UFC: Is Jon Jones Worth All the Hype?

Jon Jones, at just 24 years old, is undoubtedly the best light heavyweight in the UFC today.

Jones began his mixed martial arts career in April of 2008 when he defeated Brad Bernard via technical knockout at an event in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Following his MMA debut, Jones went on to win five-straight fights before making his UFC debut.

In his first UFC bout, Jones defeated Andre Gusmao via Unanimous Decision at UFC  87.

Jones went on to win his next two fights defeating Stephan Bonnar and Jake O' Brien.

Following a disqualification at The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale to Matt Hamill Jones hit the mainstream by knocking out Brandon Vera and Vladimir Matyushenko.

Jones' success continued in a submission victory over Ryan Bader at UFC 128.

In his very next fight, Jones was declared the undisputed UFC Light Heavyweight champion with an impressive knockout victory over Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 128.

At 2:37 in Round 3 a new champion took the stage.

Jones went on to prove just how good he was when he recently defeated No. 1 contender, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 135.

After his victory, Jones received an overwhelming amount of hype. Fans across the globe were already proclaiming his name as the greatest light heavyweight ever.

And, while Jones certainly deserves some credit for his success inside the Octagon, he doesn't deserve nearly as much as he's been getting.

Jones still has plenty of light heavyweight contenders to weed out before he can be declared as the best ever.

Anderson Silva has defended his UFC middleweight title nine consecutive times and has won 13-straight fights since being declared the champion.

Jones has defended his title just one time.

While Jones has defeated Rua and Jackson, he's yet to fight other top contenders in Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, Dan Henderson and even Phil Davis.

While Jones' talents and accomplishments thus far are undeniable and should be recognized as great, he's receiving too much hype too soon.

Jones still has a lot to prove.