Despite his past struggles, Jon Jones is undoubtedly one of the greatest fighting talents in the MMA world. Holding the record for the most title fight wins, many people might compare him to Michael Jordan, who’s arguably the biggest basketball player ever. However, Demetrious Johnson begs to differ, citing a key criterion why he wouldn’t put Jones on the same stage as the 6-time NBA champion.

Michael Jordan was the first billionaire sportsperson ever, but before that, he was a player with an unmatched level of skill and consistency. He kept reaching new heights in the NBA, stamping his mark on the sport’s history, and that’s the exact reason why Demetrious Johnson doesn’t rate Jon Jones the same way. Instead, he believes no other fighter developed quite like he did.

“When you look at the later years of Jon Jones’s career… those fights weren’t as exciting… At the end of my career, I’m doing flying armbars in a world title fight, right? If you look at whose skillset developed over time, I would say mine did. When you look at Michael Jordan, I felt like his skillset kept on developing,” Demetrious Johnson stated on the ‘Anik & Florian Podcast’.

Nevertheless, the flyweight legend gave the well-deserved flowers to Jon Jones, understandably claiming that “it’s two different sports.” However, he doesn’t think people should compare him to Jordan, who’s an icon, not just in sports but in global culture as well. “[Jones] one of the greatest, but I wouldn’t put him on the level of Michael Jordan,” Demetrious Johnson added. ‘Mighty Mouse’ also once mentioned that Jones could have done one thing in the past that he hasn’t done to date.

Before comparing him to Michael Jordan, Demetrious Johnson once mentioned about Jon Jones’s missing accolade

What’s bigger than being a one-division champion? The answer would be a two-division champion, which is something that Jon Jones achieved in a pretty comfortable fashion at UFC 285. But what he hasn’t achieved is what Demetrious Johnson believes ‘Bones’ could have “easily” done if he hadn’t added weight to jump into the heavyweight division – a simultaneous two-weight champion, or, as most would say, a double champion.

“I honestly didn’t think he had to put all that weight on to do what he just did. He could’ve done all that at 205 [pounds] because, at the end of the day, it’s not like he’s going against a massive jiu-jitsu wrestler in the heavyweight division. Jon Jones is long. He has a range advantage in most of his fights,” Demetrious Johnson stated on ‘The MMA Hour’ over a year ago.

Jon Jones may not have the chance to become a double champion since he’s constantly hinting at riding off into the sunset after the Stipe Miocic clash. Also, even if he’s not on the same level as Michael Jordan for Demetrious Johnson, Dana White will surely always revere him as the G.O.A.T, like he always does on every single chance the UFC CEO gets. Regardless, would you agree with the former UFC and ONE Championship kingpin? Drop your comments below.