UFC 135 Fight Card: Can Jon Jones Hold on to the Hardest Title to Keep?

Jon Jones may be the most valuable prospect the UFC has ever had, and he may be the most polarizing UFC Light Heavyweight Champion in quite some time, but not even he can ignore the curse of the UFC Light Heavyweight title.

Much like the curse on the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight title, the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship seems to have been jinxed, because no fighter has been able to hold on to it ever since Chuck Liddell lost the belt to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson—the man Jones faces tonight.

Rampage defended the belt one time against Dan Henderson in a UFC 75 classic, but lost the belt to Forrest Griffin, and once Griffin got the strap, he quickly lost it to Rashad Evans, who lost it quickly to Lyoto Machida, and we know how the story goes from there.

Seeing as how many feel Machida lost twice to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, many might argue that not since Rampage has the title been successfully defended, while others could say Rua won the belt at UFC 104 and unofficially defended it at UFC 113.

In any event, it's easy to see why people have said without bias that Rampage could very well win the belt from Jones in front of a live crowd in Denver tonight, as nobody else has been able to do so successfully since Liddell and Rampage.

Jones' is a well-rounded striker, but he should not be too stubborn to use his other abilities, as doing so might open up the chance for Rampage to knock him out. On the other side, Rampage has to emotionally check himself and make sure he lets the KO come naturally.

The question is, can Quinton make it happen, and if Jones can make sure it doesn't happen, can he ensure that he leaves Denver with the belt?