Josh Thomson has provided a counterargument for Jon Jones being the greatest fighter of all time.
On March 4, Jones silenced the doubters by defeating Ciryl Gane with a first-round submission. As a result, most of the MMA community agreed that ‘Bones’ has separated himself as the GOAT. Meanwhile, some people aren’t on the same page, including Thomson, a former Strikeforce lightweight champion.
During an episode of the Weighing In podcast, Thomson argued against Jones being the GOAT by saying:
“Yes, I can say he’s the GOAT. But I look at guys in the 170-pound, 155, 145, 135. And [Demetrious Johnson]’s one of like, there wasn’t the talent level. He falls kind of under the same as Anderson Silva, 205, you know, and even moving up to heavyweight. There’s a lack of options and top-quality fighters.”
Before returning at UFC 285, Jones last fought against Dominick Reyes in February 2020. After being inactive for three years, ‘Bones’ became the new UFC heavyweight champion by taking out Gane with ease, extending his record to 27-1. There were questions about how he would fare in his new division, but the former light heavyweight king proved once again that he’s arguably the best fighter to step foot in the Octagon.
THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME IS NOW THE HEAVYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMP 🏆
JON JONES SUBMITS CIRYL GANE!! #UFC285 pic.twitter.com/JOiAnweVJ5
— UFC (@ufc) March 5, 2023
Watch Josh Thomson question Jon Jones’ legacy below:
Josh Thomson discredits Jon Jones’ resume
Jon Jones has a phenomenal resume that features wins against Daniel Cormier, Shogun Rua, Rashad Evans, Quinton ‘Rampage Jackson, Glover Teixeira, and more. Along with a handful of wins against MMA legends, Jones also holds impressive accolades, including eleven successful title defenses, youngest UFC champion, and the longest unbeaten UFC streak.
During the same podcast episode, Josh Thomson discredited Jones’ resume by saying:
“Everyone is like Jon Jones fought Shogun Rua. I said, yeah, he fought good guys, but I wouldn’t say they were towards the end [of their careers], but they definitely weren’t in their prime… I look at the level of competition, those guys at 185, they are not as well-rounded as the ones at 170, 155, 145, 135…”
Jones was only minutes removed from defeating Ciryl Gane before his next opponent became clear. ‘Bones’ called out Stipe Miocic, who was sitting ringside, for his first heavyweight title challenger. Dana White has also confirmed Miocic is the number one contender. The intriguing world championship fight is expected to go down in July at International Fight Week.
"Y'all want to see me beat up Stipe?"
Jon Jones called out Miocic after becoming heavyweight champion 👀 #UFC285 pic.twitter.com/rbocduGATD
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 5, 2023
