Jon Jones is arguably the best fighter in MMA history. Although he has lost the belt four times, each time it was to Jon Jones.
In 2015 “Bones” was stripped of the belt after he was arrested on felony hit-and-run charges for hitting a pregnant woman, breaking her arm, and running away on foot. In 2016 he was stripped over an anti-doping violation. In 2017 he was stripped over another anti-doping violation. Then the miracle years – in 2018 and 2019 Jones was not stripped of a belt. It couldn’t last, so in 2020 he took matters into his own hands, and officially stripped himself of the title, to make a run at heavyweight.
In a recent message on his social network, Jones posted an image of the ten UFC fighters with the most successful title defenses:
1. Jon Jones
2. Georges St-Pierre
3. Demetrious Johnson
4. Anderson Silva
5. Matt Hughes
6. Randy Couture
7. Jose Aldo
8. Amanda Nunes
9. Ronda Rousey
10. Daniel Cormier
It was captioned, “If you consider your favorite fighter the best and he’s not on this list, slap yourself.”
If you consider your favorite fighter the best and he’s not on this list, slap yourself. Have a great week. pic.twitter.com/vkr2HKSQC6
— BONY (@JonnyBones) February 8, 2021
Fans of Fedor Emelianenko, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Murilo Bustamante, Kazushi Sakuraba, and Royce Gracie, among others, erupted in a frenzy of self-face slapping. This is me doing it:
When a fight fan expressed respect for champ champ Amanda Nunes, Jones followed up with the highest praise he is capable of.
“Close second, only halfway there,” he wrote. “That’s a bad woman.”
Close second, only halfway there. That’s a bad woman https://t.co/cGjhlnILTV
— BONY (@JonnyBones) February 8, 2021
UG, this generates a number of questions including:
1. Is Nunes the second greatest fighter of all time, and if not, who is?
2. Is Jones the greatest fighter of all time, and if not, who is?
3. Does limiting the pool to UFC champions result in an inherently flawed list?
4. Did you forget how awesome Hughes was?
