Jon Jones has revealed some key matches that defined his career.
Jones is set to put the UFC Heavyweight Championship at stake against Stipe Miocic on November 16th. This could be the final fight in the pro MMA career of “Bones.” Jones has revealed a fight with light heavyweight titleholder Alex Pereira could sway him into sticking around
As “Bones” gets closer to the end of his fighting run, he reflected on some of his career-defining moments.
Jon Jones Lists Key Moments in Career
Jon Jones recently spoke to Tom Taylor of Bleacher Report. During the interview Jones recalled some of his biggest wins, such as when he shared the Octagon with his toughest test in early 2009.
“Yeah, the first one I start with was Stephen Bonnar,” Jones said. “He was the first really famous person that I fought against and it was the first time I realized that there was gonna be doubters and naysayers. There’s gonna be people that don’t believe in your dreams. People in my hometown were like, ‘Stephen Bonnar? The guy from The Ultimate Fighter? The guy who fought Forrest Griffin?’ At the time, I was just a snotty nose kid from Endicott, New York. No one had ever heard of me, and I had to dig and realize that I could be great and that I can compete with well-known UFC fighters, and when I did my confidence grew so much.”
The following year, “Bones” became the youngest champion in UFC history.
“The next fight would be Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua. He was a guy that I had become a fan of. I studied a lot of Pride fights when I got into MMA. I watched his destruction of many people, and I was a real fan of him. Beating ‘Shogun’ made me feel like I could do it. Like, I could go on and become undefeated. There was no man that I couldn’t beat. That’s what changed in me, the night I beat ‘Shogun.’”
While Jones’ beef with Rashad Evans may not be as recognized as the Daniel Cormier rivalry, Jones still holds his fight with “Suga” in high regard.
“Then, there were guys like Rashad Evans where the personal beef was just so deep, and we actually knew each other personally. I felt like we were fighting for the Jackson’s MMA banner.”
Jones also mentioned Quinton “Rampage” Jackson putting him through “hell,” and that he and Daniel Cormier took years off each other’s lives with their beef.