UFC undisputed heavyweight champion Jon Jones’s idea of dropping the title to fight Alex Pereira for the BMF belt might have been seen as facetious at the moment, but he’s got some valid reasons for doing so. Jones doesn’t need new challenges, he doesn’t even need another title. He’s already been in 17 title fights in his career and he’s won all of them, as he was kind enough to remind the rest of the world today.
The Rochester native shared a post on his Instagram page and talked about how he had surpassed anyone in his stratosphere. The 2nd and 3rd on the list of more title fight wins are Georges St-Pierre and Demetrius Johnson with 13 and 12 respectively. And while they are both legends in their own right, often even considered on par with Jones for the GOAT debate, both are retired. And Jones can only add to his number at this point.
And even if he doesn’t, Jones knows there’s nobody in the modern era, who’s going to get anywhere close.
17 UFC world titles. That’s right—seventeen! I’m sitting here on a plane to Miami wondering… who’s gonna catch me?
The heavyweight champion, being a veteran of the sport, also had a bit of advice for those who might want to try.
Chasing this record might be the toughest fight of all, but hey, I believe in you, champs of the future. Just… pace yourselves. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
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Jones won his first title at 23 when he beat Mauricio Shogun Rua at UFC 128 in 2011. He was a 6-1 fighter at the time, greener than grass, and yet he made Rua look like the underdog in the fight.
He has since taken on greats of the game, the likes of Daniel Cormier, Alexander Gustafsson, Rashad Evans, Chael Sonnen, and Quinton Jackson among others. And each one of them tried their best but they lost to him all the same.
This should put him on top of every MMA mountain ever, but it isn’t that easy. Nothing ever is, when ‘Bones’ is involved.
Jones’ complicated history
A day after he beat Daniel Cormier for the first time at UFC 182, the Nevada State Athletic Commission revealed that he had tested positive for cocaine prior to the fight. But at this point, it’s still alright since cocaine isn’t on a list of banned substances.
But this follows a string of rows with authorities and an absence of 15 months from the octagon. Jones fights Ovince Saint Preux next and beats him to win the interim title at light heavyweight. A couple of months later, he is pulled from his rematch against Cormier again at UFC 200 for possible drug violation by the US Anti-Doping Agency.
After a USADA hearing in Nov 2016, he finds himself facing a one-year ban due to having tested positive for clomiphene and letrozole metabolites, found in an erectile dysfunction medication.
The suspension is then lifted as he beats DC to regain the light heavyweight title in June 2017, much to the latter’s disappointment.
However, in a few weeks time, Jones was found positive for Turinabol, an anabolic steroid in a USADA test.
Subsequently, the California State Athletic Commission overturned the win and the UFC reinstated Cormier as the champ. But this doesn’t end Jones’ woes with steroids either!
In 2018, as Jones prepares to have his rematch with Gustafsson, a random drug test revealed he had a trace of the same anabolic steroid in his system! However, USADA declared that Jones wasn’t at fault. The champ is then tested again on the day of the weigh-ins and Turniabol is again found in his system.
The results are however published almost a month later, according to ESPN. MMA Fighting, at the time, quotes Andy Foster, the California Commission executive director saying that Jones hadn’t been punished because there were “no grounds to charge somebody twice for the same violation”.
Now, there are only the doping charges against the champion and these are enough to raise enough questions about his greatness. While nobody has ever questioned his talent or skills, the fact that he has had multiple doping charges and suspension because of them does cast a massive shadow on his status as the best fighter of all time.
