Jon Jones and the 20 Most Explosive Fighters in MMA Today

Jon Jones has been on a tear through the UFC.

He is only 23 years old and has already climbed his way to the top of arguably the most talent rich division in the UFC.

He is 7-1 in the UFC with his only loss coming by disqualification for illegal downward elbow strikes. It's a blemish on his otherwise perfect record, but if you're going to lose a fight it's probably best to lose for kicking your opponent's ass too hard.

So, what is the key to this young fighter's remarkable success?

There are a few. His reach and unpredictability are definitely important. However, I think the most important aspect of Jones' game is his explosiveness.

In fact, many of the most successful fighters ever to compete in the UFC have relied on their explosiveness. For example: Tito Ortiz, Matt Hughes, Chuck Liddell.

It's no secret, explosiveness is one of the desirable qualities a fighter can have.

With that in mind, let's check out how Jon Jones ranks amongst the most explosive fighters in MMA today.

Honorable Mentions

Honestly, ranking the 20 most explosive fighters in MMA today has proved to be a daunting and time consuming task. After mulling over the ranks for hours today I'm still not 100 percent on the order, or completely sure these two deserve to be left off. Arguments could probably be made that they deserve to be on the main list instead of a couple other fighters.

Anthony Johnson - his most notable display of explosiveness was his complete destruction of Tommy Speer at UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Lauzon. Johnson is a guy whose strikes are explosive and, to an extent, so are his takedowns. He just missed the cut because he hasn't shown his explosiveness to be effective against top welterweight. The only top welterweight he's fought is Josh Koscheck and he lost. I know what you're thinking and, I'm sorry but, Dan Hardy is not a top welterweight.

Muhammed Lawal - King Mo is another guy who just missed the cut because of who he has fought. He does have a big victory of Gegard Mousasi, but apart from that his victories have been over lesser competition. That being said, the man is an incredible wrestler with very heavy hands. He at least deserves an honorable mention.

No. 20: Rashad Evans

Rashad is a guy who could be higher up on this list, but a couple of recent lackluster performances are holding him back.

He won his passed two fights against stiff competition in Thiago Silva and Quinton Jackson, but his performances lacked the raw power we have seen him display in the past.

Evans does own some of the most memorable knock outs in UFC history, namely over Sean Salmon and Chuck Liddell.

Hopefully we will see a more impressive performance from Rashad when he meets Phil Davis at UFC 133.

No. 19: Melvin Guillard

Melvin Guillard is what we call a specialist.

His ground game is mediocre. All four of his losses inside the Octagon have come by submission and he is only a blue belt in BJJ.

He makes up for this massive hole in his game with his striking ability. I don't care who you are in the UFC's lightweight division, you do not want to stand with this guy. The way he throws his hands is nothing short of vicious.

If Melvin works hard on his ground game, or at least his takedown defense, I think he could easily be a top fighter at lightweight.

No. 18: Miguel Torres

Miguel Torres is a guy that I am stoked to see in the UFC.

He is a former WEC bantamweight champion and is currently working his way back to the belt, riding a two fight win streak.

Miguel has pretty insane speed in his hands and feet. The reason he is so far back in this list is punching power. Miguel can throw the hands quickly, but with only nine of his 39 victories coming by knockout, it's hard not to question his power a little bit.

Miguel is mostly a ground fighter, with 23 victories by submission, but with a couple more exciting knockouts he could shoot up this list.

Can't wait for his UFC debut at UFC 130.

No. 17: Shane Carwin

Shane Carwin is on this list for one reason: His hands are nuclear bombs.

He won his first 12 professional fights, all in the first round, with notable victories of Gabriel Gonzaga and Frank Mir.

Shane suffered his first loss at the hands of former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar at UFC 116, but he did manage to dominate Brock in the first round.

If Carwin manages to defeat Junior Dos Santos at UFC 131 he could shoot right up the rankings here. The reason he's so far down the list right now is his lack of recent activity. Also, he doesn't have the speed that most people on this list have.

No. 16: Hector Lombard

Hector Lombard is one the most impressive physical specimens in all of MMA; he's a beast of a man.

Lombard is currently riding an 18 fighter win streak and is Bellator's current middleweight champion.

He is the owner of one of the quickest knockouts in MMA history, defeating Jay Silva in six seconds at Bellator 18.

Hector could easily be near the top of this list, the issue is his opponents. The two most dangerous fighters he has ever faced are Gegard Mousasi and Akihiro Gono. He lost both those fights.

Hopefully the UFC will sign this guy some day soon. I would love to see if he could hang with some higher level opposition.

No. 15: Brian Bowles

Brian Bowles is one the acquisitions from the WEC that I was most excited about. He's a relentless fighter and tons of fun to watch.

Bowles managed to capture WEC bantamweight championship in just his eighth professional fight, defeating Miguel Torres by first round KO.

Most of Brian's wins have come by submission, but with a couple more knockout victories he could get close to cracking the Top 10.

No. 14: BJ Penn

If this was a list of the most explosive MMA fighters of all time, BJ Penn would maybe be Top Five.

However, The Prodigy has been going through a rough patch in his career, recently. BJ is 1-2-1 in his passed four fights. He dropped two unanimous decisions to Frankie Edgar, brutally knocked out Matt Hughes and then drew Jon Fitch.

His knockout victory over Hughes showed that Penn is still a dangerous fighter, but recently he's been unable to show it against top level competition.

Yesterday, BJ Penn called out Jake Shields via Twitter. Many fans have already expressed great interest in the fight and it looks like the UFC might make it happen. Hopefully, if that happens, we'll get to see the same BJ Penn who destroyed the likes of Joe Stevenson, Sean Sherk, Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez.

No. 13: Eddie Alvarez

This is a guy I want to see in the UFC.

Eddie Alvarez is the Bellator lightweight champion and he has looked unstoppable lately.

He has not fought any Top 10 lightweights yet, but he has faced some stiff competition. He submitted former UFC fighter Josh Neer and also TKO'd Roger Huerta—Roger being a fighter that neither Kenny Florian or Gray Maynard were able to finish.

A lot of people consider Eddie to be one of the Top Five lightweights in the world.

No. 12: Gegard Mousasi

Gegard Mousasi is one of the most promising prospects in the light heavyweight division.

Mousasi is only 25 years old and has already held the Strikeforce light-heavyweight championship. He has notable victories of Renato Sobral, Ronaldo Souza and Hector Lombard.

Now that Zuffa has purchased Strikeforce we should find out soon enough if Mousasi has what it takes to hang with the UFC's top fighters.

No. 11: Lyoto Machida

Lyoto Machida had a rough 2010.

After losing his championship to Mauricio Rua via first-round knockout, he then lost a controversial split decision to Quinton Jackson.

But it's a new year now and things are starting to look up for The Dragon. At UFC 129, Lyoto got back to his winning ways by knocking out Randy Couture with a jumping front kick. It was one of the most devastating and exciting knockouts in MMA history.

Lyoto doesn't look like a particularly intimidating fighter, but he has shown that he can be instantly devastating —especially in his knock outs of Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva.

No. 10: Georges St. Pierre

Georges St. Pierre could easily be No. 2 or No. 3 on this list if it weren't for his recent string of decision wins.

Georges has some of the most explosive takedowns in all of MMA and his ability to cover distance is incredible.

In his passed two fights, he has managed to absolutely bewilder his opponents with the quickness of his jab.

GSP appeared on sports science before his fight with Jake Shields and they measured the force of a punch from St. Pierre. The punch generated a ridiculous amount of force, more than the heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez.

If we could see George St. Pierre fight a little bit more like he did earlier in his career, he would be much higher up the ranks.

No. 9: Brock Lesnar

A lot of people don't like Brock Lesnar, and that's understandable, but you have to give credit where credit is due. Given his relative lack of experience, he is an incredible mixed martial artist.

This is a man who fought Frank Mir in his second professional fight and almost won.

He is one of the best pure athletes in MMA and incredibly explosive. Considering his size, it is remarkable how light he is on his feet.

Lesnar was criticized heavily after his loss to Cain Velasquez, but I think he can still be a force in the heavyweight division. He just needs to get used to being punched in the face.

No. 8: Melvin Manhoef

I would love to be able to put this guy higher on the list.

Melvin Manhoef is a monster.

Never before have I seen a fighter swing with such reckless abandon. This guy is way too much fun to watch.

The problem with his recklessness is that it leaves himself vulnerable and higher level fighters are able to expose that.

Melvin could probably top this list if he could get a few wins over legitimate contenders, but so far he has been unable to do that and at the age of 35 who knows if he ever will.

No. 7: Fedor Emelianenko

If this was an all-time list, Fedor might be at the top.

He reminds me of BJ Penn in as much as he doesn't look like much of an athlete, but he's got big power in his hands and a stellar ground game.

His longest unbeaten streak is 28 fights and he went a decade without losing a fight.

I hate having Fedor this far down on this list, but he hasn't won a fight since 2009 and he did not look himself in his fight with Antonio Silva.

Hopefully he can bounce back when he squares off against Dan Henderson in July.

No. 6: Junior Dos Santos

Junior Dos Santos is on a tear through the UFC's heavyweight division right now.

He is 6-0 in the UFC with five stoppages and has probably the best hands in the heavyweight division. When this guy decides to let the leather fly it's both beautiful and terrifying.

Junior is known best for his epic knockout of Fabricio Werdum at UFC 90. He nailed Werdum with arguably the most devastating uppercut in MMA history.

At UFC 131, we'll see if Junior can keep his undefeated streak in the UFC alive when he takes on fellow top contender Shane Carwin.

No. 5: Alistair Overeem

Alistair Overeem scares me. His physique is intimidating and his strikes are lethal.

Overeem is the 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix Champion. He might actually have the best striking in MMA.

The issue with Alistair is that he's been fighting at heavyweight four years and still has not fought a Top 10 heavyweight.

Luckily, the question of whether or not Alistair can hang with a top heavyweight will be answered in less than a month when he takes on Fabricio Werdum.

No. 4: Mauricio Rua

Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua is one of the greatest light-heavyweights at all time.

In his prime, Shogun looked as unstoppable as Jon Jones does today.

Unfortunately, Rua has had an injury plagued career. Since coming to the UFC he's had problems with his knee and it has visibly effected his performances.

If Shogun loses to Forrest Griffin this Summer, he'll likely slide right down this list. But, despite his injuries he has had some impressive performances in the Octagon. He knocked out Chuck Liddell, went five rounds with Lyoto Machida in a fight many believe he should have won and then fought Machida again and knocked him out.

For now, that's enough to keep him his spot.

No. 3: Anderson Silva

Anderson Silva is the most dominant figure in the history of the UFC.

He has been the middleweight champion for almost five years. He has a record eight title defenses. He is on a 13-fight winning streak in the UFC, also a record, and has never been defeated inside the Octagon. In every fight that he has actively tried to finish, he's been able to do so.

His hands are unbelievably fast and incredibly accurate. Silva also has the best head movement in the UFC.

Anderson had a couple of lackluster performances against Demian Maia and Chael Sonnen, but has since bounced back with a spectacular front kick knockout on Vitor Belfort.

No. 2: Jon Jones

Many are referring to Jon Jones as the evolution of mixed martial arts.

Given his performances so far inside the UFC, it's hard to disagree.

Jones has absolutely steamrolled every opponent he's faced. His only loss is to Matt Hamill and it was by a controversial disqualification.

Jon has the most explosive takedown in the UFC and is an extremely dynamic and unpredictable striker.

This guy looks unstoppable right now.

No. 1: Jose Aldo

Jose Aldo is considered by most to be the No. 3 pound for pound fighter in the world.

He's lost only once in his career and that was six years ago. Since then he's won 12 fights in a row, captured the WEC (now UFC) featherweight championship and defended it three times.

He looked positively unbeatable until his fight with Mark Hominick at UFC 129. Hominick lasted all five rounds with Aldo and had him in trouble in the final round. That being said, Aldo still won the first four rounds of the fight convincingly.

I don't think anymore needs to be said about this guy, just watch the video.