Is Jon Jones Better Than Khabib Nurmagomedov?

Khabib Nurmagomedov announcing his retirement from MMA was a shock to the MMA world. Just as it looked like Khabib was on the path to establish him as an undisputed G.O.A.T., he had to end his career after his father’s demise. The narrative on social media since that announcement almost exclusively refers to Khabib as the G.O.A.T.

Jon Jones is not pleased. Jones has a larger resume inside the UFC and way more experience in championship fights. While Jones was always in this debate, he has taken offense at people outright declaring Khabib as the greatest. His Twitter has been a calamity to follow, as Jones spent a lot of time disputing the argument for Khabib over him.

But who really takes it? Is Jones a more legitimate contender for G.O.A.T. than Khabib? Let’s take a look.

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Jon Jones: Who wins?

Obviously, we can never see them fight. Beyond Khabib’s retirement, there is a 50-pound gap in their division. Jones actually moved up, which gives him leeway till 265 pounds, as compared to Khabib’s 155. But what we can evaluate are their achievements in the UFC.

Khabib Nurmagomedov is a perfect 29-0 in his career, winning 13 UFC fights, His victim list has former champions Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor, and Rafael dos Anjos. Outside Tony Ferguson, he almost cleared the top of his division. However, his career also has long stretched of inactivity and not nearly as many miles as Jones.

Jones has 26 wins and 1 loss in his MMA career. His loss is often considered illegitimate, as he was disqualified for landing illegal elbows (which is a whole debate on its own). He also had one win overturned due to a failed drug test (second fight with Daniel Cormier). However, Jones entered the UFC with 6 fights under his belt, compared to Khabib’s 16.

Jon Jones has won 20 UFC bouts, with 15 of them being at the championship level. Jones is undefeated in all those fights, establishing a glittering resume as a champion. However, it is the drug test failures that Jones has had which add a question mark to this conversation.

Is Jon Jones’s case for G.O.A.T. hurt?

Simply speaking, yes. Many people disqualify fighters that have failed in-competition drug tests from G.O.A.T. conversations. This is also why some people neglect to mention Anderson Silva. Silva and Jones appear on G.O.A.T. lists depending on whether that curator cares about their drug failures.

Khabib’s case is a lot more pristine for being a clean 29-0. Even if Jones could get the Hammil loss overturned (which he can’t), his record would be 27-0-1. That final one, which refers to a no contest, will always hurt his legacy. So if you factor that in, Khabib probably does get the nod ahead of Jones.

However, Jones’s body of work is so vastly superior to Khabib’s that it is hard to dismiss him. 15 championship fights to 4 is a bad ratio to be on the losing end of. It is inarguable when you look at it without context. Jones is clearly a better G.O.A.T. candidate than Khabib. So at the end of the day, it is just a matter of perspective.

Both men are tremendous fighters, despite the qualifiers that you add to this conversation. But to dismiss either to make the other seem better is disrespectful to both. They have both earned their praises and criticisms, and their record in the sport is vaunted. As Georges St-Pierre said, everyone has moments where they are G.O.A.T’s. These two have aplenty, and should be respected for those moments rather than pit against each other.