Jon Jones: The Steps That Must Be Taken to Become an All-Time Great

At 24 years of age, Jon Jones has already made a name for himself as being one of the best in the light heavyweight division.

Being so young, he has a lot of growth and a lot more big fights ahead of him. At the same time, the sport of MMA is one that grows over time, and with new fighters coming in and new styles being utilized, one must grow with the sport to be successful.

For Jones, he has done just that in his short time in the sport, using his unorthodox style and ability to throw world-class guys off their game plan.

He is well on his way to becoming an all-time great, but there are a few things that he still has to do. 

Luckily, he has all the time in the world to prepare and do these things the right way and have his name mentioned in the same breath as Randy Couture, Matt Hughes and Chuck Liddell.

Work on the Little Things

Jon Jones said it himself in this video that he has to work on a certain facet of his game and that is his defense—more specifically, his defense against looping punches.

Lyoto Machida came at him with looping punches in the first round that threw Jones off a bit, revealing a bit of nervousness as the champion sat down at the end of Round 1.

In any sport, a good offense is a great defense, and by staying alert and avoiding everything the opponent throws, Jones will be even more dominant.

Even if it's just the looping punches that caught him off guard this time, it's those little things that make a huge difference in fights, so Jones has some more growing to do in that regard.

Take on Superfights and Win

The Jon Jones-Anderson Silva will likely not happen for a long time, if ever, but to be an all-time great, Jones has to show his dominance isn't just against the guys thrown at him to take his title away.

Superfights are a great way to showcase the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, duking it out to see who is the best overall fighter.

Superfights also draw large crowds and big PPV buys.  Being in high-profile fights is something Jones is used to at this point, but going against the grain and getting to fight a dominant force like Silva will truly test the young will of the light heavyweight champion and could truly define where his future is going.

A win would put him in talks of being the best of all-time, but a loss could cripple his confidence and ruin his career.

It's the chance you take to be a legend as many guys have jumped to different weight classes to become all-time greats.  Some have even won titles in multiple divisions (see Randy Couture and B.J. Penn) and have been defined as the best fighters of their generation.

Sooner or later, Jones will no longer be a light heavyweight; it's just a matter of when it is going to happen and how it happens.

Full-Time Heavyweight Fighter

Jon Jones has room to grow, and it's been highly publicized that he will finish his career in the heavyweight division.

Jones has plenty of time to dominate the light heavyweights and build his skill set so by the time he goes up in weight classes, he will have something to work with when he faces guys the size of Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem.

Before going to heavyweight full time, it's also not a bad idea to have a couple of fights in the division to test out how he performs against bigger guys.

He has a monster reach, longer than anyone in the sport, and if he works on his arms and continues to build power in his hands, Jones should be OK in the bigger division.

To become an all-time great, he will have to fight the best in the division and if he can win the heavyweight title, there is no question that Jones will be known as an all-time great.

What do you think?

Mark Pare is a UFC Featured Columnist. You can follow him on  Twitter and don't forget to check out his sportswriter page.

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