Ahead of his highly anticipated return to the UFC, Jon Jones has named his top five fighters of all time.
Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) returns from a more than three-year layoff when he takes on Ciryl Gane (10-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) for the vacant heavyweight title in the UFC 285 headliner on March 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Former light heavyweight champ Jones is widely considered as one of the greatest fighters of all time and thinks becoming a UFC champ-champ would solidify him as No. 1 all time.
Joining him on his list are four other fighters. Scroll below to see Jones’ top five from his interview with RMC France.
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1
Jon Jones
Jon Jones gets a pass for including himself, because few will disagree.
Jones collected 11 title defenses overall as light heavyweight champion and has never lost outside of a 2009 disqualification setback against Matt Hamill in a fight he was dominating. His wins include finishes of Alexander Gustafsson, Vitor Belfort, Lyoto Machida, Quinton Jackson, and Mauricio Rua.
2
Anderson Silva
The former UFC middleweight champion started off his octagon tenure at 16-0 – a record that’s yet to be beaten. Silva notched 10 title defenses as 185-pound champ and secured several finishes at light heavyweight. “The Spider” dazzled with memorable knockouts over the likes of Vitor Belfort, Forrest Griffin, Chael Sonnen, and Rich Franklin in title fights.
3
Georges St-Pierre
One of the most well rounded fighters to ever grace the octagon, St-Pierre defended his welterweight title nine times against the likes of B.J. Penn, Carlos Condit, Jake Shields, Nick Diaz, and Johny Hendricks. After stepping away from the sport for four years, St-Pierre returned to win a second UFC belt, dethroning Michael Bisping to become middleweight champion in November 2017 at UFC 217.
4
Khabib Nurmagomedov
Khabib Nurmagomedov retired as an undefeated, undisputed lightweight champion. “The Eagle’s” dominance has rarely been seen, and he appeared to only be getting better before deciding to hang up his gloves in October 2020.
Nurmagomedov defended his lightweight title three times, finishing Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje.
5
Jose Aldo
Arguably the greatest featherweight of all time, Aldo is owner of the most successful title defenses in UFC featherweight history at seven. His title defenses included wins over Chad Mendes, Frankie Edgar, and Chan Sung Jung.
Aldo also reigned supreme over the WEC’s featherweight division before getting promoted as UFC champion, when he beat the likes of Cub Swanson, Mike Brown, and Urijah Faber.
