Legendary MMA coach Javier Mendez thinks Jon Jones should be eliminated from the GOAT conversation.
In recent weeks, Dana White has engaged in a series of fiery debates with members of the MMA media—specifically Kevin Iole and John Morgan—over his belief that ‘Bones’ should be ranked as the No. 1 P4P fighter in the world, citing Jones’ longevity and his dominance in two different divisions.
Dana White hints that he is going to replace journalists doing UFC P4P rankings with AI because of their Jon Jones ranking
“It will be a great f**king day, I’m really excited about that”
— ACD MMA (@acdmma_) September 4, 2024
However, Iole and Morgan insist that the undisputed heavyweight champion simply hasn’t been active enough, only competing once in nearly five years.
Mendez tends to agree with the journalists but for a much different reason.
“Dana is still insisting that Jon Jones is pound-for-pound #1,” Mendez said on his podcast. “He has his valid points, but my valid point is I just want to say one thing: Lance Armstrong. Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France how many times, and basically, he got all those titles taken away from him because of one thing—doping.
“And even though it was many years later that they caught him, he lost all the Tour de France titles. Well, it’s been a fact, it’s been proven, Jon Jones has been caught doping. So, I’m sorry, I think that disqualifies him just based on that alone.”
Mendez Believes Jon Jones’ Actions Outside the Octagon Are Just as Important as What He Does Inside the Cage
Jon Jones’ second victory over Daniel Cormier at UFC 214 was overturned from a third-round TKO to a no-contest after ‘Bones’ tested positive for the anabolic steroid turinabol. Jones was initially facing a four-year suspension from the California State Athletic Commission, but after providing “substantial assistance” to the United States Anti-Doping Agency—which was responsible for testing UFC athletes at the time—his punishment was reduced to 15 months.
Jones failed another test ahead of his UFC 232 rematch against Alexander Gustafsson when he tested positive for the same turinabol metabolites. This time around, USADA determined that the trace amount—called picograms—offered ‘Bones’ no competitive advantage.
He went on to defeat Gustafsson to reclaim the light heavyweight title. Jones defended the belt three times, besting Anthony ‘Lionheart’ Smith, Thiago Santos, and Dominick Reyes before vacating the belt and making the move to heavyweight three years later.
“He would be in a big consideration, but he hasn’t fought since (2023),” Mendez said. “So, I don’t know how you can put him in that category because of what he did before. He’s not active. If he was active, then there’s a bigger challenge for that, but he’s not active.
“His abilities? Yeah, I can see that, 100 percent. I mean, the guy is one of the greatest of all time, for sure. But for me, I value the greatest of all time based on what they do outside, not just what they do inside.”
Watch the full podcast episode below:
