After Jon ‘Bones’ Jones ran through Glover Teixeira in last Saturday’s light heavyweight title bout, it has become clear that he is running out of challengers in that division.
The near consensus pound-for-pound best UFC fighter in the world has now defended his title seven times in a row and hasn’t lost in 11 fights. He’s beginning to resemble Joe Louis and the Brown Bomber’s Bum of the Month Club of the early 1940s. Is it time for him to take on a bigger challenge, a heavyweight challenge perhaps?
Every MMA fan would love to see a superfight between Jones and heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez, but that isn’t the only fight that UFC followers would take an elbow from Jones to see. Here are some of the matchups that we wish would happen, as soon as possible.
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Dylan Sinn is a freelance contributor for CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSinn or “like” CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
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Top UFC Fights We Need to See
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Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson
Class: Light Heavyweight
Before Jones can justify moving up a class and taking on Velasquez for the heavyweight title, he owes Gustafsson a rematch of their classic battle at UFC 165. Unlike some of the others on this list, fans will likely not have to wait long to see this one, as it seems that Gustafsson will be the champ’s next challenger, with the two possibly doing battle as early as July or August.
The Mauler is 16-2 and his only loss since 2010 came at Jones’ hands last year in what has been by far the narrowest margin of victory Jonny Bones has experienced as champ. The Swedish Gustafsson was the first to take Jones down and opened up a huge cut above Jones’ eye before succumbing to a unanimous, though hotly-contested decision. Jones himself says it was his toughest fight and Gustafsson deserves another shot. If the first was a classic, the second could be an all-timer.
(Photo by Patrick Smith/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
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Johny Hendricks vs. Georges St. Pierre
Class: Welterweight
At this point, Hendricks is like Joe Louis circa 1937, he’s the champion by name but he won’t feel like the champion until he beats his own version of Max Schmeling, GSP (that’s two Joe Louis references in this list, I’m on a roll). I must admit that I am a huge fan of Bigg Rigg, and I was among the legion that thought he got robbed when St. Pierre was awarded a split decision in their first matchup.
The champion retired immediately following that fight at UFC 167 last November, ceding the belt to Hendricks via the 30-year old’s defeat of Robbie Lawler last month. Since then, GSP has seemed content in retirement, appearing in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but he tore his ACL in recent training and it’s unclear when he could return to the Octagon even if he wanted to. Hendricks is the champ for now, but he’ll always be the guy who couldn’t take out GSP until the two battle again.
(Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
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Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva
Class: Middleweight
This one will likely never happen, but the hype surrounding it would likely be bigger than almost any fight in UFC history if it ever does. Weidman is the new king of the middleweight division, having defeated Silva twice and ending his seven-year reign of terror over 185-pouders. It is now ‘All-American’ Weidman who seems unstoppable and ready to rule over the division for years to come.
Still, there are plenty who wonder whether the champion is really the better of the two fighters. The first fight ended on a lucky knockout and the second was finished due to a devastating leg injury that might have ended Silva’s career, or so the story goes. Neither was really resounding and Weidman will always have something to prove in the minds of many unless he gets another shot at Spider.
(Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
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Ronda Rousey vs. Cristiane Justino
Class: Bantamweight/Featherweight
Rousey has looked unbeatable in winning eight of her nine UFC fights by first-round TKO and she is one of the most marketable stars the sport has thanks to her penchant for taking even the smallest of slights personally. Her latest feud is with Justino or as she’s better known, Cris Cyborg. Cyborg has repeatedly tried to entice Rousey and the UFC into a fight, but the Invicta FC Featherweight Champ has been unsuccessful so far.
She recently accused Dana White of protecting Rousey after White called her “Wandelei Silva in a dress.” In order to make this one work, the 145-pound Justino would have to cut weight to meet the 135-pound Rousey and would have to prove that she is clean after being suspended for steroid use in the past. Rowdy Ronda can make any fight interesting with her always-entertaining pre-fight banter. A fight that she actually has a chance of losing would be even better.
(Photo by Jim Kemper/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
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Jon Jones vs. Cain Velasquez
Class: Heavyweight
The potential fight that inspired this list rounds it out. With GSP and Anderson Silva both stuck in pseudo-retirement, these are two of the best pound-for-pound fighters the sport has to offer. They are both physical freaks with off-the-charts power that would in all likelihood put on a show right out of Warrior if they ever got into the Octagon together.
Both seem to have nearly run out of opponents in their own divisions, and if Jones can get past Gustafsson and the winner of a Dan Henderson-Daniel Cormier title elimination bout later in 2014, he might have no choice but to take on a bigger challenge. At 6-foot-1 and 241 pounds of pure destructive muscle, Velasquez certainly qualifies as a bigger challenge. He’s one of the few who might be able to match Jones’ athleticism, although whether he’s quick enough to dodge Bones’ flying elbows is up for debate.
(Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
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Chris Weidman vs. Vitor Belfort
Class: Middleweight
Fittingly, one of the UFC’s brightest young stars appears on this list twice. Weidman hasn’t lost in his UFC career and seems to be gaining momentum with each victory. This fight was supposed to happen in July at UFC 173 and was highly anticipated as a result of Belfort winning his last three fights against quality competition by knockout in the first two rounds.
The Phenom was forced to withdraw from his first title shot since 2012 because of a change in the drug policy in Nevada that made his current cycle illegal. He’s vowed to return in accordance with the rule and fight the winner of Weidman and Lyoto Machida’s title fight in July. Both Weidman and Belfort have looked unstoppable recently and it seems clear that Belfort remains the biggest challenge to Weidman’s fledgling reign atop the division.
(Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
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