Jon Jones: Sporting News men's MMA Athlete of the Decade

Steven Muehlhausen

Jon Jones: Sporting News men's MMA Athlete of the Decade image

Jon Jones entered 2010 coming off one of the worst calls in MMA history when he suffered a disqualification loss to Matt Hamill in December 2009 when he threw what was deemed illegal elbows by referee Steve Mazagatti. Despite that unfortunate incident, Jones entered the decade as the guy pundits felt would be the one to reign supreme over the sport.  

They weren't wrong.

Jones, 32, has gone 16-0 with one no-contest and eight of those coming inside the distance. He is a three-time UFC light heavyweight champion. Stepping in on six weeks notice, Jones battered Maurcio "Shogun" Rua UFC 128 in March 2011 to stop him in the third round to win the title. From there, it was the "Bones" Jones show. 

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Jones' not only beat opponents, he's dominated them from the opening bell to the conclusion of the contest. After beating Rua, he finished four consecutive UFC light heavyweight champions in Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans and Vitor Belfort. Jones has also defeated the likes of Daniel Cormier, Chael Sonnen and Alexander Gusafsson (twice). 

The past 10 years weren't without personal troubles for Jones, who was charged with DWI, leaving the scene of a hit-and-run, and with battery. Controversy also surorunded Jones involving his fight career as he's failed two drug tests and ended up receiving suspensions for those matters.

Despite these incidents, there's no denying what Jones has been able to accomplish inside the octagon.

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These dominant performances in the decade of the 2010s have seen Jones go from being considered the future of mixed martial arts to being considered the greatest fighter to ever put on the four-ounce gloves.

And for these accomplishments, Jon Jones is the Sporting News men's MMA Athlete of the Decade. 

Runners up: Daniel Cormier, Demetrious Johnson and Conor McGregor.

By the numbers

— Jones' record for the decade is a staggering 16-0 with one no-contest.

— Out of his 17 fights, 14 of them were title bouts.

— In Jones' first reign as light heavyweight champion, Jones defended the belt eight consecutive times. 

What they're saying:

— UFC President  Dana White on Jones: "Jon Jones has done the same thing, he's fought all the best out there. You look at who he beat in the light heavyweight division ... The fact that he beat Daniel Cormier twice is unbelievable, because Cormier is unbelievable."

— Former opponent and training partner Rashad Evans: "Without a doubt, Jon Jones. When it comes down to it, I think that Jon Jones is the best in history. When he's inside the cage, he's dynamic. He's got some skill. But, I would say technically speaking, he's probably the best fighter."

The next decade belongs to: Israel Adesanya

Like Jones, you could see early in his UFC run that Adesanya had something special in him. The fluidity with which Adesanya moves in the cage, in addition to the way he's able to finish people, is quite breathtaking. Within 20 months of entering the UFC, Adesanya is already the middleweight champion and regarded as one of the best fighters in mixed martial arts.

The 30-year-old's been so dominant that there's already talk of him taking on Jones in a superfight. A win over Jones, provided Adesanya stays healthy, should leave no doubt that the "Last Style Bender" should rule MMA with for the next decade.

Steven Muehlhausen

Steven Muehlhausen Photo

Steven Muehlhausen is a contributing writer for DAZN News. He writes features and news stories, and provides analysis relating to the world of boxing. Over the past five years, he has interviewed some of the biggest names in combat sports, including Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, Terence Crawford, Vasiliy Lomachenko and Bill Goldberg.