UFC champ Jon Jones enters Forbes’ list

MANILA, Philippines – Ultimate Fighting Champion (UFC) light heavyweight champion Jon Jones added another accolade to his résumé as he has been included on Forbes Magazine’s “30 Under 30: The Sports World’s Brightest Young Stars” list.

The 27-year-old Jones is the only combat sports competitor who made it to the list and is ranked among the likes of Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo and 26 other athletes.

After pulling off 6 impressive victories in his initial run as a mixed martial arts practitioner, Jones (21-1) made his first appearance under the UFC bright lights in August 2008 and immediately cemented his position as a light heavyweight contender for the organization’s world title.

Jones challenged then-champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua for the gold-plated strap in just his eighth Octagon outing in March 2011 and was successful in his bid to bring home the belt as he defeated the Brazilian via third-round stoppage to become the youngest UFC champion in history.

Since his title-winning feat against Rua, the 6-foot-4 “Bones” went on by beating the likes of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Alexander Gustafsson and Glover Teixeira.

However, what makes his Forbes recognition even more special is that it came prior to this past weekend’s UFC 182 pay-per-view event, where Jones marked his 8th successful defense of the UFC light heavyweight title by outpointing previously unbeaten Daniel Cormier.

Diverse leverage in the stand-up trade and blatant statement-making in takedowns steered Jones to a unanimous decision triumph over Cormier as all three judges scored the bout for the champion, 49-46.

With the remarkable win over Cormier that is arguably one of the best performances in his prizefighting career, Jones moves into third place on the UFC’s list of victorious consecutive title defenses.

Former middleweight titlist Anderson Silva owns the most record of successful UFC title defenses at ten, while two-time welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre defended his crown nine times before vacating it in November 2013.

While he has had his share of controversial moments outside of the cage, including his full-fledged brawl with Cormier this past August, Jones has proven to be one of the greatest talents in MMA history and currently sits atop of UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings. – Rappler.com