Jon Jones
Jon Jones began his UFC career as a short notice replacement as a 21 year old when he faced Andre Gusmao at UFC 87 in August 2008.
Five wins (as well as a debatable disqualification loss against Matt Hamill) came after that, and then Jones got another short notice opportunity.
After he beat Ryan Bader at UFC 126, Joe Rogan announced in his post-fight interview that the next Light Heavyweight title challenger, Rashad Evans, had been injured and was unable to challenge Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua for the title.
Instead, the UFC brass sought to replace him with Jones, something which ‘Bones’ enthusiastically accepted following his win over Bader.
Although the title fight occurred just six weeks after the Bader win, Jones showed the world why he deserved to be fighting for the title.
In two and a half rounds, Jones dominated Shogun before he finished him with strikes en route to being named the UFC Light Heavyweight champion, a title he still holds nearly four years later.
At 23 years and 8 months, Jones made history by becoming the youngest champion in the organisation’s history, a record Jones still holds to this day.
