Total domination in the UFC is rare. For a fighter to come along, to lay claim to their weight class, and to be regarded as one of the best ever to grace the division occurs few and far between. It’s this rarity that makes what’s happening at 205 lbs an incredible outlier.
Four men have pushed themselves past their counterparts. Four men grace a different air than the rest of the division. To be the best at their weight is now an argument exclusive only to them. Alexander Gustafsson, Anthony Johnson, Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones have risen together to become The Four Horsemen of Light Heavyweight.
With an announcement of Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier II supposedly arriving any day now, and with “Rumble” Johnson’s recent mauling of Ryan Bader, it’s worth taking at Light Heavyweight, which seems to be simultaneously the least and most competitive division in the sport.
What makes the dynamic between the four so interesting, is that if the other three weren’t currently active, then the remaining man would be atop the division and no doubt laying claim to being one of the best Light Heavyweights of all time.
Alexander Gustafsson, for example. With the exception of bouts against the other three, the Swede has only lost one bout in his career, which was six years ago in what was his second UFC appearance.
Or perhaps Anthony Johnson, a man who for so long waged war against his own body and personal health by trying to force a heavyweight body into welterweight shape before making peace at Light Heavyweight. He’s defeated every 205’er he faced, smashing eight out of ten into unconscious. In this division, Johnson has been unbeaten, except against one of the other three.
That particular member of the quattro was Daniel Cormier. DC made his name at heavyweight, hurling larger foes through the air with olympic level wrestling, before moving down in weight to avoid a clash with AKA teammate Cain Velasquez. Going undefeated at two weight classes, and the current champion of 205, Cormier could easily stake his name as the best Light Heavyweight to ever compete. Or he could… except for one of the other three.
Jon Jones. Unarguably the best the division has ever seen, probably the best the UFC has ever seen, and possibly the best the sport has ever seen. He’s not only beaten every man he’s been put against (DQ against Matt Hamill aside), he’s never even been tested. Except, of course, against Alexander Gustafsson, which brings us back to where we started and starts to give a picture of the circle the Light Heavyweight elite form.
The four’s supremacy is undeniable. Without Johnson, Cormier and Jones, then who beats Gustafsson’s range to the punch? Without DC, who handles Johnson’s power? Without Jones, who fends off Cormier’s grind?
After the top four, the division’s talent pool begins to fade. With Johnson’s win over Bader, the only other names in the division belong to Glover Teixeira, Rashad Evans and Ovince St Preux, with the first two being 36 years old and with the latter having lost to Bader (and Teixeira for that matter).
None of these, it seems fair to say, have much to challenge ‘The Four’.
Even more incredible though, is that none of the bouts between the men have been dull. They’re impossible to predict, they’re impossible to judge, and one result is impossible to apply to another.
Gustafsson’s bout with Jon Jones was a five round epic, in which the Swede pushed the American champion to his limits, forcing Jones to dig deeper than ever before, and since. A victim of “you have to beat the champion,” any other night, with any other judge, Gustafsson leaves UFC 165 a titleholder.
Yet when Alexander, in his home country of Sweden, faced Rumble, he fell to the ferocious power in Johnson’s fists. Johnson then, with momentum on his side, went on to face Cormier for the vacant title in Jones’s absence, only to be grinded out and submitted after an initial violent burst.
So Cormier then, he faces Gustafsson as the favourite, only to be smashed to the floor with a knee in the third and having, like Jones before him, to dig deeper than he’d ever been forced to in order to get the decision win. The split decision. Once again, any other night, with any other judge, Gustafsson leaves a titleholder.
“Alexander earned my respect,” DC said at the post-fight press conference. “The truth is that guy beat me up tonight and made me fight at a level that I didn’t even know I could go to. And I appreciate him for it.”
This of course leaves Jones. The ace of the pack, and the one to beat. Meant to face Rumble before his personal troubles caused a sabbatical from the sport, Jones has always been the 205lb king. His return brings with it an air of inevitable to the division, as he comes back to settle business, both old and new.
In a division that’s crying out for new blood, the announcement of DC-Jones II still commands excitement. It’s not just the personal feud between the two, it’s not just because of the elite ability the two share, it’s because the two of them represent the latest bout between a foursome of unbeatables.
Indeed, it’s Jones that unites the four. His dominance over a division whilst pursued by a trio of greats forces him in turn to be greater. His acceptance and acknowledgement of the task seems to make it amplify.
It’s also Jones who seems to have an idea in mind on how to settle the debate.
The former champion is rumoured to make his return in April, where he fights his ultimate rival for the belt he never lost. Win or lose, it’s estimated that ‘Bones’ will leave 205lbs behind him, and move up to heavier competition.
Yet when recently stating on Twitter that he estimates three more bouts at Light Heavyweight, Jones was asked the question of who the bouts were to be against. As expected, as hoped, Jones had just three words:
