UFC Light Heavyweight Landscape and How Jon Jones Has Changed It Forever

Jon Jones shook the light heavyweight division down to its core on Saturday and did it with a shocking ease. Taking out Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in three rounds that saw Jones take the fight to the legend without much opposition, Jon Jones has now taken the light heavyweight division to a new level that is likely to stay there for a very long time.

Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz dominated the light heavyweight division for years when they had the gold around their waists. Ortiz would wrestle his opponents down to the ground and elbow them into submission. Chuck Liddell would stalk his prey around the octagon and slam his fists into opponents' faces into unconsciousness. They became legends, and rightfully so, because of their sheer dominance and success in the sport.

When they had fights, fans would only give their foes a slight chance to win, as they would know that anyone stepping into the cage with these two, would face the same fate as all of the others. However, this mentality has since changed, or it should have. If it hasn't, Jon Jones has given everyone a perfect reason to do so.

Jon Jones stepped into the Prudential Center with one goal in mind, and that was to win the Light Heavyweight Championship of the World and bring all of his dreams and hard work to realization. Anyone looking at this fight didn't think that Rua, a man who has beaten the likes of Quinton Jackson, Allistair Overeem and Chuck Liddell, would be so soundly defeated by a rookie who just three years prior made both his professional and UFC debut.

However, Jones took that opportunity he received in August 2008 with his first UFC fight and ran with it and hasn't looked back since. Racking up wins against Stephan Bonnar, Brandon Vera and Ryan Badar, Jon Jones would impress the mixed marital arts world with his athleticism and unconventional fighting style and creativeness and gave himself an opportunity to fight for the World Title.

Questions swirled as to whether or not Jones was ready for an opponent of that caliber of Shogun Rua. Was he ready to face a fierce striker like Rua? Was he ready for the pace that Rua brought? Was he ready to fight under the pressure of a main event title fight?

He answered those questions, and he did so with a brutal display. He marched out into the center of The Rock, as the Prudential Center is nicknamed, with "Empire State of Mind" blaring through the sound system. A look in his eyes that only a gladiator would have getting ready for the battle of his life, and it was. Looking in tip-top shape, as if he never got out of shape since his last fight against Ryan Badar a mere six weeks prior, one could definitely tell that Jones was ready and eager to step into the cage.

He awaited his opponent—the man, the legend, the defending champion Mauricio Rua, who walked out into the arena to fight for the first time since May of 2010 where he won the Light Heavyweight Title from Lyoto Machida. A knee injury and subsequent surgery sidelined him for that amount of time.

The fighters stood in their respective corners, awaiting Bruce Buffer to conduct his pre-fight introductions. Both men staring at each other, going through final mental preparations. Then, the fight began, and that's where it was all said and done.

Jon Jones from the very beginning dominated Rua and dictated the pace of the fight. He used his reach advantage to his fullest potential and kept Rua at bay from landing his trademark kicks and punches. The two would soon get tied-up inside of the clinch, however, Jones would get the upper hand fairly quickly and bully Rua against the cage and muscle him there. On the ground, Jones would take Shogun down without a fight; Jones would smash elbows from the top and prevent Shogun from transitioning and scrambling.

Throughout the first two rounds, this was the story of the fight. It was the third that Jones would go in for the kill. Shogun would attempt a leg lock in which Jones would counter with advancing past the half guard. Scrambling, Jones would get superior position to where he was able to go to Shogun on his side where he would drive a knee. Shogun stood back up, where Jones landed a hard hook to the body followed by another knee where Shogun would drop and even tap as Referee Herb Dean stopped the contest.

In just three rounds, Jon Jones, a rookie, would take the light heavyweight division with ease. The fact is, Jon Jones is a rookie which is a fact that cannot be disputed. However, he is a rookie with raw talent, and that talent is being used. The scary part is, I don't even believe it is being used to its fullest potential just yet, which is a scary thought for contenders.

Mixed Martial Arts today has changed since five years ago when we saw Bonnar and Griffin fight their hearts out on the Spike TV TUF finale. Training camps are getting more intricate with their training methods and regiments, amazing athletes are stepping into gyms with hopes of making a career out of the sport. Overall, any one on any given day can walk into a title picture and face even the biggest legend of the sport, and within a blink of an eye, captivate audiences with an amazing fight and step atop of a division.

Only time will tell when the next contender will come along in another division with a story that parallels Jon Jones or even a contender that comes along and derails Bones himself. Jon Jones is the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, something that he attained easily and quickly, and in my eyes, he'll be there for a very long time.