“I think my confidence offends a lot of people, but I think people should learn from it and be inspired by it, instead of finding it offensive,” Jon Jones once said of people calling him ‘cocky’. But ‘Bones’ has earned the right to be this way having never actually lost a fight in his nearly two-decade UFC stint. Dana White, of course, doesn’t tire of reminding us of this fact and that is why the UFC CEO fervently believes the current heavyweight champion to be the MMA GOAT.

But given everything else, especially the champ’s conduct outside the Octagon, many still despise his supreme self-confidence. However, MMA legend Bas Rutten, who has a profound understanding of the sport second to none, feels like the New Mexico native’s attitude is justified.

“He’s actually a really good guy, you know, I really like Jon, you know, also to talk with him and he’s very deep.” Rutten told on the Buiten De Kooi- MMA Podcast. “But I think he had a lot to live up to with his unbelievably talented brothers, you know.”

“And maybe there comes the little cocky thing out, you know, which you have to have. I had it. You have to, you can’t go to a fight thinking you’re going to lose, that’s the dumbest thing on the planet. You’re going to win, you know. ‘Yeah, but I’m fighting…yeah, but you’re going to win. I mean you don’t want to start doubting yourself that’s the worst thing you can do,” he added.

Both of Jones’ brothers, Chandler and Arthur played in the NFL. Both have even won a Super Bowl apiece. Indeed, competing with brothers who have won literally the most prestigious trophy in American sports is indeed an uphill task. But the former UFC champ justifiably feels that the New Mexico native’s GOAT contender status still means he can claim to be the best athlete in his family.

Many coaches will tell you that most of the fighting is mental, in which case, being cocky is indeed a good idea. That doesn’t mean you won’t lose, but having total belief in yourself does increase your chances of winning. Confidence is key, as they say, and there is no shortage of that as far as Jon Jones is concerned.

Bas Rutten defends Jon Jones’ partying before fights

The thing that makes Jon Jones’ continuing success in the UFC even more surprising is that he has admitted to having partied hard in the weeks leading up to his fights. Don’t get us wrong, the GOAT contender is famous for relentlessly watching tape and meticulously preparing for his opponents. This is probably why he reportedly wants six months to prepare for a title unification bout with Tom Aspinall.

And while most feel partying so close to fights could be detrimental to Jones’ chances of winning, Rutten disagrees. The Dutch legend feels that elements of partying and the painstaking preparations are two sides of the same coin.

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“And then you hear these stories, why he did c—ine the day before and the reason he’s doing that he has a way out for when he would lose the fight, okay. So that means that’s an insecurity. Is that a bad thing? No, it’s not a bad thing because apparently that insecurity for him works really well in preparing for the fight, you know. So he takes that and he has to make sure that he trains so hard that that little tiny insecurity thing stays really tiny,” he added.

As Rutten pointed out, there is a method to ‘Bones’ and his madness. Khabib Nurmagomedov or Islam Makhachev, for instance, have been extremely successful because of the utter discipline they live their lives with. However, Jones has found another, but equally effective method to succeed in MMA, which Rutten somewhat agrees with. Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke, as they say, and Jones’ unorthodox ways certainly game cannot be said to be broken. What do you think about Bas Rutten’s take on Jon Jones’ cockiness and penchant for partying?