These days, the MMA world is waiting for word of a date for Jon Jones’ return.
It’s become something of a common theme around Jones in recent years. While his resume can’t be denied, he’s made just eight walks to the cage in the past 10 years. After an injury took him out of his first scheduled heavyweight title defense this past November, Jones is nearing his return.
When Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) returns, it’ll be against former heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic, who hasn’t fought since he lost the title to Francis Ngannou more than three years ago. Rather than take a fight while Jones recovered, Miocic chose to wait for a shot to get the belt back.
In his early days as a light heavyweight contender, then champion, Jones was much more active. The year he won the title, he fought four times, including a defense against former 205-pound champ Lyoto Machida.
In that fight, which was his second defense, Jones landed a big takedown and connected with brutal elbows that left Machida cut. Back on the feet, Machida was dropped with a counter before Jones swiftly grabbed his neck for a standing guillotine choke. A few seconds later, Machida was flat on his face on the canvas. It was the first time Machida had been submitted in his career.
While the MMA world waits for news of a date for Jones-Miocic, check out Jones’ finish of Machida in the video above.
