Are MMA fighters less athletic compared to other sports? Fans started asking that question after Jon Jones delivered an underwhelming performance at Celebrity Sweat’s flag football game during Super Bowl 2026. In the charitable matchup, an NBA player outclassed ‘Bones’ on the field, pushing fans to believe that MMA fighters lag in pure athletic prowess.

“Jon Jones just got his ankles snatched by Dwight Howard in a celebrity football game 🥀,” Happy Punch posted, sharing a 30-second clip of Jones getting his ankles snatched by the eight-time All-Star.

In the video, Jon Jones was seen running as the ball was passed into Howard’s hands. With all his might, the former UFC champ chased the legendary basketball player to get the ball out of his hands. However, the All-Star beat the MMA star on all fronts and scored a crucial point for his team by using an ankle snatch, a defensive technique that involves tripping your adversary to stop the play.

For a charitable event where celebrities from different backgrounds come out to play, they usually do not get overly competitive. Still, Jones not putting up a strong showing despite being widely regarded as the GOAT of MMA rubbed fans the wrong way.

This stood out even more, considering that ‘Bones’ actually got his moniker from his coach back when he used to play American football in his college days.  

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So when fans saw Jones struggling on the field, MMA fans did not just call him out for failing to perform well in another sport. While taking shots at the former two-division champion, they also questioned the overall athleticism of martial artists, so let’s take a look at what they are saying.

Jon Jones’ rough flag football outing sparks fans calling MMA fighters unathletic

One user chimed in and wrote, “This just demonstrates how easy it would be for a world-class athlete to absolutely dominate MMA.”

Another fan followed that sentiment and took direct shots at Jones’ accolades, writing, “The best fighter that has ever lived runs like he’s never played a sport in his life.”

For MMA fans, Jon Jones is the pinnacle of the sport, both in terms of achievements and athleticism. So it’s quite understandable that they didn’t like seeing the best the UFC has ever produced getting dominated by elite players from a different sport. But ‘Bones’ was at his athletic peak when he fought at 205 lbs. Later, he jumped to heavyweight, and that added size likely affected his running ability.

Even with that context, another user commented, “Another example of how most MMA fighters are nowhere near the level of athlete as other athletes in other sports are.” That view also ignores the fact that fighting is a very different sport, where athletes do not have to run nearly as much.

Touching on that point, another wrote, “It’s hilarious how uncoordinated Jon looks here considering he’s the goat in MMA and hie good his brothers were at football.”

‘Bones’ late brother Arthur Jones played for the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL, and recalling that, one fan said, “Mind you, his brothers played in the NFL 😭.”

Then, one took another shot at the former UFC champ, saying, “I doubted the hip thing was true at all. I now think it was,” after looking at Jones running despite his past claims of severe hip problems.

Now, do you also think that MMA fighters are actually less athletic, or was this just a 38-year-old heavyweight Jon Jones showing his age on the field?