ESPN curated a list of the top 100 professional athletes since 2000 based on 70,000 votes and a lot of fighters from the UFC are missing from it. However, what is shocking is that the likes of Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov were left off the list altogether.
MMA has been represented with only Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre on the list. ‘Bones’ comes in at #66 sandwiched between James Harden and Kylian Mbappe.
GSP on the other hand comes in at #76 sandwiched between track star Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce and world cup winning soccer legend Xavi Hernandez.
Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre come in at #66 and #76 on ESPN’s Top 100 Professional Athletes Since 2000 list.
They are the only MMA fighters on the list thus far.#UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/ErYr1anuZC
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) July 17, 2024
Needless to say, this has left the MMA community shocked who felt disrespected at the lack of names in the list released so far.
However, it is important to note that 25 names have not been revealed so far and there is a strong chance that either Khabib or Conor or both could feature in it.
That said, professional MMA has only gained prominence in the last 10 odd years. Now, while fans are worried about fantasy lists, the fighters won’t seem to care so much, McGregor, who would be too focused on his return to the octagon after 3 long years.
2024 is the fight for legacy
Conor McGregor and Jon Jones are without a doubt two of the biggest names in MMA at the moment.
And the UFC is trying its best to get both to compete this year. As things stand, the world leader in MMA is looking at ‘Bones’ to return to action at Madison Square Garden for UFC 309 against Stipe Miocic to defend his undisputed UFC heavyweight title.
And while that’s not the fight fans want, it’s what will go a long way in furthering the champion’s legacy. At 36 years of age, Jones doesn’t have a lot left in the tank and he doesn’t need to either. So if he hangs up his boots after the Miocic fight, nobody would blame him.
If he wins, Dana White will ensure everyone and their moms know that he’s the best human being to have ever been born. Jokes, aside, this will be his first title defense as a heavyweight and as long as he can keep up his streak of successfully defending titles, he will go down as the greatest to ever do it.
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Similarly, the promotion is looking at McGregor to headline UFC 310 which is the final PPV event of the year. The Irishman was supposed tp fight Michael Chandler at UFC 303 but had to pull out for the first time in his career due to a broken toe. Now, he has since assured the former Bellator champion that their fight would finally take place in 2024.
Hopefully the company can fit him in a card proportional to his name. That said, the questions his worth inside an octagon will also be at stake. Having lost 2 of his last 3 fights, McGregor would like to return with a win and shut the haters up, for good this time!
