UFC 126 Lessons Learned: Jon Jones Dominates Ryan Bader, Will Beat Shogun Rua

Jon Jones has been one of the most polarizing figures in UFC's light heavyweight division over the past couple years.  

Jones enthusiasts praised Jonny as a man destined for greatness and divisional domination beyond anything we’ve ever seen before in UFC history.  

Jones’ critics have said he’s massively overhyped, pointing out that while this kid has very impressive skills, he has yet to beat a legit top-10 fighter.  

Well, after tonight, we can officially cross one of those items off the list.

UFC 126 was Jones' chance to finally justify all the hype by stepping into the octagon with Ryan “Darth” Bader.  The Ultimate Fighter Season 8 winner Bader came into the night with a ton of momentum, riding a 12-fight unbeaten record with big wins over Antônio Rogério Nogueira (Lil’ Nog) and Keith Jardine.  Sherdog rankings had Bader as the sixth-best light heavyweight on the planet.  

Saturday night, Jones did a whole list of things that nobody else had ever done before.  

He was the first man to even attempt to take down Bader in the UFC.  

He was the first man to successfully score a takedown on Bader, and he actually made it look pretty easy.  

He was the first man to even attempt a submission on Bader in the UFC.  

He was the first man to ever successfully submit Bader.  

And finally, he was the first man to defeat Bader.  

The really impressive thing is that Jones won this fight by doing things other light heavyweights wouldn’t have even bothered attempting against Bader.  

We’ve clearly seen throughout mixed martial arts history that it is incredibly difficult to score takedowns and submissions on elite level wrestlers.  So by doing exactly that and making it look easy, a huge exclamation point has been added to Jones' newest tally in the win column.    

What have we learned from this fight?  

After dominating four world-class wrestlers in a row and absolutely bullying all four of them at wrestling, I think it’s fair to say that Jon Jones is the best wrestler in the entire light heavyweight division—and probably the best by a large margin.  

Jones once again demonstrated that his creative strikes and long reach can keep the big power strikes of opponents at bay while doing plenty of damage to his opponent.  

Jones has now proven to the world that he is a legit top-five fighter.  I’d rank him second since I can’t honestly think of anyone who can beat him, Shogun Rua included.  But I also don’t believe in ranking anyone no. one until they prove they really are the best by actually beating the champion and claiming the title.  

If they are given the opportuntiy, Rashad Evans, Quinton Jackson, Thiago Silva and Randy Couture will all lose if and when they fight Rua for the belt.  Rua really is that good, believe me.  

But as good as Shogun is, Jones is even better.  Mark my words, Jones is the only man who can take the title away from Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.