Ranking Jon Jones and Each UFC Champion's Road to a Title

How easy is it to win a UFC title?

How many chances do fighters get in their often brief careers to challenge an opponent for Octagon greatness?

To be honest, these type of opportunities come with little to no consistency and require some of the best skills in the game.

The seven current UFC champions that grace each of their respective divisions have no doubt earned their keep, securing their mark on the game forever.

But in some instances, the road to stardom is less traveled for one fighter compared to another.  Sometimes a champion has to overcome more to captivate his weight class.

Here's how each UFC champion stacks up against the others in their respective roads to a title.

7. Jose Aldo

It's a tricky thing when dissecting the road to a title for the WEC greats turned UFC champs.

Jose Aldo just so happens to be one of those guys, albeit a great talent at that.

However, when you consider his first title fight, and his first fight, inside the UFC came against a lesser opponent in veteran Mark Hominick, it's easy to see how fast Aldo came onto the scene.

If he had come into the UFC fighting at 155, which many people suspect him of doing in the future, it would have taken Aldo much longer to capture a title.

Well, he would have at least had to fight BJ Penn, Frankie Edgar, Clay Guida or Benson Henderson to do so.

6. Dominick Cruz

Yet another WEC champion turned UFC title holder.

Dominick Cruz came into the UFC already a bantamweight champion, having defended the WEC title against Scott Jorgensen and Joseph Benavidez before the two entities merged.

With that said, his road to a title within the UFC bantamweight division hasn't been that spectacular when matched up against the heavier weight classes.

He did have to beat Urijah Faber in his first UFC title fight, so for that, his success has been a little greater than Jose Aldo's.

5. Anderson Silva

There's no arguing that Anderson Silva is currently the greatest MMA champion in the world.

When it's all said and done, Silva could very well be considered the greatest fighter of all time.

But beyond his impressive talent inside the cage, on top of his nine straight title defenses, the 36-year-old Brazilian's road to winning the UFC middleweight championship back in 2006 wasn't that profound.

Silva's title fight with Rich Franklin at UFC 64 was only his second fight with the organization, having secured a KO victory over Chris Leben in his debut four months prior.

So when you consider Silva had to outstrike a wild puncher like Leben and use his reach to pick apart a declining Franklin, his road to UFC gold was more or less given to him.

Regardless of his lackluster road to a title, Silva's delivery inside the Octagon over the past five years makes you believe that he would have become champ regardless of who he had to fight and for how long he had to do it.

4. Benson Henderson

Benson Henderson pretty much fell right into this spot.

His road to the lightweight title wasn't too pedestrian, but it didn't quite stack up against the rest of the champions on this list.

Henderson, who came into the UFC as the WEC lightweight No. 1 contender, had to work his way up the divisional ladder in order to secure a title shot against Frankie Edgar at UFC 144 in Japan.

Key victories over Jim Miller and Clay Guida allowed "Smooth" to earn the rights to face Edgar in what would become the greatest mark of his career, winning the title via unanimous decision.

He may not have finished any fights along the way, even though he's more than capable of doing so, but his dominant performances over top lightweight contenders make Henderson a sure thing at No. 4 on this list.

3. Jon Jones

Behind Anderson Silva, Jon Jones may be the greatest pound-for-pound fighter on the planet.

His unorthodox striking, unmatchable reach and astonishing youth puts him on a list full of potential UFC Hall of Famers.

But as far as Jones' path to a title is concerned, it doesn't quite take the cake compared to the last two names on this countdown.

In order to earn a title shot against Shogun Rua at UFC 128, in which he tore apart the legendary Brazilian, Jones only needed a key victory over Ryan Bader and an injury to teammate Rashad Evans to step directly into the UFC spotlight.

Granted, he has made every round since count while defending the title two times, but Jones' placement inside the Octagon at UFC 128 was borderline questionable.

You need to remember that the light heavyweight division has consistently been one of the most diversely competitive divisions in the UFC, so it's believable that a handful of fighters could of been given the same opportunity while putting Jones on the back burner.

2. Junior dos Santos

Junior dos Santos is undoubtedly a true champion.

His road to the UFC heavyweight title was one full of tough matchups and key finishes.

It took Dos Santos seven fights within the UFC to receive the right to fight for the title. Due in part to Brock Lesnar's barbaric arrival to the organization and Randy Couture's popularity, the current heavyweight champion had to wait his turn.

And while Dos Santos waited in the wings for everything to pan out, he was still finishing every opponent the UFC threw his way.

Victories over Fabricio Werdum, Stefan Struve, Mirko Cro Cop, Gabriel Gonzaga, Roy Nelson and Shane Carwin make up one of the most impressive resumes that any current UFC fighter possesses.

It took all of those decisive wins to convince the UFC that a battle with Cain Velasquez at the sport's debut on FOX was the perfect time to give "Cigano" an opportunity to end a lengthy road to stardom.

Well look where he is now. Dos Santos is arguably the most popular fighter in the UFC today, stands as the biggest draw for any and all Brazilian UFC fans and sports some of the best pound-for-pound striking in the world.

The road to the championship was not a swift and easy one for the current champ, so don't expect him to let go of it anytime soon.

1. Georges St-Pierre

Georges St-Pierre has by far had the toughest road to a title among all current UFC champions.

After losing his first title bout against Matt Hughes at UFC 50, putting anything and everything St-Pierre had worked for in limbo, the Canadian had to restart his road to a title shot and make all the right moves to make it count.

Following that loss, the first of only two in his professional career, St-Pierre had to win four straight UFC bouts in order to regain the rights to a rematch with Hughes.

Those fights, which included huge wins over Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Frank Trigg, Sean Sherk and the great BJ Penn, transformed St-Pierre into the champion he is today.

Remember, every one of those fighters were riding the prime of their careers, so for a young welterweight contender in his mid-20s to dismantle the best of best says a whole lot.

After eventually avenging his previous loss to Hughes by beating him via second-round TKO at UFC 65 to win the championship, St-Pierre became one of the most targeted fighters in the sport (that's a good thing).

It wasn't easy, but St-Pierre is a great athlete for a reason. He learns from his mistakes and makes the necessary changes to become nearly untouchable inside the Octagon.

Food for thought: He's the only current champion to have lost a UFC title fight before winning it at a later time.

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