Jon Jones has been snubbed as the greatest MMA fighter of all time by his bitter arch rival Daniel Cormier who refused to name him the ‘GOAT’ after he captured the vacant heavyweight title at UFC 285 on Saturday.
That’s despite Jones now having two belts in his trophy cabinet, with his 11 undisputed title defences making him the most successful male fighter of all time.
The American comfortably dispatched of Ciryl Gane despite giving up an inch in height to the Frenchman.
Cruising to a first-round victory in Las Vegas, Jones claimed his second UFC title and a fifth straight win to surely put the debate to bed.
However, despite his impressive achievements, UFC commentator Cormier believes that there will always be an asterisk next to his name.
Daniel Cormier says Jon Jones can’t be considered the GOAT
“I think it’s hard to really argue the greatest of all time when Jones has now gone up to heavyweight and won the championship because of what he did at light heavyweight,” he said during an appearance on his ESPN show ‘DC & RC.’
“This always puts me in a tough position, because I will always say guys that have bad things attached to their name should not be held on high.
“I think especially with the drugs and the steroid failures and those types of things.
“I think when you have those things, it’s hard to call you the greatest of all time.
“And I know Anderson (Silva) and all those guys, but I think (Jones) is in the conversation, because he’s become a heavyweight champion, and now he’s won belts in two weight classes.”
This isn’t the first time Cormier has brought up his past history of failed drugs tests.
He told MMA Fighting in 2020: “One of the most talented guys you’ll ever meet but again for me bad tests eliminate you from the conversation.
“I just cannot understand how that is so hard to comprehend in a sport where we’re fighting each other. In baseball, bad tests eliminate you from being considered and being in the Hall of Fame and you’re hitting a ball.
“You’re hitting an object that has no feeling. In fighting, you’re punching people, human beings, and you have bad tests that eliminates you. It’s just too dangerous.
“So I think when you start to think about the greatest of all time for all the things and all the great victories, you can’t look at those, me personally being a guy that those fights did really long term damage to my career, it’s hard for me to say [Jon Jones] is the greatest of all time when every time we fought, there was some sort of issue.
“That for me, it just kind of changes the conversation.”
