Syracuse Orange: Jon Jones cements himself as GOAT at UFC 239

Central New York legend Jon Jones cemented himself as the GOAT at UFC 239. Here’s how he did that and what’s next for the local star.

The debate is over Jon Jones is the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time) after his record-breaking performance vs Thiago Santos at UFC 239.

His dominance has been prevalent throughout Jones’ mixed martial arts career that officially started back in 2008 when he made his UFC debut.

Fast-forward less than three years later, Jon Jones became the youngest UFC champion in history with his defeat of UFC legend Shogun Rua.

Since that point, “Bones” Jones has defended his title 13 times in totality, 14 if you count a dominant win over rival Daniel Cormier back in 2017. Although that win was expunged from the record books because Jones post-fight tested positive for turinabol (which is an anabolic steroid).

Which speaking of, what good story doesn’t have its’ ups and downs?

Despite having immense talent in the octagon, Jon’s worst enemy has always been himself (here are some highlights via UFC.com):

• In May of 2012, Jones drove his vehicle into a pole in upstate New York. Jon pled guilty to DUI charges.
• Jones has been criticized for poking his opponents in the eyes and has been accused of this throughout his career. Upon hearing fan criticism, Jon posted a video on social media mocking fans crying about it.
• In January of 2015, it was revealed that Jon failed a drug test prior to UFC 182. Although this time it wasn’t an anabolic steroid, it was cocaine. Further testing revealed that the substance was out of his system prior to his fight, but a serious issue nonetheless.
• In April of 2015, Jon ‘Bones’ Jones was involved in a hit-and-run. In the incident, Jones was alleged to have run a red light and crashed his rental car in a collision involving two other vehicles. Jones allegedly fled the scene of the crash on foot, leaving an injured pregnant woman behind in another vehicle.
  • This latest stunt was the last straw and the UFC stripped Jon of his title, removed him from their official rankings, and suspended him indefinitely.

This will never be on Jon Jones’ highlight reel, but these are the events that happened. Prior to these incidents, many considered Jon Jones one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all-time.  But his future was very much in question, but he found a way back over a year later and has since regained his UFC Light Heavyweight championship.

Championship gold runs in the Jones family, both of his brothers are former Syracuse football players who went on to have (and continue to have) long NFL careers that both included Super Bowl championships with the Baltimore Ravens (Arthur Jones) and the New England Patriots (Chandler Jones) respectively.

Jon Jones is still the UFC Light Heavyweight champion after successfully defending his crown at UFC 239 vs the latest opponent (Thiago Santos) that was hellbent on dethroning the true king.

But why is he the GOAT?

• The UFC Light Heavyweight division is and has been one of the most competitive divisions in all of MMA over the last 20-years. During that time, Jon has faced the best-of-the-best and has come out victorious every time.
  • Vitor Belfort (submission)
  • Rashad Evans (decision)
  • Lyoto Machida (submission)
  • Maurício “Shogun” Rua (technical knockout)
• The list goes on and on of UFC legends, young stars, old stars, it didn’t matter whoever stepped foot inside the same octagon as Bones Jones met the same fate: defeat.

Jon now sits at 25-1-1 overall, although his blemishes on his resume; loss and no contest were self-inflicted wounds due to some bad refereeing from north-to-south elbows and an illegal knee.

Although it’s kind of fitting that Jon Jones’ pursuit of the GOAT label hasn’t been perfectly scripted. There has been plenty of bumps in the road, but that makes success that much sweeter. After his latest title defense, it finally feels like his legacy has been cemented.