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Jones and Nurmagomedov don’t seem to have any genuine bad blood between them, But Jones kind of feels disrespected by his resume getting pushed to the curb in favor of Nurmagomedov in the GOAT debate.
The debate was initiated when Khabib announced his retirement after defending his title against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. Khabib maintained a perfect record of 29-0 in his MMA career which put him on top of the pound-for-pound ranking with Jon Jones in second.
Jones has not stepped in the octagon since 2020 following his win over Dominick Reyes via unanimous decision. He vacated his light heavyweight title after announcing that he will be moving up to the heavyweight division to add more to his glory. Despite his long pause, he is still considered the greatest UFC fighter of all time. He holds several UFC records including most title defenses, becoming the youngest ever UFC champion when he defeated Shogun Rua.
The former longtime UFC light heavyweight champion recently tweeted an image, pointing out that Jones had 14 title wins in the octagon while Nurmagomedov only had 13 UFC fights in total. The statistics Jones posted are true, but some critics pointed out that he doesn’t deserve to be called as greatest of all time because he has been involved in multiple failed drug tests and has been involved in controversies.
While others thought Jones is right despite his bad reputation outside the cage. There is no doubt that Jones is a complete beast inside the octagon as he has defended his title against some notable names in UFC like Daniel Cormier, Alexander Gustafsson, Lyoto Machida, and Rashad Evans. UFC lightweight standout Terrance McKinney even chimed in to tell Jones he needs to make his comeback.
It is difficult to debate that Jones has a stronger career resume than Khabib but one distinction for those who may rate Khabib higher is that they rate him as the “better” fighter regardless of his short career in UFC. Khabib might have continued to defend his title if the sudden demise of his mentor, his father Abdulmanap had not happened. The death of his father broke him completely which led him to retire in his peak era. This dispute can be intensified by the statement that Khabib set a record of being undefeated throughout his career which no UFC fighter has been able to match.
Now Jon Jones has an opportunity to add another achievement when he returns to continue his fight for the gold in the heavyweight division. He is expected for a potential fight against Stipe Miocic that may happen later this year at UFC 282.
Who do you guys think deserves to be on top of the list of the greatest fighter of UFC? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.