UFC champ Jon Jones once again proved why he's the king of the light heavyweight division with his utter domination of Chael Sonnen at Saturday night's UFC 159.
Despite suffering a broken toe in the first round, Jones was able to repeatedly take down Sonnen—a feat few, if any, fighters in MMA can boast—before finishing the "Gangster from West Lynn" with strikes for the technical knockout victory.
While the win was certainly impressive for the UFC's youngest title holder, Jones still has some work to do before he can be crowned the promotion's most dominant champion. However, that list of steps is dwindling quickly.
Comparing the light heavyweight king with the UFC's other reigning champs, the two legacies Jones would have to surpass in order to become the top name in the sport are obviously middleweight champ Anderson Silva and welterweight title holder Georges St-Pierre.
Silva and St-Pierre have dominated their respective divisions for years, taking out every big name and challenger to face them. While Jones is on a similar trajectory, he hasn't held on to the belt for as long as the other two.
Where Jones' title run stacks up with MMA's pound-for-pound leaders is his performance over his division's biggest names.
In less than two years, "Bones" was able to mow down the best 205ers in the world, including five former light heavyweight champs. He also out-wrestled a former NCAA Division I All-American wrestler in Chael Sonnen.
Another mark of a dominant champion is the way he or she is able to deal with adversity. Jones has exemplified that trait in his last two outings, refusing to tap out to Vitor Belfort's armbar attempt and finishing Sonnen Saturday night despite his broken toe.
Silva has gone through some trouble during his reign, most notably in his UFC 117 battle with Sonnen, when he just barely won via triangle-armbar.
St-Pierre, who's been on a tear since coming back from his injury, has also faced trouble, highlighted by his shocking losses to Matt Serra and Matt Hughes. However, the Canadian was able to rectify both defeats.
At such a high level, it's so difficult to decide who is the best of the best considering nearly every champ's skill set and current winning streak. But if Jones can keep taking out these big names with big finishes, it won't be long until Bones takes the title as the greatest of all time.
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