Legend in the making

History was made yet again in the Mile High City, as the birthplace of The Ultimate Fighting Championship saw various storylines emanate from UFC 135. Denver, Colo., was witness to the debuts of Hall of Famers Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock, but may have seen the end of another, welterweight Matt Hughes. It also will be added to the growing list of cities that a potential legend has competed in following the dominating performance of UFC light heavyweight Jon (Bones) Jones.

The Future is Now

While it is premature to mention Jon Jones as a future candidate into the UFC's Hall of Fame, his current trajectory makes the argument that one day it might just happen. Between now and then, far too many things can happen. Injuries, career changes, personal life choices and stiffer competition can all rebut this debate, but one thing is for certain: Jones is a special, rare breed that has officially marked his spot alongside Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre, and he's only 24 years old.

He's only been competing for three years, where as Silva, at age 36, has been fighting for the past 14 years and St-Pierre, at age 30, has been rumbling for the past nine and a half years. Do the math. How good will Jones be when he matches GSP over the next six and a half years? Better yet, how about matching "The Spider's" longevity over the next 11 years?

It's mind boggling to guess, but as I said before his bout with Shogun Rua, and finally confirmed by UFC President Dana White at the UFC 135 post-fight press conference, Jones will one day move to the heavyweight division. I'll tackle this subject in its entirety at a later date, but I will say this: Jones may become the most recognized, feared and greatest mixed martial artist of all time. And it may happen within the next three years.

I would, however, like to throw a caveat into this equation, and its name is (Suga) Rashad Evans.

I echo Rampage's post fight sentiments that the only man that can defeat Bones at the moment is Evans. He's trained with him, knows more of his tendencies than anyone he's faced and possesses better speed, striking and explosiveness that will no doubt give Jones fits. It's the fight that I believe will define Bones as the true, undisputed light heavyweight champion of the world.

Thank you Matt Hughes

UFC Hall of Famer and the most successful welterweight champion of all time, Matt Hughes, has likely competed for the very last time in the octagon.

His valiant effort and striking execution had The Pepsi Center on edge. It was near deafening in the arena as Hughes worked on Josh Koscheck's right eye. But Koscheck adjusted, turned it on, and finished off Hughes with just one second left in the first round.

While Hughes did state in his post-fight interview that he was not retiring, I agree with White that it's just a matter of time. Hughes has nothing left to prove to anyone, especially to himself. He should hold his head high, smile, be proud and hang up the gloves. He was, is, and will always be considered great to yours truly. In is prime, his menacing pre-fight pace in the octagon as his name was being announced was a site to behold.

His legendary come-from-behind victory over Frank Trigg is regarded by many as one of the greatest fights of all time. That bout was the day I realized Hughes is one of the toughest human beings on the planet. As long as he is awake he will fight till the bitter end. Hopefully, with his eyes open, he can step away, spend more time with his family and perhaps help mold future fighters with his championship pedigree.

Random Thoughts

o That was a rather peculiar performance by Travis Browne against Rob Broughton, but rest assured, he will come back with a fury. His footwork and mobility is excellent for a heavyweight and once he decides to let it his hands and legs go at 100 percent, you will see a tentative heavyweight turn into a polished finishing machine.

o I don't know what happened to Ben Rothwell, but I can only assume the thin air of Denver combined with Mark Hunt's power gassed him very quickly. When you get rocked things change quickly, and when you run on fumes like Ben had to, life inside the cage is a public misery I wouldn't wish upon anyone. And kudos to Ricardo Liborio from American Top Team, who turned Hunt into a fairly proficient grappler - wait, did I just say that?

o Nick Diaz' utter destruction of Takanori Gomi was a site to behold, but let's not forget that "The Fireball Kid" is 3-5 in his last eight fights. He's not the Pride champion anymore. He has not been a force in the division since 2005, so let's make sure we put all of this into perspective. Take nothing away from Diaz though - his performance was awe inspiring, but let's get see him go "Stockton" against some top contenders, like he has done in the past. For starters, I'd like to invite him back to Toronto, where his fan base is big, to make amends for his UFC 129 loss to Rory MacDonald and perhaps take on London, Ont.'s Sam (Hands of Stone) Stout.

o Tony Ferguson was very impressive over Aaron Riley - he proved me wrong, as I thought Riley could pull off the upset.

o Tim Boetsch joined us in the media room and had dinner at our table. He and his crew are great guys, and kudos to Tim for overcoming the difficulties he had making weight for his bout vs. Nick Ring. Dropping down to middleweight has proven to be a prudent move. I wonder if Ring should contemplate doing the same and potentially have a run at 170 pounds. He's only lost once, yes, but I'm curious to see how well he would do at welterweight.

o As you may have read on my Twitter account I dislike when fans boo during an MMA bout, but Junior Assuncao and Eddie Yagin deserved some of the fans disdain. I expected much more from both of these talented fighters but I didn't pay for my ticket, which many believe gives them a right to voice their opinion. For the first time, I concur. I'm not asking that fighters engage in a slugfest, but at least come to fight.

o Takeya Mizugaki's patience and execution was fun to watch, but every time Cole Escovedo fights, it's a victory for all of us. Win or lose, his story is incredible and the fact he continues this journey is an inspiration.

o James Te Huna's victory over Ricardo Romero was very impressive, but I do believe it should be taken with a grain of salt. Let's make sure we give James more time to develop. There seems to be something up with Romero, whose last two fights have gone a combined 68 seconds, both ending with him getting knocked out.

Make sure you drop by later this week, as I'll offer my thoughts on UFC Live 6: Cruz vs. Johnson. And be sure to tune in to not only this week's episode of UFC Connected, but "The Showdown" on Sportsnet Radio The Fan 590 at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday. We will likely be joined for the second time by my TV producer Jacob Clark, who will likely have some big news to announce. Stay tuned to my Twitter @ShowdownJoe for more info as we get it.