8 Star-Making Performances In The UFC

Jon Jones had not been fighting for years when he laid the foundation for UFC superstardom. In fact, Jones was less than a year removed from his MMA debut when his performance against UFC mainstay and Ultimate Fighter alum Stephan Bonnar turned heads across the world of mixed martial arts.

Unlike many of the prodigies often earmarked for great success regularly discovered on the UFC roster, Jones did not have any particularly impressive pre-MMA accolades to speak of. Instead, it was his physical attributes that most were touting going into his early bouts.

Physical attributes alone, however, are not going to take you to the top of the UFC. Stefan Struve is significantly taller than Jones and has the same reach, but has failed to ascend similar heights in his fighting career.

This is because, in his fight against Bonnar, Jones demonstrated that it was the way that he was capable of utilising his physical gifts that would drive him to success at the elite level in the UFC.

For a relative novice, Jones' performance against Bonnar was unbelievable. In the first round, he faked changing levels to make Bonnar think he was going to attempt a takedown before unleashing one of the most spectacular strikes in the history of the UFC with a spinning back elbow. Jones would continue to dominate the first two rounds before gassing in the third.

Later attributing his exhaustion to being inexperienced and attempting to finish the fight early, Jones would still do enough to earn an uncontentious unanimous decision victory.

Just over two years later, Jones would defeat MMA legend Shogun Rua to capture the UFC Light Heavyweight title, but it was in his fight with Bonnar that he showed the first glimpses of his unlimited potential.