Who would you have wanted Jones to fight during 1st reign?

Hendo/Rumble probably only LHWs that could've been interesting, they tried to make both fights.
MWs: Izzy or Anderson Silva would've been fun.
HWs: Cain/Fedor/Brock
 
Matt Hamill

jones could have avenged that loss but he just didn’t have the self confidence to sign up for that rematch
 
Lawrence said:
I would have loved to watch Jones fight Junior Dos Santos back then.

Both in their Primes Jr. JDS weighed 235ish and Jones without a weight cut would be within 10 pounds of that.
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It depends on how you define JDS's prime. It's true that Jones walked around at 230 or so in 2012 (though that's likely out-of-camp weight, not ready-for-the-cut weight), but that was also the start of JDS's decline, where he lost to Cain to kick off a 6-9 record. (Plus, by that time JDS was closer to 240 than 235.) When Jones entered the UFC in late 2008, he walked around at 210. JDS wasn't close to the title then, but that's more likely his "prime," as he was absolutely blasting through everyone he faced, knocking out everyone not named Nelson or Carwin.

In short, if you want to compare when Jones was bigger, JDS was also bigger and likely out of his prime. If you want to compare JDS at 235 (when he was lighter but more successful), Jones was much smaller and probably could have cut to MW if he had wanted.
 
D MCCG said:
Im talking about true light heavys. And also anderson only fought at light until 2009. Jones became champ at like 2011 or 12, i forgot which.
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Anderson replaced Jones in a LHW fight in 2016. If Anderson could fight in Jones place then he could have fought Jones. Seems like you forgot this as well.
 
TheNewOldGuy said:
Rumble. Jones has never once faced someone that hits as hard as Rumble and on any given night Rumble can KO anyone with any limb. It was a very dangerous fight for Jones and I'm not surprised it never happened because of how hot and cold Rumble was and wasn't that charismatic and Jones was a UFC cash cow and casuals didn't know who Rumble was.
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You do know that is the fight Jones got suspended for and DC stepped in and fought Rumble, right? It did not happen, because, Jon hit and run from car accident in a rental car. That fight was scheduled, booked and promoted bro.
 
laleggenda27 said:
Phil Davis wouldn't have been an interesting fight at all. Davis is essentially the same fighter as Bader, minus the power, and Jones absolutely clowned Bader.

Rumble might have been interesting simply because of his power, but I would have bet the house on a submission win for Jones within 2 rounds.
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Davis is a far better wrestler IMO then Bader. Bader has one shot KO power but Davis is much more dynamic with his wrestling. Davis also has 79 " reach (Same as Gus) and Bader is 74". When fighting Jones the ones who gave him the most trouble (Gus 79" reach at UFC 167, Santos 76" reach, Reyes 77" reach) all had decent reach and Davis has that Bader not so much.
 
Gamer2k4 said:
It depends on how you define JDS's prime. It's true that Jones walked around at 230 or so in 2012 (though that's likely out-of-camp weight, not ready-for-the-cut weight), but that was also the start of JDS's decline, where he lost to Cain to kick off a 6-9 record. (Plus, by that time JDS was closer to 240 than 235.) When Jones entered the UFC in late 2008, he walked around at 210. JDS wasn't close to the title then, but that's more likely his "prime," as he was absolutely blasting through everyone he faced, knocking out everyone not named Nelson or Carwin.

In short, if you want to compare when Jones was bigger, JDS was also bigger and likely out of his prime. If you want to compare JDS at 235 (when he was lighter but more successful), Jones was much smaller and probably could have cut to MW if he had wanted.
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Ok … I respect your superior memory.

But come on Bro…. Great challenge for both dudes!!!!!

That’s the one I wanted.
 
dipstickjimmy said:
Davis is a far better wrestler IMO then Bader. Bader has one shot KO power but Davis is much more dynamic with his wrestling. Davis also has 79 " reach (Same as Gus) and Bader is 74". When fighting Jones the ones who gave him the most trouble (Gus 79" reach at UFC 167, Santos 76" reach, Reyes 77" reach) all had decent reach and Davis has that Bader not so much.
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Gus, Santos, and Reyes are all strikers...Davis isn't. The comparison is apples and oranges. And even more to the point, Davis' only real weapon on the feet was his leg kicks. His boxing was nonexistent, so his reach is moot.

Even if Davis had slightly better wrestling, the difference was marginal. Davis and Bader had very comparable wrestling. The biggest difference was the Davis had a more versatile grappling game, so he prioritized getting fights to the ground. Whereas Bader had power in his hands, so he was more willing to keep it standing. But, again, the point is moot because nothing suggests that Davis (or any other LHW in MMA history) could successfully outwrestle Jones.

I'm a Jones hater, but this is a very easy stylistic matchup for him. Bader was actually more dangerous for Jones because he at least had KO power.
 
Lawrence said:
Ok … I respect your superior memory.

But come on Bro…. Great challenge for both dudes!!!!!

That’s the one I wanted.
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I agree, some of the more fascinating fights for Jones are at HW, because clearly the majority (all?) of LHWs don't have anything to offer him. Can't argue that.
 
laleggenda27 said:
Gus, Santos, and Reyes are all strikers...Davis isn't. The comparison is apples and oranges. And even more to the point, Davis' only real weapon on the feet was his leg kicks. His boxing was nonexistent, so his reach is moot.

Even if Davis had slightly better wrestling, the difference was marginal. Davis and Bader had very comparable wrestling. The biggest difference was the Davis had a more versatile grappling game, so he prioritized getting fights to the ground. Whereas Bader had power in his hands, so he was more willing to keep it standing. But, again, the point is moot because nothing suggests that Davis (or any other LHW in MMA history) could successfully outwrestle Jones.

I'm a Jones hater, but this is a very easy stylistic matchup for him. Bader was actually more dangerous for Jones because he at least had KO power.
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I disagree. Gus took Jon down. I know MMAth doesn't all work but Davis had no trouble with Gus but Jon was life and death with him. Jon's wrestling is augmented by his striking. Its not as if he was Brock able to charge like a bull and take down anything in his path. Davis' reach matter more than you think and his kicks help him with the range advantage that Jon exploits against his opponents. We are both entitled to our opinions they just differ.
 
D MCCG said:
Who would you wanted Jon Jones to fight during his first title reign? No anderson silva or stuff like that only lhw's. I would've liked him to add rumble or phil davis to his kill list. He would pick apart rumble and dominate davis the whole fight. If he had these two wins, he would for sure be considered the goat.
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Jones* would have kicked Rumble in the knees, eyepoked him, and then RNC him in the 2nd round. Davis would shoot in from across the cage, only to get picked apart from distance for a demoralizing UD. Just for fun, it would have been nice to see King Mo vs Jones.
 
dipstickjimmy said:
Anderson replaced Jones in a LHW fight in 2016. If Anderson could fight in Jones place then he could have fought Jones. Seems like you forgot this as well.
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Silva was on a 4 fight winless streak when he fought dc. Also jones was interim at the time at ufc 200, so seems like you forgot I said first reign.
 
Another vote for Rumble here. That first round woulda been tense as hell.
 
Phil Davis was the biggest stylistic challenge for Jones and he's pretty much the only LHW besides Rumble he didn't end up fighting. This was due to Dana discriminating against wrestlers as opposed to Jones ducking him but I really was intruiged by this fight.

Same shit goes for Corey Anderson.
 
He fought everyone, a really killer lineup. Cleared the division. The only name he missed was Rumble.
 
dipstickjimmy said:
I disagree. Gus took Jon down. I know MMAth doesn't all work but Davis had no trouble with Gus but Jon was life and death with him. Jon's wrestling is augmented by his striking. Its not as if he was Brock able to charge like a bull and take down anything in his path. Davis' reach matter more than you think and his kicks help him with the range advantage that Jon exploits against his opponents. We are both entitled to our opinions they just differ.
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1. Wrestlers presented zero trouble for Jones. He easily beat many wrestlers (DC twice, Glover, Chael, Rashad, Bader, Matyushenko, and O'Brien). His style was tailor-made to beat wrestlers. The fact that Gus surprised him with exactly one takedown in two fights, where Jones literally stood up 10 seconds later, doesn't change the analysis. It seems like you're creating an analysis to support your conclusion, rather than creating a conclusion based on analysis.

2. Yes, Jones had a war with Gus, whereas Davis easily outgrappled Gus. But Gus was a completely different fighter then, which I'm sure you know. He had a gaping hole in his wrestling game, which is why he then became training partners with Davis.

3. Jones had trouble with long, rangy strikers. Davis wasn't a striker. I'm unclear as to how you think Davis would use his reach against Jones when Davis' boxing was nonexistent and he had no power in his hands.
 
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