Jones tries to finish off historic year at UFC 140

TORONTO – Jon Jones is on the verge of the greatest single year in UFC history.

The 24-year-old phenom, who entered 2011 with all of six UFC bouts and a naiveté that was refreshing, now may end it as a world champion and a top-three pound-for-pound fighter with victories over three former titleholders.

Jones will defend his light heavyweight championship against former champion Lyoto Machida on Saturday at UFC 140 with history riding on the outcome.

"This could be [the greatest year by a UFC fighter ever], absolutely," UFC president Dana White said. "What he's doing is scary."

Winning four fights in a year in the UFC is a difficult enough task to accomplish. But going unbeaten in a calendar year against the kind of competition Jones has faced ranks among the greatest feats in sports. He's already reeled off victories over Ryan Bader, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Machida is all that stands between him and history.

If Jones bests Machida, he'll have beaten three current or former champions as well as one of the company's top prospects in the same calendar year. Those are the kind of years that define a career and will be written and talked about for a long time in mixed martial arts circles.

It's the MMA equivalent of a pitcher winning 25 games with a sub-2.00 ERA or a quarterback finishing with 4,800 passing yards and 50 TDs. It happens, but not with any regularity, and it's the all-time greats who accomplish them.

More stunning, though, has been the speed of Jones' rise to dominance. In 2010, he beat Brandon Vera and Vladimir Matyushenko – wins that may not have earned him much public acclaim but which resonated significantly with White.

"The fight that really made me say 'Holy [expletive],' was the Matyushenko fight," White said. "The guy has been around forever and he's fought everybody and everybody he's ever fought will tell you how tough he is. I have a ton of respect for that guy.

"And then Jones went out there and did what he did to him and I was like, 'Wow, this kid has a chance to be special.' "

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Little did White know, though, how quickly Jones would prove him right. Though there was plenty of debate among MMA insiders over who would win between the two, Jones manhandled Bader and submitted him in the second round.

When former champion Rashad Evans, then a training partner of Jones', injured a knee and had to withdraw from a title fight against Rua, the UFC chose Jones to face the classy veteran for the title at UFC 128.

Anyone who expected Jones to get his comeuppance had to be shocked. He destroyed Rua and stopped him in the second round. When the bout ended with Rua on all fours, struggling to get up, he looked like he'd been mauled by an angry grizzly bear.

Jones, though, wasn't through. Next he faced Jackson, who had been submitted just once in 40 previous fights. Jones breezed through the match at UFC 135 and submitted Jackson with a rear naked choke for only the second time in Jackson's career.

"Rampage has lost some fights, but [Jones] fought the best Rampage," White said. "Rampage really took that camp seriously. He trained hard for that fight and he was ready and you saw what happened."

Once before, a gifted young talent had a year that could rival Jones' 2011. In 2005, Rua was only 23 when he went 5-0 in PRIDE, racking up wins over Hiromitsu Kanehara, Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Alistair Overeem and Ricardo Arona. It was an impressive list of victims, though none of them had won a major title at that point and Kanehara was in the midst of a lengthy losing streak when he fought Rua.

Not one of Jones' 2011 fights have been gimmes, though he's made them look that way. And Machida, a former champion who has wins over the likes of Rua, Evans, Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz in his career, is hardly a slouch. Still, Jones is listed at better than a 4-1 favorite to beat Machida, making him seem like no more of a threat than Butterbean.

If Jones wins, it will cap off an amazing year and at least put him in the conversation for the title of best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

Publicly, Jones isn't getting caught up in the hoopla. It's been a zany year in and out of the cage for him. He's beaten the best the UFC has to offer, he's appeared on both "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "The Jimmy Kimmel Show," he ran down a mugger prior to his title-winning fight at UFC 128 and has given a glimpse into the future of what the sport may look like.

"Hell of a year so far," he concedes, but he won't go much farther. He's laser-focused on what he needs to do to beat Machida, whose awkward karate-based style could present problems.

[ Video: Watch the UFC 140 weigh-ins ]

Regardless of what happens, Jones' post-fight plan is to take a long vacation. It's been a hectic year in so many ways – he had a falling out with Evans, his one-time friend, and then was accused of spying by Jackson before their bout at UFC 135 – and he plans to stay away from the cage for a while after Saturday's bout.

"Our family definitely hasn't had much, a whole lot, and we've never been on a legit family vacation together," Jones said. "And now, I am UFC champ and my brother [Arthur] is in the NFL, so we're all becoming successful, and I think it's about time that we do something nice for each other and enjoy a little bit of the fruits of our labor. We're trying to plan a family vacation, just really wine and dine my mom and dad and just let them know that they've done a good job with us."

Fight fans, though, are looking forward to Saturday. White, who can barely contain his enthusiasm for the matchup, says they may be looking forward to nothing more than an intriguing scrap.

All those who have purchased tickets for the card in the Air Canada Centre, and those who will watch it on pay-per-view, will be treated to a bit more.

It could be history in the making.

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