SUMMARY
- Jon Jones is one of the best wrestlers in the UFC.
- He has a record takedown defense of 95%.
UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones is one of the best wrestlers in the promotion, currently. He has a wrestling background which has seen him win several accolades early in his career. He brought his wrestling and grappling prowess to the UFC and wreaked havoc.
Jon Jones has the tied-best record in the UFC for takedown defense % (minimum 5 UFC fights and 20 takedowns attempted by opponents). Jones’s takedown defense is 95%. He is tied with bantamweight fighter Julio Arce.
Jon Jones has faced 37 takedown attempts from his opponents over his 23-fight UFC career. 35 of those 37 takedown attempts have been defended by Jones, which means, he has been taken down twice in his career. Two fighters have taken down Jon Jones once each. Let’s find out who the fighters are and when they took down the two-division UFC champion.
Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson – UFC 165
Jones was the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion when he faced Swedish fighter Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165. This was his sixth title defense. ‘Bones’ defended the title successfully via a unanimous decision victory over the Swede, however, he could not help but lose his takedown record against him. At UFC 165, Jones got taken down for the very first time in his UFC career.
Gustafsson, a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jistu, also took down Daniel Cormier, a highly accomplished wrestler on the international stage. In the fight against Jones, Gustafsson attempted 8 takedowns but could land only one. On the other hand, Jones attempted 11 takedowns and landed only one. The Swede’s takedown defense was immaculate on the night.
To date, this is said to be one of the closest fights Jones faced in his magnificent UFC career. ‘Bones’ outnumbered Gustafsson in total and significant strikes to earn the decision win on the night.
Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier – UFC 182
Cormier had never been taken down before he faced Jones at UFC 182. Bones had built up this fight with the claims that he would take Cormier down and he did just that. However, Cormier also joined the extremely short list of people who took Jones down.
At UFC 182, Jones was again defending his UFC Light Heavyweight Title. This was his eighth title defense. He defended his title successfully via another unanimous decision victory. In the fight, Jones took down Cormier three times in five attempts while DC could successfully take Jones down only once in his eight attempts.
However, after this fight, Jones was stripped of his title as he tested positive for illegal substances. Jones faced a struggle with drugs for the next few years but he came back and won the light heavyweight title again before winning the heavyweight title.