- Ali Abdelaziz picks Khabib Nurmagomedov over Jon Jones as the MMA’s GOAT
- The Dominance MMA boss thinks outside factors also affected Jones’ legacy
The MMA GOAT debate has always been a hot subject of discussion. What’s even more interesting is that the same names are often being thrown in the conversation, but it just never gets old.
One of the personalities in the sport who gave his take on the matter is Khabib Nurmagomedov’s former manager Ali Abdelaziz. And though “The Eagle” is no longer competing, Abdelaziz’s pick was a bit of a no-brainer.
Khabib was more dominant
Like in most GOAT talks, Abdelaziz also trimmed the list down to between Jon Jones and Khabib Nurmagomedov. While it’s already obvious that he’s going for his former fighter, Abdelaziz backed it up by stating that Nurmagomedov “never” jeopardize his belt as he never had a close fight. Jones, meanwhile, evidently declined during his last three fights.
“Man, Jon Jones… When I talk about the good, the good means inside the cage, outside the cage. Khabib never had a close fight. You look at Jon Jones, the last three fights were very close fights. Khabib never had even a close fight,” he told Sherdog.com. “Dominance, Khabib is better, undefeated. In many (areas) Khabib is better. Outside the cage, Khabib is better.”
Jones lacked the support of a real champ
As expected, Abdelaziz also mentioned how the outside factors affected the legacy of both renowned UFC champions.
According to the Dominance MMA manager, Nurmagomedov’s flawless record in and outside the octagon speaks a lot about his greatness. As for “Bones,” Abdelaziz pointed out that due to the negativity outside the sport, there’s no way he’s exceeding Nurmagomedov.
“Khabib never had any action with USADA, none of the stuff,” he stressed. “Of course, Jon Jones is a great fighter, but he cannot tie the shoes of Khabib. I don’t think he can. He’s great, but I think Khabib is on a different level. He’s loved by many. I don’t think Jon Jones is a bad person, but I just don’t think all his career, he doesn’t have the right set, the right people to take care of him, to teach him wrong from right. If you gave me what Jon Jones had at 21, I’d probably walk naked in the street.”
It’s hard to agree to Abdelaziz’s take outright as Jones is far superior than Nurmagomedov in terms of successful title defenses. In that category, “Bones'” 13 dwarfs the Russian MMA legend’s three. However, it has become apparent that some people really take into consideration the issues Jones has constantly dealt with outside the sport.
As things stand, Nurmagomedov seems unlikely to make a return to fighting, while Jones has already been generating buzz as he edges closer to his UFC heavyweight debut.