Khabib Nurmagomedov has high praise for a fellow fighting legend.
The undefeated Nurmagomedov is a mainstay in any “greatest fighter of all time” discussion, but in the wake of Jon Jones’ retirement announcement, he went as far as to say that Jones is the best fighter “in UFC history.”
Check out Nurmagomedov’s tribute to Jones below (via Instagram Stories):
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@khabib_nurmagomedov, Instagram
“My congratulations, legend,” Nurmagomedov said. “Even we was not friends but you are the best who ever do it in UFC history and you inspire millions of people around the world. You have nothing more to prove in this sport.”
Both Nurmagomedov and Jones went their entire MMA careers without suffering a true defeat inside the cage. Nurmagomedov went 29-0, closing out his UFC career in 2020 coming off of four straight UFC lightweight title fight wins; Jones retires at 28-1 (1 NC), with his lone loss being a disqualification for illegal downward elbows in a 2009 bout against Matt Hamill.
Jones became a superstar overnight when, at 23, he defeated Mauricio Rua for the light heavyweight title to become the youngest champion in UFC history, a record that still stands. He went on to defend that title 11 times in total and after a brief sabbatical from 2020-2023, moved up to heavyweight and became a two-division champion when he beat Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 for a vacant belt.
The main blemishes on Jones’ record stem from his outside-of-the cage missteps. Jones’ first light heavyweight reign ended when he was stripped of the title following a hit-and-run conviction in April 2015 and when he later regained the title with a win over rival Daniel Cormier at UFC 214, that result was overturned due to Jones subsequently testing positive for banned substances.
The 37-year-old has also been charged with DWI on more than one occasion and with domestic battery in September 2021.
Even Jones’ retirement announcement had a shadow cast over it this past Saturday as it was reported the same evening that Jones had recently been charged with leaving the scene of an accident.
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