Sherdog’s Top 10: Greatest UFC Fights

3. Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson 1 | UFC 165

The classic first encounter between Jones and Gustafsson ends in the bronze medal position here. At the time, Jones was a completely unstoppable fighting god, attaining a level of martial arts prowess no one had ever seen before at the heavier weights, and arguably still hasn't. Having first become the UFC light heavyweight at the age of just 23 by knocking out Mauricio Rua in 2011, he had already defended the title five times, four times by stoppage over legends and former champions and once a lopsided decision over former training partner and ex-champion Rashad Evans. While he had one official loss to Matt Hamill by DQ in a fight where he had otherwise decimated his foe via ground-and-pound, no one had really beaten Jones. In fact, no one had been remotely close, as Jones had dominated every opponent from bell to bell. That all changed against Gustafsson at UFC 165. Gustafsson was seen as an elite contender, matching Jones' height though not quite his reach, while being an excellent striker with outstanding takedown defense and solid wrestling of his own. Still, it was the unbeatable Jones so he came in as a monstrous -900 favorite. Right away, Gustafsson looked incredible, bouncing around the cage with excellent footwork and shocking speed for such a large man, showing no fear of the champion. He repeatedly tagged Jones with kicks and punches, with boxing being the only relative blemish on the champion's skill set. He was running circles around Jones, and won the first round on every judge’s scorecard, punctuated with a takedown, the first time Jones had been taken down in his UFC career. Commentators and fans alike were left stunned. However, could he keep it up? Incredibly, yes. Gustafsson continued moving and fighting great in Rounds 2 and 3, landing strikes and easily defending all of Jones' takedown attempts. However, the champion was very much up to the challenge, scoring on some brilliant strikes of his own, including sudden, quick, and powerful kicks to the legs, body, and head. Personally, I gave round 2 to Jones and round 3 to Gustafsson.

However, in the championship rounds Jones rose to the occasion, proving that he wasn't just a front-runner and could triumph in a pitched battle. Jones was doing poorly through most of round 4, as Gustafsson landed flush punches, several of which hurt Jones and caused a cut over his eye to flow freely with blood. However, later in the round Jones rallied, scoring with a nice head kick and then with, just 37 seconds, a gorgeous spinning elbow that staggered the challenger. Jones poured it on, landing more big elbows as Gustafsson barely survived. Jones then clearly won the final round, having his best success yet with punches while landing sharp elbow and heavy kicks, including several upstairs. While the fight was close, the majority, me included, felt Jones won. I also want to note that revisiting this fight in 2023, I'm especially impressed. Many of the other fights on this list, including far more recent ones, have aged poorly in terms of technique or skill, though I've tried to convey their positive elements. However, despite being from 2013, Jones-Gustafsson 1 would still be an incredible, worthy UFC title showdown today. If that's not the measure of a true classic, I don't know what is.

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