Shaquille O’Neal Echoes Dana White’s Stance on Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Jon Jones ‘UFC Goat’ Debate

Dana White and Shaquille O’Neal have one thing in common- both believe Jon Jones is the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) in MMA. ‘Shaq’ is an avid combat sports fan and follows both boxing as well as the UFC. He recently uploaded a video of the UFC President talking about why ‘Bones’ is the GOAT for MMA. As a matter of fact, Dana White has always made his stance on the GOAT debate clear. He believes Jon Jones is the greatest MMA fighter to have ever lived.

NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal seemed to agree with the argument, as he posted White’s video on his Instagram story. However, he did not use any captions.

In the same video, White also talks about how Khabib Nurmagomedov had the potential to be the GOAT. However, he did not stick around long enough to take that title away from Jones. ‘The Eagle’ chose to retire after his father passed away and vowed to never fight in the octagon again. Thus, White believes he did not get tested enough to be called the GOAT.

Dana White continued to talk about the greatness of Jon Jones. The UFC President listed out the things that made Jones so great. He stated that Jones almost destroyed the competition at Light Heavyweight. At the time when Jones was inducted in Light Heavyweight, the division was pretty rough, stacked with steep competition. Next, after getting promoted to the Heavyweight division, Jones once again proved his mettle by clinching the title. Thus, speaking on the subject, the UFC Head Honcho did not think there should a UFC GOAT debate at all.

Dana White claims there is no GOAT debate as Jon Jones is undoubtedly the greatest

Dana White does not think the GOAT debate should exist. In his mind, there is only one GOAT, and that is Jon Jones. White spoke about how Jones filled all the criteria. He remained unbeaten in the octagon, has longevity, and has been tested by the best. He said,

“Nobody can debate who’s the greatest of all time. It’s absolutely, positively Jon Jones. He’s never lost, no he’s never been beaten in the octagon ever.”

Dana White then spoke about how fighters like Alexander Gustafsson who took Jones to deep waters and the champ still made it out victorious. The technical ability, paired with the sheer dominance and longevity, makes ‘Bones’ the greatest MMA fighter to have ever lived.

However, the only reason people discredit him is because of the things that happened outside the octagon. The constant drug charges and the run-ins with the law. Regardless, from a pure MMA point of view, what the UFC president said about Jones might well be the truth.