When a UFC legend invested $1m to beat Jon Jones but was submitted in the end

On September 24th, in 2011, the UFC made its way to Denver for a highly anticipated pay-per-view event. Jon Jones, already the youngest champion in the organisation’s history, defended his title against Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson in the main event.

Jones had become light heavyweight champion earlier that year by stopping Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua. Jackson entered the fight determined to end Jones’ time at the top before it even got going and invested heavily in his training camp to give himself the best chance.

“For recent fights, it has been hard to work 100 percent, but no one has needed to try to motivate me for this fight. I want my belt back.

“Between me, my Wolf’s Lair team and the guys at the MusclePharm gym here in Denver, we’ve spent over $1 million on this camp.

“You’ll see the best Rampage since I fought Wanderlei Silva (in December 2008).”

The investments did not pay off for Jackson that night, though. He struggled from start to finish as Jones controlled every round before finally submitting him with a rear-naked choke early in round four.

Jon Jones was accused of having a ‘spy’ in Rampage Jackson’s camp

Things were already heated between the two before the allegations surfaced. Rampage’s team believed that someone close to Jones was feeding him information about their training sessions.

Jones strongly denied any wrongdoing, but the accusations did not go away. The story gained traction after a fan alerted Jackson on social media, prompting him to test the theory by spreading news of a fake injury within his gym.

Within hours, UFC matchmaker Joe Silva reached out to inquire about rumours of an injury. When pressed for details, Silva said he had been informed by Malki Kawa, who happened to be Jon Jones’ manager at the time.