Jon Jones heard a lot about how Alex Pereira was gunning for his spot as the greatest of all time if he was successful in becoming the first ever three-division champion at UFC White House this past weekend.
While numerous fighters and analysts disagreed with UFC CEO Dana White after he declared Pereira’s ascension to the top of that list with a win, none of that ultimately mattered when the Brazilian suffered a second-round knockout loss to Ciryl Gane in the co-main event. On fight night, Jones released a short video where he effectively rolled his eyes at all the chatter about him losing his spot as the GOAT just after Pereira was stopped.
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Now, Jones released a message aimed at anybody attempting to usurp him as the best ever because he knows it’s going to take an awful lot to get there.
“Thinking that you have the work ethic, the desire, the faith, and the focus to dethrone me as the GOAT of MMA,” Jones wrote on Twitter in a now-deleted message. “Good luck to you all.”
Jones’ placement as the greatest of all time is subjective, but he typically finds himself atop most lists after he put together a Hall of Fame career, which included becoming the youngest champion in UFC history when he first captured the light heavyweight title back in 2011.
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“Bones” holds win over nine UFC champions—past, present or future—and he also captured titles in two divisions after becoming heavyweight champion with a submission win over Gane in 2023.
He also never truly tasted defeat, although his résumé has one loss after he was disqualified for using illegal elbows during a vicious beatdown of Matt Hamill.
That said, Jones’ career was far from flawless, which included positive drug tests for using banned substances including an incident that erased his head kick victory over Daniel Cormier in 2017 that was overturned from a win to a no-contest. He also endured a multitude of legal issues outside the cage that took him out of action for months at a time as well as being stripped of his title in 2015 for his involvement in a hit-and-run.
But his work in the octagon was undeniable as Jones still holds the record for 16 wins in UFC title fights and 12 overall title defenses across multiple reigns as champion.
Will anyone ever top Jones’ remarkable list of accolades to challenge him as the GOAT? It might seek unlikely but Jones obviously welcomes anybody to try.
