What is the UFC light heavyweight curse? Jon Jones' connection to a concerning pattern in the division
Jon Jones is widely heralded among the greatest MMA fighters of all time. 'Bones' has had two separate reigns as the undisputed UFC light heavyweight champion. The 36-year-old American MMA stalwart notched 11 successful defenses of the title, eight in the first reign and three in the second.
'Bones' and his archrival Daniel Cormier are regarded as the greatest UFC light heavyweights ever. Jones' history of failed PED tests notwithstanding, many believe that his sheer dominance inside the octagon makes him the greatest UFC light heavyweight ever.
On that note, the consensus is that the UFC light heavyweight division suffers from a curse, a Jon Jones curse, to be specific. While past UFC light heavyweight champions such as Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz had their issues during their title reigns in the UFC and eventually even parted ways with the promotion, it was the Jon Jones era that's viewed as the starting point of the UFC LHW curse.
There are a myriad of purported curses in the UFC. Speaking of which, the UFC light heavyweight curse is a much-discussed UFC curse. 'Bones' himself hasn't been immune from it.
Jon Jones' first reign as the UFC light heavyweight champion commenced when he first captured the title by defeating Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua in March 2011. After eight successful title defenses, 'Bones' was stripped of the title in April 2015, due to his legal battle and arrest in relation to a felony hit-and-run case.
After Jones' hit-and-run arrest, which resulted in the UFC stripping him of his title, Daniel Cormier won the vacant title and successfully defended it thrice.
Meanwhile, Jones returned to beat Ovince Saint Preux in April 2016, winning the interim UFC light heavyweight title and earning a title unification opportunity against Cormier. However, 'Bones' was stripped of the interim belt and suspended due to a failed drug test related to the Saint Preux fight.
Jones returned to face Cormier for the undisputed UFC light heavyweight title in July 2017, beat 'DC' via third-round KO, and won the undisputed title. Nevertheless, he failed another drug test, this time concerning the Cormier fight, and was suspended.
Cormier was retroactively reinstated as the undisputed UFC light heavyweight champion, and Jones' second reign as the undisputed champion didn't materialize.
'DC' later captured the UFC heavyweight title, following which he vacated the UFC light heavyweight title in December 2018. Jones returned to capture the vacant UFC light heavyweight title the same month (December 2018), beating Alexander Gustafsson in their rematch. Jones then notched three successful UFC LHW title defenses.
Jon Jones' move to heavyweight and the UFC LHW curse
After his final UFC light heavyweight title fight against Dominick Reyes in February 2020, Jon Jones vacated the title in August 2020 and confirmed his move up to the UFC heavyweight division. The vast majority of fans and experts highlight that this was the watershed moment, which marked the intensification of the 'Light heavyweight curse' aka the 'Jon Jones light heavyweight curse.'
After 'Bones' departed the division, many foresaw Dominick Reyes as the uncrowned champion, given his razor-thin decision loss against Jones in February 2020. That said, in a major upset, Reyes was KO'd by Jan Blachowicz in their fight for the vacant UFC light heavyweight belt in September 2020.
This was followed by another twist in the division, as then-undefeated MMA star and UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya moved up to face Jan Blachowicz for the light heavyweight title in March 2021. Many expected Adesanya to win, but Blachowicz became the first fighter to beat 'Izzy' in MMA and successfully defended the LHW belt.
Riding high on his win over a megastar like Adesanya, Blachowicz suffered a one-sided defeat next, losing his title via second-round submission in October 2021 to Glover Teixeira, who became the oldest first-time UFC champion.
Grappling savant Teixeira subsequently lost his title via fifth-round submission to striking specialist Jiri Prochazka in June 2022. An immediate rematch was scheduled, but Prochazka suffered a severe shoulder injury and vacated the title.
The UFC tried to rope in Glover Teixeira to fight Magomed Ankalaev in late 2022, but Teixeira refused to face a stylistically different foe like Ankalaev on short notice. Ergo, the UFC booked Ankalaev to fight Jan Blachowicz for the vacant title in December 2022.
The closely contested Ankalaev-Blachowicz fight ended in a controversial split draw, and the title was still vacant. Ankalaev lambasted the UFC, insinuating that they had something to do with the supposed poor judging in the bout.
UFC CEO Dana White strongly disapproved of Ankalaev's assertion and immediately announced a fight for the vacant title between Teixeira and Jamahal Hill. In January 2023, Hill dominantly defeated Teixeira via unanimous decision to win the vacant UFC light heavyweight title.
However, Hill sustained a severe Achilles tendon injury in a fighter basketball game during the UFC's International Fight Week in July 2023 and vacated the title.
This was followed by a No. 1 contender's light heavyweight bout between former UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira and former UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz in July 2023, which Pereira won via split decision.
Presently, Alex Pereira is scheduled to fight the returning Jiri Prochazka for the vacant UFC light heavyweight title in the headlining bout of UFC 295 on November 11, 2023.
Ironically, Jon Jones, who ended his three-year MMA hiatus (February 2020-March 2023) and won the UFC heavyweight title in March 2023, was expected to headline UFC 295. Meanwhile, the Pereira-Prochazka fight was set to be the UFC 295 co-headliner.
Unfortunately, Jon Jones suffered a pectoral injury and has been sidelined for several months, leaving the Pereira-Procahzka UFC LHW title fight as the UFC 295 headliner. Many attribute the seemingly bizarre events pertaining to the UFC light heavyweight title and Jon Jones to the curse that's apparently been attached to the division and 'Bones.'
Whether or not the UFC light heavyweight division emerges from Jon Jones' shadow in the future by having a long-reigning champion remains to be seen.