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Jon Jones has a lot of trouble with the adoration Khabib Nurmagomedov is shown following his win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254.
While the former UFC light heavyweight champion praised Nurmagomedov following the announcement that he was retiring from the sport, Jones later targeted the undefeated Russian after he began competing for the top spot in the UFC pound-for-pound rankings.
In fact, Nurmagomedov made a very public plea during his retirement speech that he wanted to win that No. 1 ranking after moving his record to 29-0 while only losing two rounds in total during his entire UFC career.
Meanwhile, Jones has held that number one position most of the time since the UFC first introduced those rankings in 2013, and he’s obviously not ready to just quit.
“This is number one shit,” Jones wrote on Twitter after the new pound-for-pound rankings were posted with Nurmagomedov at number one overall.
In recent days, Jones has continued to criticize anyone who puts Nurmagomedov ahead of him on the pound-for-pound list, let alone the much-debated “best of all time” argument.
Jones has pointed to his decade of dominance in the UFC, which has included the most title fight wins in the promotion (14), the most light heavyweight title fight wins (14), the defenses most successful light heavyweight title winners (11) while also eliminating six former champions along the way.
He just doesn’t understand how Nurmagomedov with 13 total fights in the UFC and only three defenses from his lightweight championship holds up in comparison.
“Unanimous decision on last minute replacement for Al Iaquinta to become champion,” Jones wrote of Nurmagomedov. “Conor McGregor is the only opponent he’s had that the general public really knew about. It catapulted my man to become the greatest of all time, this is hilarious. “
Unanimous decision on last minute replacement Al Iaquinta to become champion ♂️ Conor McGregor is the only opponent he has ever had that the general public really knew about. Catapulted my man to become the best of all, this is funny
– BONY (@JonnyBones) October 27, 2020
Considering Nurmagomedov has already announced his retirement, his place at the top of the pound-for-pound ranking will likely be short-lived unless the reigning UFC lightweight champion opts to remain on the active roster for now.
As for the debate over the GOAT, Jones will likely have to continue that argument for some time, especially if Nurmagomedov has already closed the final chapter of his career.
That said, Jones is expected to move to heavyweight for his next fight, which means he could certainly sway the court of public opinion in his favor rather quickly if he scores some impressive wins or adds another championship to his resume.
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