“This guy’s fight IQ is off the charts, and now can everybody admit that this guy is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world.” That’s UFC CEO Dana White handing Jon Jones the GOAT status after he beat Stipe Miocic. And many would agree with that assessment as well. However, ‘Bones’ is not the only man in such discussions. 

“Definitely. He’s the man.” That’s Dana White as well, agreeing with a reporter to call Demetrious Johnson the GOAT. And there’s no argument against this either. Clearly, there’s quite the competition around it. But who really is the GOAT then? Well, the legends of MMA recently met during the celebrity football game for Super Bowl LX and settled the debate.

‘Bones’ tells Demetrious Johnson what the GOAT debate is about

As the pair got to talking in ‘Mighty Mouse’s YouTube video during the celebrity football game, ‘DJ’ explained, “Me and [Jon] battled for so many years to see who’s #1 and #2, but he was always #1.” This prompted Jones to suggest that both of them are respected tremendously by the public. “But for totally different reasons,” Jones added. 

Johnson chimed in, highlighting what Jones believed. “He was always like why does there always have to be one. I was like, you know what… There has to be one,” Johnson said. So, Jones finally settled the GOAT debate, telling Johnson, “Who’s the best is always gonna be an opinion. It’s great to be mentioned in the conversation. That’s what it’s about. We made it.”

But what if there has to be a singular name? Well, let’s break it down! Jones had a dominant light heavyweight reign in his prime, with multiple title defences against some of the toughest competition in the sport, like Daniel Cormier, Rashad Evans, and others. Meanwhile, Johnson is widely regarded as one of the most technically skilled and complete fighters ever.

Johnson even had an 11-fight UFC title defense streak at flyweight before moving to ONE Championship. From the outside, both seem neck-to-neck in terms of achievement. However, what makes the difference is what happened outside of the cage. Although Jon Jones is the greatest, he failed drug tests, and his career is marred by legal issues.

Johnson never had those problems—his record has always been free of doping scandals. That’s why even though he has a few losses, he is the better fighter than Jon Jones, who, don’t forget, never ended up fighting Tom Aspinall. Still, the GOAT debate is highly subjective, and that’s portrayed perfectly in this expert’s opinion. 

Dustin Poirier names Jon Jones his GOAT

Speaking to CasinoBeats last year, Dustin Poirier didn’t mince his words while naming ‘Bones’ Jones his MMA GOAT. “Jones is the G.O.A.T. to me,” Poirier said. The former interim lightweight champion even explained his rationale behind the decision. “He’s never lost. He fought everybody, and now he’s doing it at heavyweight.” 

Poirier added that Jones is “just a special individual” and called him “the best pound-for-pound No.1 MMA fighter ever.” ‘The Diamond,’ who retired in July following his loss to Max Holloway at UFC 318, has spent 16 years competing against elite opposition, giving weight to his assessment. But he is technically wrong about one thing.

While Jones has never been defeated, he did lose one fight. He was disqualified in the fight against Matt Hamill in 2009 after ‘Bones’ threw multiple 12-6 elbows. These strikes were illegal under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts at the time. Referee Steve Mazzagatti initially penalized Jones with a point deduction for the illegal elbows. 

However, when Hamill was unable to continue after the strikes, Mazzagatti reviewed the action via instant replay. The referee determined that the illegal elbows contributed to Hamill’s inability to continue and disqualified Jones. However, the 12-6 elbows have since been legalized in the sport, which has led many to ask for the loss to be turned into a no-contest.

It appears Jon Jones has settled for just being mentioned in the GOAT debate. But what do you think? Who do you think is the real Greatest of All Time?