Jon Jones and the 15 Most Dynamic Fighters in the UFC Today

The term "dynamic" can be defined as being characterized by continuous change, activity or progress. It can also be defined as being marked by intensity and vigor; forceful.

So for a UFC fighter to be considered dynamic, they must always be evolving and improving. That, and they should be noted for being intense and forceful.

Dynamic fighters are an important part of the sport because as they change, the sport changes around them.

Each time a fighter evolves, he forces his future opponents to do likewise or become irrelevant.

Let's take a look at the 15 most dynamic fighters in the UFC right now.

Honorable Mention: Demian Maia

At UFC 112, Demian Maia learned the hard way that his striking wasn't where it needed to be to compete with the best.

Since then, he has been working hard on improving it, and all that work is starting to pay off.

At UFC 131, Maia took on Mark Munoz, who is feared amongst the middleweight division for his powerful striking, and got the better of the striking. Demian ended up losing the fight because Munoz was able to use his wrestling to get takedowns and earn points, but it was remarkable how good Maia's hands looked compared to when he first started with the UFC.

Maia's physique has also improved over the course of the last year or so, and it's very clear he is working on becoming an all-around better athlete.

No. 15: Frankie Edgar

Frankie Edgar has a very well rounded game, and is getting better and better at mixing his quick boxing with takedowns.

He is an interesting conundrum for anyone in the lightweight division because it is very hard to take him down and is illusive in standing.

Fighters have a hard time training for Edgar because not many people out there can emulate his constant movement, in-and-out style of boxing and limitless cardio.

No. 14: Junior dos Santos

Junior dos Santos has a reputation in the heavyweight division as a specialist.

He's known for having the best boxing in the UFC heavyweight division, which is the only tool he needs to be victorious.

At UFC 131 though, dos Santos showed the world he isn't a fan of his title as a specialist, and he is developing other aspects of his game.

Junior mostly used his boxing to beat Shane Carwin, his opponent at UFC 131, but he also showed that he's adding other weapons to his arsenal. Dos Santos threw more kicks than we have seen him throw before, and he even managed to land a head kick, flush, in the second round.

The most impressive part of Junior's performance was that he was able to to take Carwin, a former collegiate wrestler, down twice in the third round with relative ease.

No. 13: Carlos Condit

Look out, Paul Daley! There's a new knockout artist in the welterweight division.

Since losing to Martin Kampmann back in 2009, Carlos Condit has looked better every time he's stepped into the Octagon.

He's riding a four-fight winning streak, and his last three victories have come by knockout.

At UFC 120, Carlos fought Dan hardy and did something no one else has been able to do—he knocked Hardy out cold.

Condit pulled off another first at UFC 132, handing Dong Hyun Kim his first-ever loss. Carlos knocked Kim out with a vicious flying knee, but it wasn't Condit's striking that impressed me most.

Kim went undefeated in his first 14 fights because he was able to use Judo to take his opponents down and keep them there. Kim took Carlos down, but could not keep him there. Within a short amount of time Condit was able to reverse Dong and get back to his feet.

Carlos' striking looks more and more lethal each time we see him, and it's clear his ground game is no joke either.

No. 12: Anthony Pettis

Anthony Pettis is a former WEC lightweight champion and one of the most exciting fighters in MMA today.

Pettis is most famous for his "Showtime" kick, which he hit Ben Henderson with at WEC 53 (watch the kick here).

Pettis has very unpredictable stand up and is very athletic. Also, he keeps an extremely active guard, which you don't see much these days; a lot of guys prefer to stall and wait for the ref to stand the fight back up.

Anthony's crafty guard was especially apparent in his fight with Clay Guida. Guida has a solid wrestling base and used to be able to control guys on the ground, but he was so busy warding off submission attempts from Pettis that he was barely able to get any offense in.

This guy is just 24 years old, so expect big things from him in the future.

No. 11: Melvin Guillard

Melvin Guillard has the most dangerous striking in the lightweight division.

It's shocking how quickly his punches come and how explosive they can be; the dude throws his punches with bad intentions.

For years, Guillard didn't really live up to his true potential, losing most of the time when his opponents were able to get the fight to the ground.

Now, Melvin is training with Greg Jackson, and since making that change, he has looked much better.

His striking is even more crisp than before, and his defensive wrestling is much better.

Recently, Melvin fought former NCAA Division-I wrestler Shane Roller, and Guillard was able to thwart the experienced grappler's takedown attempts en route to knocking him out.

No. 10: Nick Diaz

Nick Diaz is one of the most unusual fighters in the sport.

If there's one thing Diaz hates in a fight, it's inactivity. This guy doesn't go away. He is in your face from bell to bell.

Diaz has a very technical but unique style of boxing and is good at mixing body shots into his combinations.

I believe strikers like Diaz are important to the sport's evolution because it makes brawlers obsolete. The more technically proficient fighters get, the easier it's going to be to telegraph to wild, looping punches brawlers usually throw.

Diaz is also well known for his ground game and, in particular, for having a very tricky guard.

The sport needs more fighters like Diaz (and Pettis), who are consistently active off their backs and don't just wilt when an elite grappler is able to take them down at will.

No. 9: Cain Velasquez

Cain Velasquez just keeps surprising people.

He fought MMA legend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 110, and going into the fight he had a reputation as being a pillow-fisted wrestler. Cain made the people who called him "pillow-fisted" feel stupid when he knocked Nogueira, who is known for his chin, out in the first round.

Then, going into his fight with Brock Lesnar, people said Velasquez was too small to take on a man of Lesnar's size.

Cain did get taken down early in the fight, but managed to quickly get back to his feet, and then, perhaps to prove a point, he took Lesnar down. A short time later, Brock got back to his feet, and Cain again put his ever-improving boxing skills on display, owning Lesnar in the striking and earning a first-round TKO.

It's a little too early to say this, but with his dominant wrestling and constantly evolving stand-up, Velasquez could be the Georges St-Pierre of the heavyweight division.

No. 8: Lyoto Machida

Lyoto Machida is the man who, for a while, had fighters everywhere thinking about drinking their own pee.

Most MMA fighters have kickboxing or Muay-Thai as their striking background; there's not a lot of karate-based strikers.

Lyoto has showed the world that not only does karate have a place in MMA, but it can be one of the most effective disciplines.

If anyone in the light heavyweight division doesn't practice karate, they at least need to be able to defend against it now that Machida is around.

Machida is also a very underrated grappler. He has faced high-level wrestlers like Rashad Evans and Tito Ortiz, and neither were able to take him down.

At UFC 129, Lyoto proved he's still adding new weapons to his arsenal by knocking out UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture with a flying front kick.

No. 7: Charles Oliveira

Charles Oliveira is one of the most exciting up-and-comers in MMA today.

This kid is only 21 years old and is already being matched up with some of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC's stacked lightweight division.

He is only a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but based on the ground skills he's been showing in the cage, he'll have his black belt soon enough.

No matter where the fight goes, Charles is always aggressive and always attacking. He is also very agile and has shown he can be an explosive striker.

This dude has skills wherever a fight goes and is improving rapidly. It's too soon to say, but he could end up being the Jon Jones of the lightweight division.

No. 6: BJ Penn

Even after a decade in this sport, BJ Penn continues to improve.

For years, BJ has been feared for his heavy hands and his lethal Jiu-Jitsu.

One element of Penn's game that hasn't always been there though, costing him dearly in some fights, is his wrestling.

At UFC 127, BJ fought Jon Fitch and showed the world he's been working pretty hard on his wrestling lately.

Fitch is an elite grappler who has been able to manhandle most of his UFC opponents, and Penn managed to take him down several times, despite having a size disadvantage.

Given that BJ's Jiu-Jitsu has been most effective when he's in top position, adding a solid wrestling base to his arsenal could be just what he needs to make another run at an UFC title.

No. 5: Anderson Silva

Anderson Silva is the most feared striker in MMA history; he mixes up his strikes better than anyone else.

Silva has shown us he can be devastating with punches, elbows, knees and kicks; if you're standing anywhere inside this guy's range, you are not safe.

But everyone knows how good Silva's striking offense is—what isn't talked about enough is his striking defense, which is some of the best in the sport.

Anderson's head movement is on another level than most. The Forrest Griffin fight shows it the best. Several times in the fight, Griffin tried to punch Silva, and Silva just moved his head out of the way with ease.

At UFC 126, Silva showed he is still adding new moves to his repertoire, finishing Vitor Belfort with the first-ever front kick knockout in UFC history.

I should also make note of Anderson's Jiu-Jitsu, which is very good.

No. 4: Dominick Cruz

UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz is a tough riddle to crack.

He has some of the strangest, but most effective, striking ever seen in the Octagon.

Cruz is constantly moving and bouncing his way in and out of opponents' range. This in-and-out style makes him very difficult to get a hold of, and if you do manage to tie him up, he is usually able to separate quickly.

Just ask Urijah Faber about that.

Faber and Cruz met at UFC 132, and Faber worked for much of that fight trying to get a hold of Dominick. He was largely unsuccessful, and when he did manage to grab on to him, Cruz slipped away with relative ease.

No. 3: Jose Aldo

Jose Aldo is a beast.

This guy's striking is on a whole other level than anyone else in his division.

Aldo is double quick and can hurt you with anything. He knocked out Manny Gamburyan with punches, damn near crippled Urijah Faber with leg kicks, demolished Cub Swanson with a double flying knee and gave Mark Hominick a hematoma.

The featherweight division has a lot of catching up to do if they want to stand and trade with Jose and not get owned.

No. 2: Georges St-Pierre

Georges St-Pierre is the most well-rounded fighter in MMA, forcing fighters to be well-rounded or ensure their own defeat.

St-Pierre's wrestling is so good he can choose where he wants to fight his opponents. So if a guy has a weak striking, he'll keep the fight on the feet and outbox him. If a guy has a weak ground game, he'll take him down, and ground and pound him.

Georges is a fighter who's ahead of his time, and he's likely speeding up the evolution of MMA since everyone is working extra hard to catch up to him.

No. 1: Jon Jones

Jon Jones is being toted by many as the future of MMA. I think it's a bit too soon to say that, but I'm comfortable saying he is probably the future of the sport.

Jones is the current UFC light heavyweight champion, has faced some of the fiercest competitors in his weight class and no one has even been able to challenge him.

He has unorthodox and unpredictable striking. Jones is always throwing flashy strikes like spinning kicks and elbows or flying knees. His striking is helped by the fact that he has the longest reach in the UFC at 84.5 inches.

Jones also has incredible wrestling. He has been able to get all of his opponents to ground easily, and his submission game is coming along also.

The youngest champion in UFC history looks a little bit better every time we see him, and that's scary, because it already seems like he's way better than everybody in his division.