5 UFC fighters who came the closest to beating Jon Jones

#4 Vitor Belfort - faced Jon Jones at UFC 152

UFC 179: Aldo v Mendes 2

In the fourth defense of his UFC light heavyweight title, Jon Jones faced off against Vitor Belfort at UFC 152. And in the first round, he had an almighty scare.

Belfort locked in an armbar that visibly hyperextended Jones' elbow and had the champion grimacing in pain. But 'Bones' refused to tap and fought his way out of the submission, before locking in one of his own to put the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt away in the fourth round.

Speaking about the hard-fought victory, Jones said:

"I've never had my arm popped like that before. I was waiting for it to break, I was not going to tap out. I've never felt that before. I felt numb after, I threw it after and it had no power at all. I need to see what's wrong with it. But I've got a lot of work to do against southpaws for sure."

Jon Jones wasn't the only one who weighed in on the fight. UFC president Dana White gushed about the display, saying:

"There's no doubt this was his best performance. He got injured in the first round, there were questions over him, could he take a punch? He took a load tonight. There can be no more nay saying over Jon Jones. Love him or hate him, there's no denying he's one of the best in the world. Every time he comes to fight. Jones got caught in that armbar, his arm got popped, yet he got out of it and fought for four rounds like it wasn't popped. He made an injured elbow look like it wasn't injured. In my eyes, Jones looked unbeatable."

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#3 Alexander Gustafsson - faced Jon Jones for the first time at UFC 165

UFC 232 Jones v Gustafsson 2

Alexander Gustafsson and Jon Jones engaged in one of the best fights in UFC history at UFC 165 in September 2013. But while the Swede was able to give Jones his toughest test in the octagon at the time, he ended up on the wrong side of a decision loss.

Many believe that Gustafsson deserved the win, but the stats paint a different picture. 'Bones' outlanded his opponent 137 to 114, with his significant strike advantage being 134 to 217. He clinched the key moments in the fight, overcoming being taken down for the first time in his UFC career with some smart spinning elbows and backfists.

Jon Jones put his rivalry against Gustafsson beyond doubt at UFC 232, where he clinched a second-round TKO victory.