What were other MMA legends doing when Jon Jones won his first UFC title? A look back on 'Bones' undeniable legacy

Jon Jones started his MMA career in 2008 and racked up six consecutive finishes in the same year to earn his UFC contract at just 20 years of age.

Since then, Jones has gone on to assert himself as arguably the greatest fighter to have ever graced the famed octagon. Amongst several records he owns to this day, 'Bones' became the youngest UFC champion at just 23 with a stoppage win over Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua in 2011.

Let's take a look at what other legends of the sport were doing in 2011.

Fellow G.O.A.T contender Khabib Nurmagomedov was still making a name for himself in the Russian regional MMA scene and didn't sign with the UFC until 2012.

Demetrious Johnson, widely considered to be one of the most well-rounded fighters of all time, only made his UFC debut in 2011. Henry Cejudo, possibly the greatest combat sports athlete we've ever seen, hadn't even debuted in MMA and was still actively competing on the American wrestling circuit.

UFC Hall of Famers Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre were both dominant champions at middleweight and welterweight respectively at the time.

While Nurmagomedov, Silva and St-Pierre have since hung up their gloves, Johnson has switched promotions and is currently competing in ONE championship, where he is a champion. Meanwhile, Cejudo is slated to make a return to the octagon after a long hiatus later this year.

Jon Jones accrued a dominant reign atop the light heavyweight division before taking a three-year hiatus to focus on a move up. 'Bones' recently made a return to the octagon at heavyweight and went on to demolish Ciryl Gane to win the title at UFC 285.

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Ciryl Gane on his lopsided loss to Jon Jones

The showing couldn't have been any better for Jon Jones at UFC 285 as he effortlessly finished Gane in 124 seconds. While 'Bon Gamin' was a slight underdog going into the bout, the UFC 285 headliner wasn't expected to be the one-sided affair that it turned out to be.

Gane was admittedly "angry" with himself for his unimpressive performance against 'Bones'. The Frenchman said at the post-fight presser:

"Disappointed, of course. But the biggest feeling is angry about myself. Really angry. Because yes, we accepted this fight, it was not short notice, but the time was not too long, but we worked a lot, we spent a lot of time. We trained with my sparring partners, so I’m really angry about myself because I spent a lot of time with my partners, my coaches, my family, and it [wasn’t reflected] during the fight. So I’m really angry.”

Catch Ciryl Gane's comments on the Jon Jones loss below: