Was Jones in the same position as Khabib and Islam?

[TerraRayzing]

Early on? Jones was super dominant all the way up to his title victory against Shogun but he didn't have too many ranked wins, did he? I recall him having ONE top 5 (10?) victory, Ryan Bader, before he fought Shogun.
What was the chatter back then? Did fans think Jones was unproven against the top fighters, as was the case with Islam and Khabib?
I didn't lurk too many forums back then but I remember fans saying that Shogun would cripple his chicken legs, lmao.
Did Jones have a rise similar to Khabib and Islam? Who else comes to mind?

 

[HHJ]

I mean,if you saw Jones vs Bonnar,you knew this was a future champion on our hands. All he needed to learn was how to put all the tools together

 

[TerraRayzing]

I mean,if you saw Jones vs Bonnar,you knew this was a future champion on our hands. All he needed to learn was how to put all the tools together

Yeah, when Khabib handled RDA, I knew he would be a future champion. What I'm curious about is whether fans thought Jones would wilt against top competition. I was here for Khabib and Islam and lots of folks thought they would not be able to replicate their dominance against the top guys. Was it the same for Jones?

 

[HHJ]

Yeah, when Khabib handled RDA, I knew he would be a future champion. What I'm curious about is whether fans thought Jones would wilt against top competition. I was here for Khabib and Islam and lots of folks thought they would not be able to replicate their dominance against the top guys. Was it the same for Jones?

I dont remember people saying that. I know the Shogun fans were trying to rally hard for their boy. I thought Shogun was gonna get run over.

 

[Mammothman]

The way Bones ran trough the division it didn't only scream champ most people knew we had a GOAT in the making in our hands.

 

[Fioretti]

It was obvious he was a phenomenal talent, and I believe he was a replacement for Rashad in the Shogun fight. He blitzed through Vera, Matyushenko, and Bader after the DQ loss to Hamill, and was highly regarded as the next big thing at LHW. Rightfully so. What he did after winning the title is more significant than Khabib and Islam combined.

Bones bless.

 

[cheachea]

Yeah, when Khabib handled RDA, I knew he would be a future champion. What I'm curious about is whether fans thought Jones would wilt against top competition. I was here for Khabib and Islam and lots of folks thought they would not be able to replicate their dominance against the top guys. Was it the same for Jones?

Absolutely, you could tell right away that he was going to be champion.

 

[Mal Intentions]

Early on? Jones was super dominant all the way up to his title victory against Shogun but he didn't have too many ranked wins, did he? I recall him having ONE top 5 (10?) victory, Ryan Bader, before he fought Shogun.
What was the chatter back then? Did fans think Jones was unproven against the top fighters, as was the case with Islam and Khabib?
I didn't lurk too many forums back then but I remember fans saying that Shogun would cripple his chicken legs, lmao.
Did Jones have a rise similar to Khabib and Islam? Who else comes to mind?

he brutally finished everyone. islam has had mostly boring decisions. not to mention he has been laid out already

 

[LoveMyMMA]

What he did after winning the title is more significant than Khabib and Islam combined.

Bones bless.

Yeah what he did to win the title is even more impressive.

 

[Desji]

The narrative of the fight was that Jon needed to wrestle and replicate the Griffin loss. If he chose to strike with Shogun the would be punished for his inexperienced wild striking (Jon spamming spinning elbows at the time).

Then Jon beat him everywhere.

 

[chimpoehurricane]

Early on? Jones was super dominant all the way up to his title victory against Shogun but he didn't have too many ranked wins, did he? I recall him having ONE top 5 (10?) victory, Ryan Bader, before he fought Shogun.
What was the chatter back then? Did fans think Jones was unproven against the top fighters, as was the case with Islam and Khabib?
I didn't lurk too many forums back then but I remember fans saying that Shogun would cripple his chicken legs, lmao.
Did Jones have a rise similar to Khabib and Islam? Who else comes to mind?

There are still people who believe in fairytales. I liked prude too but can crashing was routine.

 

[chimpoehurricane]

The narrative of the fight was that Jon needed to wrestle and replicate the Griffin loss. If he chose to strike with Shogun the would be punished for his inexperienced wild striking (Jon spamming spinning elbows at the time).

Then Jon beat him everywhere.

Remember when Forrest bear Shogun into submitting?

 

[ermac88]

I mean,if you saw Jones vs Bonnar,you knew this was a future champion on our hands. All he needed to learn was how to put all the tools together

I remember watching that Bonnar fight and telling friends
'You got to see this guy'

To martial arts enthusiast it was apparent hed be champ.

A lot of detractors said Shogun was going to kill Jones, those guys are still around. They say the next fighter will kill Jones.. they've been doing the same routine for a decade now.

Rinse and repeat

 

[laleggenda27]

When he ragdolled Bonnar, people started to take notice. When he obliterated Vera and Matyushenko, most people realized he was probably a future champion. But when he clowned Bader, it was obvious to any objective observer that he would be historically great. Obviously there were still questions that needed to be answered, but the writing was on the wall.

 

[oldschoolmmafan]

Jones never looked as dominant early, giving up a round against Bonnar even.

 

[HHJ]

Jones never looked as dominant early, giving up a round against Bonnar even.

You can tell he could have destroyed Bonnar in the first,he had all the tools,he just didnt know when to use what. No one remembers anything Bonnar did in that fight. He was fighting like he was trying to figure out which move he should use next,with no worry about being beaten.

 

[AfroBanana]

Jones never looked as dominant early, giving up a round against Bonnar even.

As dominate as Khabib and Islam? or do you mean he became more dominate. Pretty sure Khabib had a fight every media outlet had him losing and he admitted that fight was a serious struggle for him. Islam was KO’ed. All are amazing fighters but watching Jones was just different. Jones was just destroying champion after champion that all held the belt recently, insane really.

 

[Masturbin]

You can tell he could have destroyed Bonnar in the first,he had all the tools,he just didnt know when to use what. No one remembers anything Bonnar did in that fight. He was fighting like he was trying to figure out which move he should use next,with no worry about being beaten.

It's was a young guy performance.

Crazy athletic abilities and creativity.
He did not have veteran guile yet so he kinda gassed in the 3th.

But yeah despite gassing Jones looked ultra good.

 

[BigOlJeet]

Jones was juiced to the neck and eyeballs his entire career plus being a weight bully, him getting busted screams a lot.

 

[JumJum]

The way Bones ran trough the division it didn't only scream champ most people knew we had a GOAT in the making in our hands.

You could say the same thing about Izzy yet he lost each time he didn't got a massive reach and height advantage in MMA. Jones also had his most difficulty against taller opponents and both Reyes and Gustafson aren't the most skilled fighters. Once he will go to HW he will start a losing streak. And it's got nothing about age where so many super old guys are dominating