Is Jon Jones MMA GOAT yet? UFC legend Ken Shamrock names the opponents 'Bones' needs to face for the status

Jon Jones is, without a doubt, one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. Earlier this year, 'Bones' put another cap on his legacy by becoming the heavyweight champion with his first-round submission victory over Ciryl Gane at UFC 285.

Mesmerized by his historic run at light-heavyweight and his recent exploits at heavyweight, many in the MMA community believe that Jones is the GOAT of the sport.

However, UFC legend Ken Shamrock feels that the 35-year-old needs to prove himself against two more heavyweight titans before he can truly deserve such high laurels.

In a recent interview with The Schmo, the MMA pioneer opined that 'Bones' need to defeat former heavyweight champions Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou before he can genuinely attain GOAT status:

"Jones has a legitimate opportunity to be the GOAT, but in my opinion, my humble opinion, he's got to fight Miocic and then Ngannou. I think those two...then that GOAT word starts to be more real."

"In the world now in sports, we start throwing around that GOAT word too much man. Jones is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters out there in my opinion, right now, no doubt, but let's slow down on the GOAT thing... Right now, Jones is in the process of doing it, but let's make sure he does it and I think he will."

Catch Ken Shamrock's comments on Jon Jones from 2:06 mark:

Furthermore, Shamrock suggested that Jones has to match the legacies of pioneers such as Royce Gracie to be the greatest of all time.

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Jon Jones' MMA GOAT list

Self-confidence is definitely one of Jon Jones' strong traits, and surely enough, that is reflected in his MMA GOAT picks. During an interview with RMC Sport in the lead-up to UFC 285, 'Bones' named himself the first pick on his list.

Other legends on the heavyweight champion list include former middleweight champion Anderson Silva, former two-division champion Georges St-Pierre, former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, and former pound-for-pound king Jose Aldo, in that order.

Catch Jon Jones' comments below:

Jones is expected to face heavyweight legend Stipe Miocic in his next fight. The UFC is reportedly targeting a showdown between the duo at the UFC 290 card during international fight week in July.