The fact is that he had not faced any "top 10" guys at all in the UFC, which at this stage in the sport's evolution is generally standard to lead up to a title shot. It's just good marketing to have a fight between two guys who deserve a shot, and let the winner take on the champ.

The fact of the matter is that if Ryan Bader defeated Jon Jones when they were matched up, he would not have been given a title shot without at least one intermediate fight, and IMO that's a perfect argument for saying that Jones was handed a title shot without proving that he can compete at the top level. Everyone GUESSED that he could compete at the top level based on previous performance, but we didn't know until he took on the champ.