UFC CEO Dana White has made it clear what he thinks about Jon Jones. In a past interview with Kevin Iole, the UFC boss had stated, “Jon Jones is the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, period. End of story.” Well, Kamaru Usman took that one step further in a recent interview with Daniel Cormier. The former welterweight champion stirred the MMA world with a bold statement, comparing Jon Jones to none other than NBA legend Michael Jordan.

But not everyone was ready to hop on that train. In fact, Cormier’s immediate reaction made it clear that the conversation was about to take a wild turn. What exactly did Usman say that sparked this reaction? And what did Belal Muhammad have to say about the statement that made Cormier nearly walk mid-interview? Let’s take a look and explore what went down!

Belal Muhammad comes to Daniel Cormier’s aid after Jon Jones remark triggers former ‘champ-champ’ 

On the latest episode of the ‘Pound 4 Pound’ podcast, Kamaru Usman stated, “Jon is at the level as as far as UFC’s concerned. Jon is at the level…Jon is at the level that Conor is at to where he could select…”. But as Usman spoke, Cormier, never one to hold back, interrupted with disbelief. “I thought you were about to say Michael Jordan or some crazy sh*t like that,” Cormier quipped, half-seriously.

While ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ tried to calm Cormier down, the former ‘champ-champ’ jokingly threatened, “If you were to say that, I was leaving.” You could feel the tension in the room but Usman, unfazed, pressed on and stated, “To be honest, Jon is in a sense the Michael Jordan that we’ve seen in MMA.”

“No. He isn’t,” Cormier fired back. Usman tried to defend his stance, stating that Jones, despite his controversies outside the Octagon, has reached an iconic level in the sport. But Cormier wasn’t having it as he responded by stating, “So Jon Jones is… so you telling me Jon Jones is Michael Jordan and LeBron James of MMA? You’re gonna sit up here, real life, on 1,2,3,4, 5 cameras.”

But Cormier wasn’t the only one to chime in. Belal Muhammad, the UFC welterweight champion, also took to social media to throw some shade. “Told you that podcast sucks,” Muhammad commented on Instagram, referencing the entire exchange between Usman and Cormier.

At the heart of the discussion is a fascinating question: What does it take to be considered an all-time great? Because according to another UFC veteran, Jon Jones may need to put his retirement plans on hold to cement his legacy in the sport!

Chael Sonnen believes Tom Aspinall fight is a must for Jones to be “remembered”

The discussion surrounding the UFC 309 fight between Stipe Miocic and Jon Jones has been clouded over with a recent statement by ‘Bones’. According to a statement made to ‘Clocked N Loaded’, Jones stated, “It’s going to be the last time. More than likely.” With Tom Aspinall, the UFC interim heavyweight champion confirmed as the backup for UFC 309, and the title unification still up in the air, Jones’s decision to possibly retire after the Miocic fight caused a lot of uproar in the MMA world.

But according to Chael Sonnen, Jones isn’t done just yet as he stated on his YouTube channel, “I don’t believe this is going to be Jon’s last fight. I don’t believe there’s a scenario that Jon Jones does not fight Tom Aspinall. I believe, if Jon beats Stipe, he draws right into Tom Aspinall and doesn’t flinch.”

The UFC veteran also shared that even if Jones were to lose to Miocic, he would still fight Aspinall. Why? Sonnen further explained, “But how you’re remembered in something you contributed so much to, you would like to be remembered. That’s reasonable. That’s human nature. And Jon, while he is super, maybe he is super at a skill compared to other human beings, he is still a human being.”

As Jon Jones heads toward what might be his final fight against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, the question of his legacy looms larger than ever. While Kamaru Usman sees Jones as the “Michael Jordan” of MMA, not everyone, including Daniel Cormier, agrees. Cormier’s sharp dismissal of the comparison highlights just how polarizing the discussion is. Will a victory at UFC 309 over Miocic cement Jon Jones as the undeniable GOAT of MMA, or does a matchup with rising star Tom Aspinall still stand between him and true greatness? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!