knockout worthy of the number two slot. Jones reasserted himself as being, arguably, the best UFC fighter of all time by starting his career with an 18-1 record and showed his competitors that he is practically unbeatable in the octagon. This was his fifth consecutive title defense and is, surprisingly, the last knockout recorded by Jones in his career which gives this knockout a little extra significance.
1. Knockout vs. Shogun Rua
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA8r0Y7W4Ho
The number one knockout in Jon Jones’ career has to be his Light Heavyweight Championship victory over UFC legend Shogun Rua. At UFC 128, Jones became the youngest champion in the UFC history by becoming the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion at age 23. In order to become champion, Jones had to defeat Shogun Rua who boasted a career record of 19-4 at the time. Jones dominated the fight and hit Rua with a vicious combo including a knee to the face that knocked Rua out in the third round. This knockout has to be the best in Jones’ career due to its significance as well as the knockout combo itself.
