The UFC Pound for Pound Rankings are out, and Khabib Nurmagomedov has pushed Jon Jones from the top spot to #2. Nurmagomedov retired after his third successful title defense, with a 29-0 record, having lost just two rounds in his entire, eight-year, 13-fight UFC career. Jones recently responded to the loss of his #1 spot with a video, arguing that he’s the GOAT.
“Bones” has made the case that his entry into the sport was far more impressive, by far. Khabib took 16 fights across over three years to reach the big show. Jones, by contrast, got into the UFC in less than four months, having stopped all six opponents. Nurmagomedov won the belt at age 29; Jones was just 23, the youngest champion in UFC history.
At the identical moment in his career when Nurmagomedov retired – three successful title defenses – Jones had beaten Shogun Rua for the belt, and defended it against Rampage Jackson, Lyoto Machida, and Rashad Evans, all former division champions, three of whom are now Hall of Famers. Jones then went on to win eleven more times, with one win changed to a No Contest.
I’m talking to all you Khabib fans out there, said Jones, as transcribed by Steven Marrocco for MMA Fighting. Fifteen world titles to your guys’ four, and you guys are really talking about who’s the best fighter ever? You guys are joking, right? Fifteen to four. Are you guys’ kidding me?
The only person that could possibly come back and challenge my record and what I’ve done in the UFC is possibly Georges St-Pierre. 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.
You guys are nuts – I love you guys so much. I hope you guys all have a great day. Fifteen world championships to four.
And all you guys who are going with this he’s more dominant argument, he just recently started fighting elite-level competition. Could you imagine me against the No. 10 ranked guy?
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To be sure, Jon Jones is a f*** up, more than once in love with the coco and on the run from the popo. But consider his fight record over his arrest record.
Jones successfully defended his title for the eighth time, beating Daniel Cormier via Unanimous Decision at UFC 182 on January 3, 2015. On April 28, he was stripped of his title for violating the UFC’s Athlete Code of Conduct policy; he’d gotten in a car accident, hitting a pregnant woman and breaking her arm, before fleeing on foot.
He returned from that suspension and beat Ovince Saint Preux via Unanimous Decision for the interim belt at UFC 197 on April 23, 2016. Jones was later stripped of that title and suspended after testing positive for clomiphene and letrozole. The source of the failed anti-doping test was determined to be a tainted, bootleg, erectile dysfunction pill.
Jones returned from that suspension and defeated Daniel Cormier via KO at UFC 214 on July 29, 2017, only to see the bout changed to a No Contest and the title stripped after he tested positive for infinitesimally small quantities of metabolites for turinabol, which pulsed on and off for an extended period.
Jones next bested Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 232 on December 29, 2018, winning the vacant UFC light heavyweight Championship, and then defended that successfully three times.
He has now vacated the light heavyweight title to take a run at heavyweight.
In the eyes of many, Jones has the PED asterisk, disqualifying him from GOAT consideration – that’s how Daniel Cormier put himself at #4 on the GOAT list, with Jones no where to be found, despite losing to “Bones” twice, or at least one and one NC. However, a careful evaluation of Jones’ failures indicates he is an all too human f*** up, but in all likelihood, not a doper. In sum, Jon Jones, not Khabib Nurmagomedov is likely the greatest fighter in mixed martial arts history.
As for the P4P rating, Nurmagomedov is retired, and will presumably remove himself from the USADA testing pool, and the rankings, and thus return Jones to the #1 spot.
Or maybe Nurmagomedov won’t??!?
