Ex-UFC champs compare Jon Jones to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Georges St-Pierre while getting 100% real about his retirement

Former UFC champions had a positive reaction to Jon Jones' retirement, comparing him to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Georges St-Pierre. They acknowledged Jones' decision to call of his career while maintaining his legacy inside the octagon.

This past weekend at UFC Baku's post-fight press conference, promotion's CEO Dana White announced Jones' retirement from MMA, establishing Tom Aspinall as the new undisputed heavyweight kingpin. This prompted reactions from many in the combat sports community. Some were left disappointed with the failed title unification matchup, while others viewed the news positively, including Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo.

In a recent episode of Pound 4 Pound podcast, Usman offered his thoughts on Jones' UFC tenure. The former welterweight champion brought up the cases of St-Pierre and Nurmagomedov, two MMA legends who bowed out from the sport while at the pinnacle of their game.

''This is the very very difficult things that I don't think a lot of people understand is Georges St-Pierre left where people went, 'Oh, he still has some left' and he left and he kept himself and he kept that brand intact. Khabib Nurmagomedov left as the champion. Everything that you do is you were still the champion. Do I want to risk it one more time potentially lose and not be saw as invincible anymore? Or do I just bow out still be able to get those brand deals and all of those things because I am invincible. I mean honestly, I'm not mad at Jon Jones.''

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Cejudo agreed with Usman, saying:

''Neither am I dude. If anything kudos to [Jones] dude, I'm actually proud of him. You know Khabib could have kept going. Georges St-Pierre had the ability to defend his belt. Jon Jones he defended his belt He's defended his light heavyweight title with a crazy amount of numbers like bro. Just let it be''

Check out Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo's remarks below:

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Henry Cejudo believes Tom Aspinall can lure Jon Jones out of retirement

Many expect Ciryl Gane is next in line for the new undisputed heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. In the aforementioned Pound 4 Pound podcast, Henry Cejudo offered his thoughts on the potential matchup.

According to Cejudo, Aspinall can bring Jon Jones out of retirement with a strong perfomance against Gane, who has already lost to the two-division champion.

''You give [Tom Aspinall] the No.1 contender, Ciryl Gane. Ciryl Gane is somebody that's a big heavyweight, that's very agile. I don't think Tom Aspinall gets rid of him right away like he has with other people, and I think that'll be a big indication on if Jon Jones wants to come back and reclaim that belt once again. Just to get a feel of what Tom is all about now that they have a mutual competitor."

Check out Henry Cejudo's comments below (8:44):

About the author

Swagat is a dynamic MMA writer with a total experience of a little less than a year, which includes time in retail and sports journalism. He holds an MBA degree.

Swagat fell in love with the sport after watching the iconic grudge match between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier at UFC 182 in early 2015. Nate Diaz holds a special place in his heart for the Stockton native’s entertaining fan-friendly style and ability to deliver exciting fights regardless of the opponent.

In terms of rule changes in MMA, Swagat advocates for making scores public after each round, adding transparency to judging decisions.

Swagat prioritizes accuracy and relevance while writing and conducts thorough research to ensure the content is fresh and reliable.

He enjoys playing football and painting during his free time.

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Edited by Swagat Kumar Jena