It's difficult to comprehend just how dominant Jon Jones has been as a UFC light heavyweight. Jon Jones poses during a media event. (Getty)

There's only been a handful of fighters in combat sports history who could match Jones' record against elite opponents at such a tender age. It would take going back nearly 70 years to World War II to find a fighter who clearly exceeded him at a similar age.

Jones, 25, will defend his belt against Chael Sonnen on Saturday in the main event of UFC 159 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. If he wins, he'll be 6-0 in championship fights in the 25 months since he routed Mauricio "Shogun" Rua on March 19, 2011, to originally claim the title.

His bout at UFC 126 against Ryan Bader on Feb. 5, 2011, can be considered the start of his prime. Bader was 27 at the time of that bout and entered it with a 12-0 mark. There was plenty of debate in the MMA community at that point whether it was Bader or the then-23-year-old Jones who was the sport's top prospect.

Starting with that match, Jones in his next

Read More »from How does Jon Jones stack up against the greatest combat sports fighters of all-time?

Floyd Mayweather Jr. may fight again on Sept. 14 (Las Vegas News Bureau via AP)Two short emails released to the media Tuesday by Keith Kizer, the executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, seemed to ignite yet another dispute between powerhouse promoters Top Rank and Golden Boy.

On Tuesday, Top Rank formally requested the date of Sept. 14 for a pay-per-view fight at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas between Juan Manuel Marquez and Timothy Bradley. As soon as that was released, though, Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer said his plan was to have Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight on that date at the MGM Grand Garden.

Both promoters, as well as the casinos, covet the Mexican Independence Day weekend date.

Mayweather is boxing's biggest star, and if he chose to fight, the Las Vegas casino industry as well as the cable and satellite operators, would likely side with him over any other fight. Mayweather does big business.

Timothy Bradley rallied from a knockdown to defeat Ruslan Provodnikov on March 16 (AP)Don't, though, expect there to be two major events in the city as there were in 2012. Las year on Sept. 15, Top Rank put on a pay-per-view show

Read More »from Two big cards very tentatively set for Sept. 14, but don’t expecting dueling shows again

After the Nevada sports books twice lost big on Mike Tyson in the '90s, the large odds that were once so prevalent became a thing of the past.

Tyson lost to Buster Douglas as a 42-1 underdog in 1990 and then lost as a 24-1 underdog to Evander Holyfield in 1996. After that, it was rare to see those kinds of lines out on title fights involving big-named fighters.Chael Sonnen looks on during a fight on 'The Ulitmate Fighter.' (Getty)

A UFC title fight has never seen the kind of odds involved with the Douglas and Holyfield upsets, but that's only because of an excess of caution by the sports book directors.

When Georges St-Pierre defended his title against Matt Serra at UFC 69 in 2007, he went off as a minus-950 favorite. Serra was plus-575.

"Everybody thought that Serra was going to get killed," UFC president Dana White said. "The books weren't putting those kinds of crazy odds up any more, but if they were, Serra would have been 25-1 or more, just like those guys were against Tyson."

Chael Sonnen will go into his light heavyweight title bout

Read More »from Chael Sonnen facing harsh reality, long odds in light heavyweight title tilt against Jon Jones

Benson Henderson proposes to Maria Magana after his victory against Gilbert Melendez. (USA Today)

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Benson Henderson dropped to one knee shortly after engaging Gilbert Melendez in a rousing lightweight title fight at the HP Pavilion.

He fell to his knee right after ring announcer Bruce Buffer read the judges’ scores in a fight that could've gone either way.

Normally that reaction would indicate disappointment, but after winning a split decision over Melendez to keep his championship, Henderson decided to propose to girlfriend Maria Magana.

A lot happens at UFC shows, but seeing a champion drop to his knee and put a ring on his fiancée's finger is a first. Even though he went five grueling, fast-paced physical rounds with one of the best fighters in the world, Henderson admitted the toughest task he faced on Saturday was to go through with the proposal.

“That one takes the cake,” he said of a very public proposal, which came not only in front of 13,506 fans, but in front of a national television audience on Fox, as well.

[Results: Benson Henderson ekes out

Read More »from 'Smooth' move: Benson Henderson defends UFC lightweight title, wins over fiancée with proposal

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Benson Henderson came out a double winner on Saturday.

Only minutes after narrowly retaining his UFC lightweight title by claiming a split decision over ex-Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez, Henderson proposed to girlfriend Maria Magana in the Octagon at the HP Pavilion. 

He got on one knee and asked Magana to marry him. After she said yes, he picked her off her feet and they embraced, and the pro-Melendez crowd booed the whole scene.

It was a wild end to a great night of fights. The eight knockouts tied a record for most knockouts on a card, matching the record set at UFC 92 in 2008.

Henderson and Melendez fought a back-and-forth bout that could have gone either way. Two judges had it 48-47 for Henderson and the third went 48-47 for Melendez. Yahoo! Sports scored it for Melendez, giving him Rounds 1, 2 and 5.

Each man landed his share of strikes and kicks and had his moments in the fight. Neither was ever close to being finished,

Read More »from Benson Henderson ekes out split-decision win, proposes to girlfriend as crowd boos

SAN JOSE, Calif. – John Crouch looked toward the ceiling and tried to focus his thoughts. He was trying to explain the sequence of events that led him to become UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson's mixed martial arts coach.

Benson Henderson has continued to show improvement fight by fight. (MMA Weekly)Henderson is now one of the best fighters in the world, and will defend his belt against Gilbert Melendez Saturday at the HP Pavilion in the main event of UFC on Fox 7. Crouch is one of the sport's elite coaches, helping to guide the careers of Henderson, flyweight contender John Moraga, ex-WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner and former "The Ultimate Fighter" winner Efrain Escudero, among others.

Today, Crouch works out of a sparkling gym in Glendale, Ariz., where he does a strong private business. But at the time he met Henderson, he was working in virtual obscurity in Denver.

Crouch was preparing Alvin Robinson to meet Kenny Florian at UFC 73 on July 7, 2007. Robinson's college roommate was a friend of a collegiate wrestling teammate of

Read More »from Benson Henderson's dedication has made him a growing force in UFC

Rare is the athlete who becomes one of his sport's biggest attractions without the accompanying accomplishment on the field of play.

Canelo Alvarez flexes his muscles during the weigh-in for his fight against Austin Trout. (AP)Yet, while Canelo Alvarez is one of the four or five biggest draws in boxing, his accomplishments have yet to match his popularity.

Those doubts will be erased on Saturday after he fights Austin Trout in the main event of a sold-out card at the Alamodome in San Antonio in a WBA/WBC super welterweight unification match.

A win over Trout would vault Alvarez into truly elite status. A loss, though, could confirm suspicions that Alvarez has been coddled on the way to a 41-0-1 record with 30 knockouts.

Alvarez has beaten three types of fighters: no-hopers, who had little talent and less chance of winning; smaller fighters, who sacrificed a significant amount of size to face him; or big-name veterans who were long past their primes.

[Also: Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev had boxing aspirations | Photos]

In Trout, Alvarez will face none of

Read More »from Canelo Alvarez can join boxing's elite by beating Austin Trout in title fight

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bombing suspect who died early Friday following a shootout with police, was an amateur boxer of some note who had considered turning pro.

He won the New England Golden Gloves tournament in 2009 and 2010, though he only competed in the National Golden Gloves finals in Salt Lake City in 2009.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev (L) fights in the 2009 Golden Gloves (Getty Images)Edwin Rodriguez, a highly-rated professional super middleweight, sparred with Tsarnaev in 2010 and said he broke Tsarnaev’s rib.

“We had a baby [Evan] born on Monday, which was April 15, and we were in the hospital that day, watching the news about the bombing at the marathon,” Rodriguez told Yahoo! Sports. “It’s a strange feeling to know I sparred with this guy and knew him and talked with him. It’s not like we were friends, but we talked and had conversations. It is strange. It’s hard now, knowing what this coward did, to even think about it. He affected so many people, so many families. My heart just goes out to them.”

Rodriguez, who is ranked No. 2 at 168 pounds by the WBC and No. 3 by both the IBF and the WBA, was preparing for a fight in 2010 and was looking for quality sparring partner near his Worcester, Mass., home.

[Related: Massive manhunt ends with capture of Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev]

There are a lot of amateurs in the area, but not many pros. The majority of amateurs aren’t qualified to give a top professional prospect like Rodriguez high-level work.

Read More »from Dead Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev had boxing aspirations