Jon “Bones” Jones to Challenge “Shogun” Rua for Light Heavyweight Title

Added on Feb 08, 2011 by Brian Blake in

UFC & MMA

This past Saturday night Jon “Bones” Jones made it clear that he’s the best young light heavyweight out there. On March 19 at UFC 128 he’s out to prove that he’s the best light heavyweight in the world as he is set to take on current UFC 205 lb. champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

Rua was originally set to defend his crown against former champ Rashad Evans until Evans was forced to withdraw from the bout with an injury. Evans’ loss in Jones’ gain as he now steps into the main event slot which will be hosted by the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ and televised live on pay-per-view.

The 23-year old New York native is coming off a spectacular second round stoppage win over the previously undefeated Ryan Bader this past Saturday on the main card of UFC 126: Silva vs. Belfort. Jones sports an official record of 12-1 with his lone loss coming via disqualification against Matt Hammill. The loss has hardly been a deterrent as Bones was previously and still is considered to be one of the MMA world’s fastest rising stars.

“My goal is to be considered the best light heavyweight fighter in the world,” Jones said. “I feel as if it’s my time. My confidence is already high, I’m already in shape and I have six weeks to make myself even better. I can’t wait for this opportunity.”

With Jones being from the same training camp and having a similar wrestling background to Evans, Rua had no problem with UFC President Dana White’s decision to use Jones to fill the void left by Evans’ injury.

“I’ve been training hard for a fight on this date and I was prepared to fight Rashad,” Rua, who owns a record of 19-4, said. “I face this new challenge as motivation to train even harder. I’m a fighter and I don’t pick opponents. I’ll be ready for Jon Jones.”

Mauricio Rua, a 29 year old native of Brazil, found redemption as well as the light heavyweight championship as he defeated then champion Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida back in main event of UFC 113 where he stopped Machida in just over three and a half minutes.

Opening lines show that the challenger in Jones will be the betting favorite heading into the newly signed matchup.

A bantamweight clash between former WEC champions “The California Kid” Urijah Faber and Eddie Wineland will also be featured at UFC 128. Faber is considered one of the most dominant fighters in the history of the lighter weight classes, and once held the featherweight title for over two years.

With a submission win over Takeya Mizugaki in his bantamweight debut in November, the 31-year-old has his sights set on Wineland, a former WEC bantamweight champion boasting four consecutive wins, including back-to-back Knockout of the Night victories.

More coverage of UFC 128: Rua vs. Jones to follow.