UFC 128 may have been the coming out party that Dana White has been waiting on for a long time. Fight fans across the world sat in awe as 23-year old Jon Jones completely dominated the dangerous and violent Mauricio “Shogun” Rua during their main event. The torch wasn’t handed to Jones, he took it with the controlled aggression of a veteran.
Before the first round was even over, Jones had displayed a striking acumen that had left Rua gasping for air and wobbling. At that point, the question wasn’t if Jones would become the youngest UFC champion ever, but when. He used a variety of striking attacks to force Rua on the defense, and kept him there until the very end. Always the competitor, Rua kept pressing forward when many men would have wilted long before. At the 2:37 mark in the third round, however, the former PRIDE standout had no choice but to succumb to Jones’ relentless attack. At that moment, everyone watching became witnesses to something grand.
Not only did Jon Jones become the youngest UFC champion ever; he became an individual who has the potential to carry this sport into its next phase of growth. Take this into account: moments before the biggest fight in Jones’s career, a story broke in which the future champion chased down an individual committing a burglary and held him down long enough for authorities to step in. Imagine that, a man who is fighting for the UFC Light Heavyweight title in mere hours, playing super hero as a side gig. That is the type of publicity that Dana White can push to the forefront of the UFC’s massive expansion.
On top of this fact, Jones has the ability to become a cross-over star. Take into account Bob Arum’s comments a few weeks back that stated the UFC didn’t have enough minority fans. Disagree if you want, but his statements very valid in some ways. Jones could be a remedy to that solution. Neither Quinton Jackson nor Rashad Evans really had the ability or time to become stars within this demographic, but I believe that Jones can be an interest point for people across many different backgrounds.
On March 19th, 2011 Jon Jones took a step towards a pedestal that only Georges St. Pierre and Chuck Liddell had reached before him. Not only did he become a UFC champion, but he has the potential to become the best piece in the UFC’s game of chess to take over the world’s combat sports market. We all may have witnessed a major point in MMA history.
