Why is Jon Jones So Dominant?
Hands down, Jon Jones is the biggest talent MMA has ever seen and by far the most dominant UFC champ ever. We are not sure if we will see another such dominant MMA fighter in our lifetime.
Jones is a perfect MMA fighter in many ways. It seems like he came out from the research lab as a scientific product of the “Ultimate Fighter”.
The weird thing is, Jones actually never lived up to his full fighting potentials due to his troubles outside the sport. But one can argue that these personal and legal issues only made him hungrier and stronger.
Either way, Jon Jones is a perfect MMA package who has supreme athletic gifts and a God-given mind for fighting. In this article, we will give our best to break down what’s so special about him. And why he is so dominant inside the steel cage.
Jones has a perfect physique for fighting
Jon Jones is the most gifted MMA fighter and his physique is one of the secrets behind his greatness. First of all, Jones is a master in multiple combat styles. This on its own speaks a lot about his athletic potentials and ability to adapt his body to various challenges.
This is very important for MMA since the sport is still young and evolving. We still don’t know what is the best fighting style or a body frame for MMA. The body frame that works for wrestling maybe doesn’t work for striking and vice versa. But it seems like the physique of Jon Jones is as close as it gets to the ideal body frame for MMA and here is why.
How these long physical attributes contribute to his success?
Standing 6 feet 4, Jon Jones has very long limbs and he carries an amazing 84.5" reach in the 205 division. Jones actually has a body frame of a heavyweight fighter and he enjoys a huge reach advantage against any fighter in the 205 division.
On top of that, he is very flexible and agile. Truly, not many fighters his size can move like he does or react as fast. In the grappling aspect, this allows Jones to stop most of the takedowns or win scrambles on the mats. You are never going to see him being on the bottom.
In the standup, Jones mixes his great footwork and high reach to always stay out of potential troubles. His arms are so long that it’s very hard for his rivals to pass the jab and land something on him because he covers so much distance. Before you can grab him on the leg or land an overhand, you will probably eat the sharp elbow or a knee to the mid-section.
Further, he is a very creative and dynamic striker who likes to attack from all angles. For instance, he throws a lot of spinning elbows, kicks, and steps in elbows and knees.
Fighting IQ
For many people, Jones is the most intelligent MMA fighter in history. You see, having an advantage in size doesn’t mean a thing if you don’t know how to capitalize on it. And Jones is a true master in analyzing, reading, and beating down his rivals by using his mind.
Jones has stated many times that he always analyzes the fight footage of his rivals. Together with his head coaches, Jones would always break the style of his rivals in the smallest details. They will find many weak points and come up with a perfect game plan to match against the opponent’s fighting style.
Further, Jon Jones is a type of fighter who prefers to train smart rather than pushing his body and mind over the limits every session. There is a complex science behind each of his fight camps, and he is also doing various things to keep his mind sharp.
He uses meditation to stay focused on the upcoming fight and to decrease the pressure that goes with fighting in front of millions of people. This is the reason why he always looks calm before and during the fight. Between the rounds, his coaches would often tell him “think about the waterfall” which helps him stay in the flow state.
You can see how smart he is by the way he fights too. He is a slow starter who likes to take his time to feel and read the rival first. Once he picks up enough information (usually in the second round), he will start beating them down piece by piece. Even when in trouble like against Gustafson, Jones is able to regroup and fight his way to victory as all great athletes do.
Amazing wrestling and BJJ skills
People tend to forget Jones actually started his martial arts journey in wrestling. He wrestled all the way through Union-Endicott high school and went on to become the state champion. Even today, Jones spends a lot of hours drilling the wrestling moves and improving his game.
Throughout his entire career, Jones has faced many great wrestlers. Some of them were even Olympians like Daniel Cormier was. But nobody except for Alexander Gustaffson was able to take him down. In fact, Jones was the one to score takedowns and beat the elite wrestlers at their own game.
The same stands for his amazing BJJ skills. As said earlier, he uses his long limbs to control the rivals on the bottom and quickly submit them if he sees the opening. But what most people see as the best aspect of his ground game is the brutal ground and pound techniques. Once on top, Jones is able to generate a huge power in his punches and elbows. And this is a method he prefers to put his rivals out of the fight.
Amazing Striking
Jon Jones truly has a great ground game, but what really sets him above the others are the amazing striking skills. He is perhaps the most dynamic and innovative striker to ever set a foot inside the octagon.
Everything he utilizes on the feet is very unorthodox. His Muay Thai skills are second to none and he doesn’t waste his energy levels throwing too much. Instead, he makes sure that everything he throws lands and does damage. What he throws a lot, however, are various different faints.
At distance, he is very unpredictable and always gives his rivals different looks. He uses a well-educated jab to maintain his distance and avoid all dangers. Also, he can achieve the same by throwing spinning kicks to the body or his famous oblique kicks.
Once he decides to attack, he would throw vicious roundhouse kicks and does a great job of mixing them with the kicks. But he really shines during the close brawls and the clinch. He would target the body of his rivals with brutal knees and come with the sharp elbows over the top.
We can’t point out a single standup style he is good at. Jones is so dangerous simply because he can mix the techniques from various styles in harmony.
The ability to bounce back from his troubles
We can often hear Jones saying that he truly believes he was born to fight. Although every other fighter says similar things, we have every reason to believe this is true when it comes to Jones, and here is why.
Jon Jones is a true troublemaker, and he ended up breaking the law many times. Whether he got caught violating the USADA athletic commission policies or causes a car crash, Jon Jones just can’t stay out of trouble.
He has been suspended three times in his UFC career. In total, these three suspensions kept him outside of fighting for more than two years! He wasted two years of his prime because of his troubles outside the cage. Not to mention many fans think he will never take control of his demons.
Yet, Jones has always been able to rise from the ashes and regain his throne. This is mainly due to his insane warrior mentality and work ethic. Whether it was six months or a year of suspension, Jon Jones was always training and preparing. For him, the ring rust is just an excuse and he always shows up in great shape.
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