UFC's Jon Jones About to Become One of Those Scary Names in MMA

Some will tell you Jon "Bones" Jones already is one of "those guys" in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and in all of mixed martial arts in general.

A fighter who can dominate both inside and outside of the Octagon well enough to essentially print money for the organization.

I'd say that's a bit of the hype talking because such territory is necessarily rarefied air. A perch inhabited only by true giants in the sport.

Warriors like the Unbeatables—Fedor "The Last Emperor" Emelianenko (settle down Stoker), Anderson "The Spider" Silva, Georges "Rush" St. Pierre, and B.J. "The Prodigy" Penn—as well as mania-inducers like Brock Lesnar, Randy "The Natural" Couture, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, etc.

The 22-year-old kid is disgustingly gifted and has looked just as impressive, but it's generally a good idea to pump the brakes on the bandwagon when it gets rolling like this one. Maybe re-calibrate every now and again with the adversaries in mind.

That's not to say the fourth-youngest horse in the UFC stable has been given a free pass to stardom, far from it.

He took his debut on three weeks notice. His second bout was against Stephan "The American Psycho" Bonnar, who can bang and roll well enough to pose a significant challenge.

"Irish" Jake O'Brien may or may not be a can, but No. 3 still got caught with a spinning back fist/elbow for which he had to be waiting. Up next was Mark "The Hammer" Hamill, and he got obliterated before a technicality saved him.

Of course, the beating Jones handed Brandon "The Truth" Vera over the weekend at UFC Live on Versus complicates everything because it ups the ante even more.

The former heavyweight might not be the spectacle he was expected to be (and boasted he would become), but the 32-year-old is still sincerely athletic and dangerous prey. This was a higher hurdle for Bones, and he cleared it with ease.

Even the victor understood that Vera represented a different kind of enemy:

"Every time you fight someone who's better than you it just makes you elevate in so many different ways. You have to study at a different level, eat on a different level, sleep on a different level, train on a different level."

Translation—the kid from New York understood and prepared for the jump in competition. Boy, did he ever.

So now the hysteria is sure to get really obscene, but even his biggest fans must admit in a moment of clarity that Jones needs a few more illustrious pelts on his wall—maybe even a belt—before he gets the full star treatment.

Make no mistake, Jon Jones will get them.

Understand that this is a bad, bad man.

He is, quite possibly, the first of the new breed of gladiators to which UFC President Dana White alluded. Fighters who are not only tough as nails, but with superlative physical gifts and an early entry into modern MMA training—a function of the sport's growing profile.

The bounty of body we've already seen demonstrated in the cage—the spinning, the contorting, the 84.5-inch reach, the back-flips, and the tremendous power.

What makes all of this almost too ridiculous to believe is how raw the talent is.

In the post-fight press conference, Jones confirmed he has no "official" judo coach. All those wickedly unorthodox throws he's been dazzling us with? Learned off the Internet.

Dear me, what happens when somebody who really knows what they're doing gets a hold of him?

That's the other thing people will soon find out about the youngster; the good Lord didn't limit the generosity to fast-twitch muscle and agility.

Several times during the presser, Jones demonstrated he has good reason to be so ferocious inside the arena—he's got an equally agile mind and the best defense for it is apparently a good offense.

Rattle the antagonist's brain before he rattles yours.

The focus of most of the questions, Jones handled each deftly:

—On his post-fight emotions: "I'm just so excited it's OVER. It's like studying for the biggest exam of your life and knowing that all your friends are gonna know your score."

—On the dull roar surrounding him: "I don't ask for it. My ultimate goal is just to be successful, and to be able to retire one day as a successful mixed martial artist. I just try to focus on the things I can control...but I do appreciate the supporters."

—On his decision to take the battle to the ground: "I tried to be as well-prepared as possible to strike with him, but...I've been wrestling since I was 14 years old and why go out there and have a Thai match with someone who might be better than you at it?"

—On the pre-fight back-and-forth with the Truth: "I don't think it was personal...He's a talker and talkers are gonna be talkers...It was a good learning experience and, in the future, I'll deal with talkers better and just focus on what the task is."

More than once, Jones emphasized how much studying he did, tacitly revealing that the hombre takes the academic side of the sport as seriously as the physical. He mentioned reading Living the Martial Way and adjusting his game plan accordingly while explicitly placing a premium on fully recognizing his considerable potential.

Remember, this is a 22-year-old barely out of college!

There are many more seasoned performers who never, never develop such a level of humble perspective and maturity. The kind that allows them to be at the top of their chosen game, yet still improving.

It takes a genuine confidence (not the false bravado so common to the athletic arena) to recognize vulnerable edges to greatness—many in that position refuse to admit weakness and thereby ossify further growth.

Don't expect such stagnation from Bones.

When I asked him about the Hamill "defeat" and whether he draws any solace from the fact that he lost without losing in most observers' eyes—tentatively dangling some defeatist fruit for the dynamo by pointing out every fighter eventually tastes defeat—he wasn't even nibbling:

"It really stinks...Even though I didn't get dominated just the reaction that I got made me feel as if it was a loss. So it'll just make me work really hard and make sure that I know the rules of the game and, you know, come back better and smarter next time."

Hmmm.

Brandon Vera was the "next time," so I'd say mission accomplished. The first of many for this scratch on the surface of potential.

That should strike fear into the heart of every 205-pounder in the UFC, because it means we haven't seen the best Jon Jones yet.

But he's coming...

**www.pva.org**