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Josh Thomson thinks that the talent available in Jon Jones’ weight classes holds him back from being named the greatest fighter in MMA history.
“Bones” already held the distinction of being considered the GOAT by many fans and peers, but the 35-year-old only added to his case by claiming a second UFC title in the main event of UFC 285. The win was made all the more impressive by the fact that Jones was making his heavyweight debut after a three-year layoff, and he needed just over two minutes to hand Ciryl Gane the second loss of his career.
Jones joined an exclusive list of fighters that have won UFC titles in two different weight classes, but former UFC and Bellator lightweight Josh Thomson recently told “Big” John McCarthy that there’s an important factor holding back his case for GOAT status.
“I guess I would like to do like a really big, deep dive on considering him the GOAT,” Thomson began. “But I know that, I know there’s gonna be a lot of people that are gonna say like ‘Oh, you’re just…’ It doesn’t matter what they’re gonna say, I don’t even care what they say anymore. It just, I – even if it wasn’t Jon, let’s say it was Dan Henderson, or say it was Randy Couture, say it was somebody like that. I would still feel the same way.”
Thomson: Jones’ Record Lacks “Top Quality Fighters”
Having competed in arguably the sport’s deepest division during his own career, Thomson argues that the level of talent in a weight class needs to be considered when establishing which fighter stands out as the sport’s GOAT.
Jones became the youngest champion in UFC history at UFC 128. (Zuffa LLC)
“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. Now, everyone was saying ‘Well Jon Jones fought Shogun Rua, he fought..’ Yeah, he fought good guys, but they were also kind of towards – I don’t wanna say they were towards the end, but they definitely weren’t in their prime. ‘Shogun’ had a lot miles on him before he even got to the UFC.”
Jones captured the UFC’s light heavyweight title by defeating Rua in 2011 and went on to make his first four title defenses against fighters that were previously UFC champions. Issues outside of the cage have seriously threatened to derail his career on several occasions, but after his last few light heavyweight title defenses were relatively lackluster it appears “Bones” may have found some new life at heavyweight.
The dust still needs to settle in the immediate aftermath of a UFC 285 card that saw two new UFC champions crowned, but Jones seems open to taking on another former champion for the first defense of his new title.
What’s your reaction to Thomson’s argument about why Jones can’t be considered MMA’s GOAT?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
[embedded content]
Josh Thomson thinks that the talent available in Jon Jones’ weight classes holds him back from being named the greatest fighter in MMA history.
“Bones” already held the distinction of being considered the GOAT by many fans and peers, but the 35-year-old only added to his case by claiming a second UFC title in the main event of UFC 285. The win was made all the more impressive by the fact that Jones was making his heavyweight debut after a three-year layoff, and he needed just over two minutes to hand Ciryl Gane the second loss of his career.
Jones joined an exclusive list of fighters that have won UFC titles in two different weight classes, but former UFC and Bellator lightweight Josh Thomson recently told “Big” John McCarthy that there’s an important factor holding back his case for GOAT status.
“I guess I would like to do like a really big, deep dive on considering him the GOAT,” Thomson began. “But I know that, I know there’s gonna be a lot of people that are gonna say like ‘Oh, you’re just…’ It doesn’t matter what they’re gonna say, I don’t even care what they say anymore. It just, I – even if it wasn’t Jon, let’s say it was Dan Henderson, or say it was Randy Couture, say it was somebody like that. I would still feel the same way.”
Thomson: Jones’ Record Lacks “Top Quality Fighters”
Having competed in arguably the sport’s deepest division during his own career, Thomson argues that the level of talent in a weight class needs to be considered when establishing which fighter stands out as the sport’s GOAT.
Jones became the youngest champion in UFC history at UFC 128. (Zuffa LLC)
“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. Now, everyone was saying ‘Well Jon Jones fought Shogun Rua, he fought..’ Yeah, he fought good guys, but they were also kind of towards – I don’t wanna say they were towards the end, but they definitely weren’t in their prime. ‘Shogun’ had a lot miles on him before he even got to the UFC.”
Jones captured the UFC’s light heavyweight title by defeating Rua in 2011 and went on to make his first four title defenses against fighters that were previously UFC champions. Issues outside of the cage have seriously threatened to derail his career on several occasions, but after his last few light heavyweight title defenses were relatively lackluster it appears “Bones” may have found some new life at heavyweight.
The dust still needs to settle in the immediate aftermath of a UFC 285 card that saw two new UFC champions crowned, but Jones seems open to taking on another former champion for the first defense of his new title.
What’s your reaction to Thomson’s argument about why Jones can’t be considered MMA’s GOAT?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Click here to view the article.
“Bones” already held the distinction of being considered the GOAT by many fans and peers, but the 35-year-old only added to his case by claiming a second UFC title in the main event of UFC 285. The win was made all the more impressive by the fact that Jones was making his heavyweight debut after a three-year layoff, and he needed just over two minutes to hand Ciryl Gane the second loss of his career.
Jones joined an exclusive list of fighters that have won UFC titles in two different weight classes, but former UFC and Bellator lightweight Josh Thomson recently told “Big” John McCarthy that there’s an important factor holding back his case for GOAT status.
“I guess I would like to do like a really big, deep dive on considering him the GOAT,” Thomson began. “But I know that, I know there’s gonna be a lot of people that are gonna say like ‘Oh, you’re just…’ It doesn’t matter what they’re gonna say, I don’t even care what they say anymore. It just, I – even if it wasn’t Jon, let’s say it was Dan Henderson, or say it was Randy Couture, say it was somebody like that. I would still feel the same way.”
Thomson: Jones’ Record Lacks “Top Quality Fighters”
Having competed in arguably the sport’s deepest division during his own career, Thomson argues that the level of talent in a weight class needs to be considered when establishing which fighter stands out as the sport’s GOAT.
Jones became the youngest champion in UFC history at UFC 128. (Zuffa LLC)
“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. Now, everyone was saying ‘Well Jon Jones fought Shogun Rua, he fought..’ Yeah, he fought good guys, but they were also kind of towards – I don’t wanna say they were towards the end, but they definitely weren’t in their prime. ‘Shogun’ had a lot miles on him before he even got to the UFC.”
Jones captured the UFC’s light heavyweight title by defeating Rua in 2011 and went on to make his first four title defenses against fighters that were previously UFC champions. Issues outside of the cage have seriously threatened to derail his career on several occasions, but after his last few light heavyweight title defenses were relatively lackluster it appears “Bones” may have found some new life at heavyweight.
The dust still needs to settle in the immediate aftermath of a UFC 285 card that saw two new UFC champions crowned, but Jones seems open to taking on another former champion for the first defense of his new title.
What’s your reaction to Thomson’s argument about why Jones can’t be considered MMA’s GOAT?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
[embedded content]
Josh Thomson thinks that the talent available in Jon Jones’ weight classes holds him back from being named the greatest fighter in MMA history.
“Bones” already held the distinction of being considered the GOAT by many fans and peers, but the 35-year-old only added to his case by claiming a second UFC title in the main event of UFC 285. The win was made all the more impressive by the fact that Jones was making his heavyweight debut after a three-year layoff, and he needed just over two minutes to hand Ciryl Gane the second loss of his career.
Jones joined an exclusive list of fighters that have won UFC titles in two different weight classes, but former UFC and Bellator lightweight Josh Thomson recently told “Big” John McCarthy that there’s an important factor holding back his case for GOAT status.
“I guess I would like to do like a really big, deep dive on considering him the GOAT,” Thomson began. “But I know that, I know there’s gonna be a lot of people that are gonna say like ‘Oh, you’re just…’ It doesn’t matter what they’re gonna say, I don’t even care what they say anymore. It just, I – even if it wasn’t Jon, let’s say it was Dan Henderson, or say it was Randy Couture, say it was somebody like that. I would still feel the same way.”
Thomson: Jones’ Record Lacks “Top Quality Fighters”
Having competed in arguably the sport’s deepest division during his own career, Thomson argues that the level of talent in a weight class needs to be considered when establishing which fighter stands out as the sport’s GOAT.
“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. Now, everyone was saying ‘Well Jon Jones fought Shogun Rua, he fought..’ Yeah, he fought good guys, but they were also kind of towards – I don’t wanna say they were towards the end, but they definitely weren’t in their prime. ‘Shogun’ had a lot miles on him before he even got to the UFC.”
Jones captured the UFC’s light heavyweight title by defeating Rua in 2011 and went on to make his first four title defenses against fighters that were previously UFC champions. Issues outside of the cage have seriously threatened to derail his career on several occasions, but after his last few light heavyweight title defenses were relatively lackluster it appears “Bones” may have found some new life at heavyweight.
The dust still needs to settle in the immediate aftermath of a UFC 285 card that saw two new UFC champions crowned, but Jones seems open to taking on another former champion for the first defense of his new title.
What’s your reaction to Thomson’s argument about why Jones can’t be considered MMA’s GOAT?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Click here to view the article.
