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Jon Jones has a strong message to fans who believe that Khabib Nurmagomedov is the UFC’s GOAT following his title defense at UFC 254 last weekend.
Nurmagomedov submitted Justin Gaethje to record his third-straight defense of the UFC Lightweight World Championship, and then surprised everyone by announcing his retirement.
With Nurmagomedov retiring as a champion who went undefeated in his career, talks of his legacy as the greatest of all time began to swirl around, and while many believe that he is indeed deserving of the title, one man who believes otherwise is Jones, the former UFC Light Heavyweight king.
Since UFC 254’s conclusion, Jon Jones has made it loud and clear that he considers himself the UFC’s best ever, arguing that he simply has accomplished more inside the Octagon.
In his latest social media tirade, Jon Jones addressed the fans and brought up the disparity in number of world titles between himself and Nurmagomedov.
“I’m talking to all you Khabib fans out there. 15 world titles to your guy’s four, and you guys are talking about who’s the best fighter ever? You guys are joking, right? 15 to 4. Are you guys kidding me?” Jones said on a video posted on the BT Sport UFC Twitter page.
Jon Jones won the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship for the first time back in 2011 after knocking out Brazilian legend Shogun Rua, and went on to defend the title against the likes of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Alexander Gustafsson, Lyoto Machida, Daniel Cormier, and many others. Amidst controversy inside and out of the Octagon, Jones would capture the interim title and the 205-pound title twice more, before vacating it in August of 2020 for a potential move up to heavyweight.
Jon Jones added that the closest one to tying his record is former two-division world champion Georges St-Pierre, who has 13 title fight wins.
“The only person that could possibly come back and challenge my record, what I’ve done in the UFC is possibly George St-Pierre,” Jones said. “He would have to come back and win two championship fights to tie me, and I’m not even retired yet. I’m 33 years old, I’ve got a whole ‘nother chapter to go through.”
“Bones” also pointed out that Khabib only recently started fighting top-tier talent. He, on the other hand, has had years of experience against a plethora of former champions and top contenders.
“And then all you guys are going with this ‘He’s more dominant’ argument? The guy just recently started fighting elite-level competition. Could you imagine me against the number tenth-ranked guy?”
Is Jon Jones the actual GOAT of the UFC?
While many people may believe that Jon Jones’ MMA career has been tainted by controversy in and out of the Octagon, it’s pretty hard to argue that he has an unparalleled resume.
Jon Jones made his UFC debut back in 2008 and won his first three Octagon appearances pretty handily. The only loss on Jones’ record came in his fourth UFC fight, a disqualification against Matt Hamill, in a fight that Jones was clearly dominating.
Jon Jones would go on to demolish the likes of Brandon Vera, Vladimir Matyushenko, and Ryan Bader to earn a world title shot against Shogun Rua.
Jon Jones would embarrass Rua to capture the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship and become the youngest UFC champion at just 23 years of age.
He would then tear through the division, beating former champions and legends, until his professional record began to resemble a who’s-who of light heavyweight stars.
Jon Jones’ long list of victims include Rampage Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Alexander Gustafsson (twice), Glover Texeira, Daniel Cormier, Ovince Saint Preux, Anthony Smith, Thiago Santos, and most recently, Dominick Reyes.
With a move up to heavyweight looming, Jon Jones could cement his status as the UFC’s best ever with a stellar run alongside the big boys.
