Jon Jones, the UFC’s undisputed heavyweight champion, has been claiming that he doesn’t have to fight anyone or do anything in the sport to further prove his greatness. Bones has won 17 title fights in his career — a record that could possibly stand the test of time for many generations. He reminded everyone this today, while conveying his best wishes for the future champions who would be chasing his mark.
The fighter from New York shared a post on Instagram talking about how no one is even close to him in terms of accomplishments in the sport. The 2nd and 3rd on the list of most title fights won are Georges St-Pierre (13) and Demetrius Johnson, with 12 victories. And, they are long retired.
Jones, meanwhile, could be defending his title, or even taking on Alex Pereira for the BMF belt next. He can potentially increase his tally, take it to 20 even. Even if the 37-year-old doesn’t, he knows there’s nobody in the current crop of fighters who’s going to get close.
“17 UFC world titles. That’s right—seventeen! I’m sitting here on a plane to Miami wondering… who’s gonna catch me?” wrote Jones in the post.
The heavyweight champion then issued an advise for those who would attempt.
“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, beating Mauricio Shogun Rua at UFC 128 in 2011. He was a 6-1 fighter at the time, pretty inexperienced, and yet made Rua look like the underdog.
He has since then taken on UFC greats including Daniel Cormier, Alexander Gustafsson, Rashad Evans, Chael Sonnen, and Quinton Jackson among others. And he owned each of those fights.
This should put him atop every MMA mountain ever. But then we are also talking about Jones, the controversy magnet. And the debate on his greatness can never be settled on absolute terms.
Jones’ complicated history with doping
A day after he beat 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 since cocaine isn’t on the list of banned substances, he did not face any repercussions.
However, this was followed by a string of run-ins with the doping authorities.
Jones then fought Ovince Saint Preux and beat him to win the light heavyweight interim title. A couple of months later, he pulled out from his rematch against Cormier at UFC 200 after a possible drug violation flagged by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
After a USADA hearing in November 2016, he found himself facing a one-year ban for testing positive for clomiphene and letrozole metabolites, found in an erectile dysfunction medication. The suspension was then lifted and he went on to beat DC to regain the light heavyweight title in June 2017.
However, in a few weeks, Jones was found positive for the anabolic steroid Turinabol in a USADA test.
Subsequently, the California State Athletic Commission overturned the win over DC, and the UFC reinstated Cormier as the champ. This was just the beginning of Jones’ woes with steroids.
In 2018, while Jones was preparing for a 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 was then tested on the day of the weigh-ins and Turniabol was again found in his system.
The results of the tests were, however, published almost a month later, ESPN had reported back then. MMA Fighting, at the time, quoted Andy Foster, the California Commission executive director, as saying that Jones hadn’t been punished because there were “no grounds to charge somebody twice for the same violation”.
These doping charges cast a huge shadow on Jones’ greatness and his claim as the best fighter of all time. Nobody has and can never question his talent or skill as a fighter. But the doping blemishes among other controversies including a 15-month absence from the octagon, has marred his career and dented his legacy.
