Jon Jones has been a staple of the UFC roster for nearly two decades and he tore through most of his competition during it all. He fought everyone from Chael Sonnen to Ciryl Gane and was levels above almost all of them. Jones continues his run after 16 years in the promotion, handily defeating Stipe Miocic in his last fight by spinning back kick. In his time with the UFC, Jones lost one fight by disqualification, and commissions changed that rule
Despite Time at Heavyweight, Jon Jones says 205-pounder Hits Hardest
In all of Jones’ fights, one stood out to him as the one where he faced the biggest hitter of his career. All the way back in April of 2012, Jones squared off against “Suga” Rashad Evans in Jones’ third defense of the heavyweight title. Despite Jones winning that fight by unanimous decision, he says he never faced anyone who packed as much power.
Evans hit Jones with an overhand right, one of Evans’ biggest weapons and a classic punch favored by wrestlers in MMA. Jones was no slouch at the time though, as he previously knocked out former world champion Chuck Liddell.
“The hardest punch I ever received was from a guy named Suga Rashad Evans,” Jones said. “He caught me with an overhand right, the same exact punch he hit Chuck Liddell with and dropped him, he caught me with that same punch.”
“It wasn’t that he hit me so hard, it was the speed of the punch. It was almost like, you can tighten up or you can just let your arm be loose and let it swing. It’s kind of like an overhand slap, bro, he hit me so fast and I had no clue what it was.”
When looking back at the fight, one can clearly see the moment where Evans caught Jones with a booming overhand. Somehow, Jones managed to come to and control the fight from there.
“He just caught me right at the edge of my chin and I remember my feet were to a point where I couldn’t control my legs, Jones said. “Then I refocused and I was able to stand again, but bro that was by far the fastest I’ve ever been hit and thank God I didn’t become unconscious because I probably should have been.”
Jones Counts Miocic Fight as One of His Greatest Wins
Despite the naysayers, Jones considers his win over Miocic as one of his best accomplishments. Miocic is one of the most decorated heavyweights of all time and arguably the greatest. Despite the fact that this was Miocic’s last fight and he had not won in five years, Jones remains extremely proud of his win.
He defeated Ohio native Miocic with a brutal spinning back kick to the ribs, and proceeded to celebrate with the President-elect of the United States Donald Trump.
“Tonight was incredibly special,” Jones said. “Finishing Daniel Cormier [in a fight that has since been ruled a No Contest] is up there too. Stephan Bonnar was the first star that I fought as a young man.
“Everybody around me told me that I was no one and that I couldn’t do it and I had to really work on meditation and bringing up my self-esteem for the first time to beat Stephan Bonnar. Mauricio ‘Shogun’ taught me that I could be great.
“Kid from a small town, never great at anything, I became a champion. D.C., it was just very personal. And tonight, tonight is the biggest moment of my life.
“To talk about Jesus in front of our president and let the world know how truly proud I am to be an American champion, it felt awesome, man. To finish Stipe, it felt awesome.”
Jones fought nearly every big name on the UFC roster in his weight class, but he considers those three names the biggest. The UFC missed out on booking the fight a few years ago in one sure to be a classic.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
