Jon Jones' Twitter rant about Khabib 'GOAT' talk: 'Dude asked to take my throne instead of outworking me!'
Jon Jones has made it clear that he is not okay with Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov being hailed as the ‘Greatest of All Time’ in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts.
Khabib Nurmagomedov had announced his shock retirement at UFC 254 after submitting Justin Gaethje via triangle choke. Many believed that Gaethje, with his formidable striking and collegiate wrestling prowess, would be Khabib’s biggest challenge. However, the fight didn't play out along those lines as Khabib dominated the American rather easily.
Accolades poured in from all corners following the win and Jon Jones himself was one of the the first to congratulate Khabib on the victory.
The former LHW champion 'granted' the number one pound-for-pound spot to the Russian fighter - at least until he moves up in weight and potentially wins the UFC heavyweight title.
In a recent series of tweets, though, Jon Jones was less accommodating and has made it clear that while he was okay with Khabib taking on the pound-for-pound number one spot that he holds currently, he is offended by the argument that the Russian fighter is the GOAT.
Jones even referenced Khabib's post fight interview at UFC 254 in one of his tweets, where he issued a request to the UFC to place him at the pound-for-pound number one spot.
He then tweeted out a series of tweets detailing why he thought Khabib's accomplishments don't hold water in front of his own, especially when it comes to the GOAT debate.
Jones also referred to his wins over former champions Lyoto Machida, Vitor Belfort, and Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson, claiming that they were all better than Justin Gaethje in terms of being names on a resume.
Jon Jones also alluded to the fact that he is the youngest ever champion to win a UFC title, having won the UFC Light Heavyweight championship at the age of 23 in March 2011.
The rant was capped off by ‘Bones’ by stating that ‘Stats Kill’.
It is interesting to note that Jon Jones holds the record for the second most UFC title fights (tied with Demetrious Johnson) with 14 and has won all of these fights, which is also a record.
Jon Jones is contemplating his next move
Jon Jones had, earlier in the year, vacated the Light Heavyweight title opting to ply his trade in the Heavyweight division.
The newly crowned 205 pound king Jan Blachowicz is among the many with whom Jones was linked for a fight. However, nothing concrete has materialized yet.
Rumours also ranged from Jones taking on Stipe Miocic for the Heavyweight title to him returning at light heavyweight for a super-fight against Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.