Jon Jones in 2015: Prognosticating the UFC Champ's Upcoming Schedule

Chances are, Jon Jones will never have another 2011.

To say that year was a good one for the UFC light heavyweight champion is a drastic understatement. Simply put, Jones’ 2011 may well go down as the greatest individual year any MMA fighter has ever had.

Jones won four straight fights during that calendar turn, capturing the 205-pound title and defeating three former light heavyweight champions in a row in Shogun Rua, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Lyoto Machida. Unfortunately, the ensuing three years haven’t been quite as stellar for him.

Sure, there were high spots—he beat Rashad Evans and Vitor Belfort to run his streak to five straight former champs vanquished, for example—but there have also been injuries, underwhelming matchups and a string of public relations gaffes.

If Jones ever wants to put together another banner year, 2015 may well shape up as his best chance. The light heavyweight division is suddenly flush with intriguing contenders again and if Jones manages to march through them unscathed, he could add another year for the ages to his already peerless career.

Here’s a look ahead at what can be done to make 2015 great for the greatest light heavyweight of all time…

He Must Avoid Delays

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The biggest likely impediment to Jones having a brilliant 2015 is also arguably the least exciting to talk about: delays.

Injury delays. Rematch delays. Cancellation delays. Contract delays. All of these will have to be avoided if Jones is to wow us next year.

In 2012, he experienced a delay when scheduled opponent Dan Henderson was injured, forcing the cancelation of UFC 151. That same year, he dispatched Chael Sonnen in the first round but came out of it with a badly dislocated toe. This year, his bout against Glover Teixeira was postponed three times before they finally fought at UFC 172.

So, yeah, delays.

Next Tuesday, he and Daniel Cormier will appear in front of the Nevada State Athletic Commission to answer for their on-stage brawl, which toppled a UFC set and caused an embarrassing fracas in the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas in August.

Good news is, Jones and Cormier aren’t likely to be suspended for the incident, though MMA Junkie’s Steven Marrocco reported on Wednesday they could face significant fines.

The bad news? Well, the pay-per-view they were trying to promote when they went full Holmes-vs.-Berbick inside one of the UFC’s favorite host hotels was UFC 178. That happens next Saturday on Sept. 27, and neither Jones nor Cormier will be fighting at it, owing to injuries.

Jones is on the mend after a leg injury forced their bout to be postponed. In the interim, it’s believed Cormier also had surgery to repair his own ailing knee. Close readers will recall Cormier was only even in this position because Jones’ scheduled bout with Alexander Gustafsson had to be called off when the Swede injured his knee in training.

That Gustafsson match too was pushed back while the UFC and Jones’ camp worked out the terms of a new deal. For Jones to recapture the magic of 2011, 2015 will have to go off with considerably fewer hitches.

There Will Be Controversy

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Oh, yes, there will.

Occasionally, it seems Jones can’t sneeze without someone authoring a message board thread about whether he covered his mouth. Aside from being MMA’s most prodigious talent, he is also the sport’s most hated-on figure.

This month, UFC color commentator Joe Rogan discussed whether race is a factor in Jones’ relative lack of popularity and that only touched off more controversy. As they nearly always do on the topic of Jones, fans got indignant and Rogan later said he’d been misquoted and/or taken out of context.

Just another day at the office for Jones.

To date, he’s been involved in one disqualification for using illegal elbows against Matt Hamill in Dec. 2009 (his only career loss). More recently, people have griped about his use of oblique kicks to the knees and his penchant for letting his fingers stray into the eyes of his opponents.

Outside the cage he’s pleaded guilty to DWI charges, been tossed under the bus by his employer, denied posting homophobic comments on a fan’s Instagram account, mocked spectators and opponents on his own social media accounts and threatened to kill Cormier when he (allegedly) didn’t know ESPN cameras were rolling.

Also, they brawled on stage. Did we mention that, among other things?

Among other things.

At this point, the only thing that seems certain about Jones’ 2015 is that some people just won’t like it, no matter what.

Finally Settle It with Daniel Cormier at UFC 182

As things stand, Jones and Cormier are finally expected to do the damn thing on Jan. 3 at UFC 182. It’s a bummer to have to wait the additional three-and-a-half months to see them compete, but at least it sets Jones up to have three, maybe four fights in the Octagon during 2015.

He hasn’t shouldered that kind of workload since his legendary 2011, fighting just twice each year in 2012-13 and once in 2014. Four fights during one calendar year would be a lot for a UFC champion, but the fight company clearly wouldn’t argue with it, especially considering its anemic first half of this year.

Interestingly, though, Jones’ biggest test next year may also be his first. Cormier comes down from heavyweight undefeated at 15-0 and, while he’ll give up some serious height and reach in this fight, should be Jones’ equal in most other ways.

At the risk of overstating things, Jones and Cormier may be the most intriguing light heavyweight matchup since Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell. If Jones can win this one—and even do something definitive, like stop Cormier—it would be a heck of a way to start the year.

A Springtime Rumble with ‘Rumble’

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Let’s all stop pretending like Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and Alexander Gustafsson aren’t going to end up fighting each other later this year or early next. From the moment Gustafsson hurt his knee and Johnson established himself as a player in the UFC light heavyweight division, it’s been the only option.

For the sake of argument, let’s say Rumble wins. Let’s says this because A) I suspect he will, and B) it would be the cruelest twist for Gustafsson to have to wait even longer for his rematch with Jones. You’ve watched MMA before, right? So you know the cruelest thing almost always happens? Good.

If it does, Jones could fight Johnson as early as May of 2015. Since deciding he would no longer kill himself trying to make the limit in lighter weight classes, Rumble has been something of a revelation, going 8-0 including back-to-back wins to restart his UFC career.

Johnson’s power is for real (ask Antonio Rogerio Nogueira) and his wrestling skills are there when he needs them. He’d be a stiff test for Jones, not to mention a solid PPV main event to highlight the UFC's spring schedule.

Christmas with the Gustafssons

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All would not be lost for the loser of our proposed fight between Gustafsson and Johnson. Frankly, there’d be no shame for either guy coming up short in this kind of a matchup which, let’s face it, could easily be for a title in a bizarro world where Jones didn’t exist.

That’s why Gustafsson will be back in the title picture by the end of the year, despite losing to Johnson in our fantasy booking scenario. Maybe he beats Phil Davis in a rematch of a loss suffered in just his second UFC fight back in 2010. Maybe he whoops up on Glover Teixeira or a returning Rashad Evans.

However it happens, it’s a good bet Gustafsson will still be there, still waiting for Jones in the fall of 2015. They will renew their Fight of the Year caliber brawl from UFC 165, though, to be honest, it’s doubtful Jones would struggle so mightily with Gustafsson the second time around.

A better prepared, more diligently trained Jones likely defeats Gustafsson by a far more clear-cut unanimous decision.

If Jones does that, on the heels of beating Cormier and Johnson earlier in the year, it’d be hard not to rank his 2015 right up there with the best years for any individual MMA fighter. It might even be close to as good as his 2011.