Khamzat Chimaev recently claimed that Jon Jones is the scariest fighter to ever step into the Octagon. Chimaev praised Jones for his ability to make even the most skilled and intimidating fighters look average during their fights. And after the Chechen shared his thoughts in a video on Instagram, Jones chimed in to express his appreciation for the compliments.
The video in question here was shared by ‘shashimma’ on Instagram. In the clip, Chimaev was seen praising Jones and giving his reasons for believing Jones was the scariest fighter in the UFC.
“Jon Jones of course, nobody is like him. He beats the monsters. I did all of my training with Alex (Gustaffson). I know how good he is, and if Jon Jones could stop that guy, it’s scary. And he beat like not easy fighters, they were crazy good fighters. Knockout power and then on the ground, it was good. Everything was like perfect. If he stay in the game, he has to be pound-for-pound number one.”
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Jones reacted to the video with a praying hands emoji showing his appreciation for the kind words. It’s always interesting to see the respect between fighters, especially when a young talent like Chimaev recognizes the legacy that Jones has built. With both fighters at different stages in their careers, fans are eager to see if Chimaev can follow Jones’ footsteps in terms of dominating as a champion.
The fight against Gustafsson Chimaev talks about is a perfect example of how dominant Jones was. In the first fight, Gustaffson dragged Jones through a five-round all-out war. In the second fight, Jones finishes Gustafsson in the third round of the fight in an utterly dominant display.
This is even more impressive given that ‘Bones’ admitted to partying and not training properly prior to the first fight. But those days are seemingly over. Or maybe, they are about to get kicked to another level now that ‘Bones’ is contemplating retirement.
UFC 309 the last dance for Jones?
Jon Jones is getting closer to retirement, and he’s made it clear that his upcoming fight against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 on November 16 could be his last. In his latest public appearance at UFC 306, Jones reiterated, “It’s going to be the last time. More than likely”.
At 37, Jones won the vacant heavyweight title with a dominant performance against Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 and hasn’t fought since. The fight with Miocic was initially set for last November but got pushed back due to an injury.
Meanwhile, Tom Aspinall became the interim heavyweight champion after a knockout win over Sergei Pavlovich and has defended the interim title before Jones has defended his undisputed one.
Now, while there’s been plenty of talk between Jones and Aspinall about a potential matchup, Jones remains focused on Miocic, who himself, holds the record for the most consecutive heavyweight title defenses.
All the guesswork aside, the truth remains- Jon Jones doesn’t need to fight anyone to prove his legacy. He’s great, and he’s got the accolades and a loaded bank account to show for it. With legacy and money not being a factor anymore, it was always only a matter of time before Jones was going to call it quits anyway.
