Joe Rogan reveals who he leans towards in the Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Jon Jones GOAT discussion
UFC commentator Joe Rogan recently weighed in on his views regarding the GOAT debate between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Jon Jones.
Speaking to comedian Yannis Pappas on his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan recognized Khabib Nurmagomedov's impact on the UFC and the sport of MMA at large. As it often happens with conversations regarding 'The Eagle', the discussion became about who the greatest mixed martial artist of all time is.
Mentioning Khabib Nurmagomedov, Rogan stated:
"I think people are getting more educated about the sport, the more fights they watch like Khabib, for perfect example. Khabib chokes everybody out and he's one of the greatest, no, if not, the greatest."
Continuing with the debate, Rogan voiced his opinions on Jon Jones, comparing him to 'The Eagle'.
''There's a real argument that Khabib is the greatest of all time and again, doesn't have the accolades that Jon Jones has.. and I know Jon Jones has a loss on his record but that's a bulls**t loss, it's a disqualification" exclaimed Rogan.
"So you can make the argument that Jon Jones is undefeated and I think you should make that argument because nobody defeated him even though he has a loss on his record, no one beat him" stated Joe Rogan.
Moving on to his conclusion of who the greatest fighter of all time is, Joe Rogan stated:
"Khabib is undefeated, he retired [at] 29-0, dominated everybody and no one was even close. Jon Jones had a couple of split decisions, the Reyes fight was f***ing close, f***ing close and so was the Thiago Santos fight, f***ing close! There [have been a] couple of close fights in Jones' career. There's no close fights in Khabib's history, there's no close fights. Everybody gets f***ing mauled."
Rogan appears to be leaning towards Khabib Nurmagomedov over Jon Jones as the MMA GOAT. 'The Eagle' retired in 2020 after defeating Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. Meanwhile, 'Bones' has his eyes set on UFC heavyweight gold.
Listen to the excerpt below:
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Jon Jones: The battle of numbers
In the final weeks of 2020, Khabib Nurmagomedov overtook Jon Jones in the UFC's pound-for-pound rankings. Having accomplished his goal of reaching the list's pinnacle, 'The Eagle' expressed his gratitude through an Instagram post.
The Russian lost his father due to complications arising from COVID-19 in July 2020. Nurmagomedov subsequently decided to retire from the sport of MMA to spend time with his family in Dagestan, Russia.
However, 'Bones', who became the youngest champion in UFC history after dethroning Mauricio Rua in 2011, had his own thoughts on the GOAT debate.
"I'm talking to all you Khabib fans out there," Jones said in a video he posted on social media back in 2020. "15 world titles to your guy's 4 and you guys really talking about who's the best fighter ever? You guys are joking, right?" remarked Jones as he shut down his side of the debate.
Watch Jon Jones put a stop to the GOAT debate and give props to Georges St-Pierre here:
Who do you think is the greatest fighter of all time? Khabib Nurmagomedov, Jon Jones, or GSP? Let us know in the comments!