For The Record: Jon Jones
If Jon Jones defeats his next opponent (possibly Alexander Gustafsson) he will surpass the record set by Tito Ortiz. Will it also cement Jones as one of the all-time greats?
Jon Jones defeated Chael Sonnen last Saturday night to retain the UFC Light Heavyweight title. This ties him with Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz for most consecutive Light Heavyweight title defences at five. Ortiz lost the belt to future Hall of Famer Randy Couture at UFC 44, if Jon Jones defeats his next opponent (possibly Alexander Gustafsson) he will surpass the record set by the Huntington Beach Bad Boy. Furthermore, if his next opponent is indeed Gustafsson it will silence arbiters who claim that Jones’ near-flawless record is a result of his appreciable height and reach and not sheer skill. Will it also cement Jones as one of the all-time greats? According to Dana White, he already is.
“No matter what I say it’s going to sound like I’m smashing Tito cause of me and Tito, but the competition that Jon Jones has faced in the last year-and-a-half in the Light Heavyweight division is far tougher than what Tito faced at the time when he was the champ,” White told Bleacher Report. ”And Jon Jones is undefeated. Tito has that record because he was here for so long. Jon Jones is doing it in almost two years. It’s pretty amazing. I don’t think you can compare the two.”
Professional wrestler CM Punk, who recently had a lengthy run as WWE Champion, cut a promo several months ago in which he claimed that he was the greatest champion ever to work for the company and not Bruno Sammartino. Sammartino, who was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in April, held the title for 11 years. The 4040 day reign is the longest in WWE history and as a result leads many to call him the “greatest” champion in the company’s history. But is Sammartino merely a product of his generation?
During the promo, Punk stated that his 434 day run would be the equivalent of 30 years in Sammartino’s time, when a schedule as champion consisted of events at Madison Square Garden once a month to a public who was less impatient and more accustomed to seeing title reigns that lasted years. The schedule of a modern day professional wrestler working for the WWE consists of weekly events spread across an ever-growing amount of television programs in different cities around the US and the world. This begs the question of whether Tito Ortiz’ reign, like Bruno Sammartino’s, is merely a product of the time in which he was competing.
Ortiz won the belt from Wanderlei Silva at UFC 25, which was held April 14, 2000. His next fight was in December of that year against Yuki Kondo at UFC 29. The fight was Kondo’s second in the UFC, after having fought for many years in Pancrase. Kondo was given Ortiz after defeating Brazilian Alexandre Dantas, and left the UFC on a loss to Vladimir Matyushenko.
Ortiz’ next fight came two months later against Evan Tanner at UFC 30. Ortiz knocked Tanner out with a body slam in thirty seconds, his victory dance lasting longer than the actual fight. In June of that year, Ortiz defeated Australian Elvis Sinosic (UFC 32). Sinosic was slated to face Ortiz after an impressive victory over Jeremy Horn but would go on to lose every other match he had in the UFC. Ortiz then faced Belarusian Vladimir Matyushenko, a good fighter with a solid record in the IFC. The fight was Matyushenko’s first since his win over Kondo. He lost by unanimous decision to Ortiz.
Finally, Ortiz set the title defence record with his next fight against a 38 year-old Ken Shamrock, who was entering the winter of his career, only ever seeing one more victory in the UFC. Ortiz’ next fight was his defeat by Randy Couture at UFC 44. Couture dominated the match, executing brisk takedowns and keeping Ortiz on the ground for almost all of the fight and at one point spanking the Huntington Beach Bad Boy on his ass. Ortiz had said before the fight that “no forty year-old man is going to beat [him].”
Since winning the Light Heavyweight title from Shogun Rua at UFC 128 (March 19, 2011) Jones has defeated Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida Rashad Evans and Vitor Belfort. Each fighter arguably qualifies for living-legend status, with consistent records in reputable companies against “name” opponents. With the exception of the retired Jackson, all rank within the top ten best fighters of their respective weight classes by Sherdog and all of them have faced and beaten Hall of Famers.
With his recent defeat of Chael Sonnen (a pale competitor for a fighter of Jones’ calibre), Jones has equalled Ortiz’ record only in statistics. In reality, the 25 year-old’s record far surpasses that of Ortiz simply by virtue of the formidability of the competition he’s faced. Jones entered a fully-realised MMA, not the then-nascent sport in which Ortiz competed, and fights for a company that, since the dissolution of Pride and Strikeforce, arguably possesses the best professional fighters in the world. While a compound fracture of the toe is going to keep him out of commission for the foreseeable future, Jones belongs to a tier of fighters that Ortiz never had to face.