LAS VEGAS -- Although UFC 285 won’t be a PPV blockbuster like any event headlined by Conor McGregor, it can be argued that the main event heavyweight title showdown between former interim champion Ciryl Gane and the returning Jon Jones is perhaps the most important in terms of defining a legacy.
The one thing the UFC has struggled with is having the ability to its their wagon to a fighter who felt indestructible for an extended period of time to the point where that fighter’s greatness is undeniable. For the most part, everyone eventually loses in MMA because there are simply too many ways to lose a fight. The turnover of champions is a carousel that never seems to stop. In the 30 years that the promotion has existed, very few fighters have strung together extended stretches of dominance against elite competition.
As great as Anderson Silva was, he had been submitted twice before he entered the UFC and it can be debated that his torrid run was through opponents that weren’t necessarily considered great. Georges St-Pierre’s GOAT status is also deniable because of his losses to Matt Serra and Matt Hughes along the way. Khabib Nurmagomedov’s tenure just wasn’t long enough to be considered the greatest UFC fighter of all time.
And then there’s Jon Jones.
Already considered by many to be the greatest mixed martial artist of all time, Jones will have a chance to put an emphatic stamp on his legacy at UFC 285.
All he has to do is defeat Ciryl Gane and become the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion.
No big deal, right?
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It’s a massive deal. It may be the biggest deal in UFC history. Don’t let Dana White fool you when he says other fights are “bigger” than this because they aren’t. They may have more mainstream appeal or be a grudge match that has the world talking but the result of Jones-Gane could cause a seismic shift in how a legacy is perceived.
If Jones wins, there are no more questions to ask. This is a degree of dominance that we have never seen in the UFC. After three years on the shelf, he will move up to the land of the giants and attempt to capture a title in another weight class. Yes, it’s been done before. But has there been another two-division champion who has been so dominant for so long? The only thing Jon Jones knows how to do is win and the only blemish on his record — a disqualification loss to Matt Hamill in 2009 — was in a fight that Jones was absolutely mauling his opponent but his vicious elbow strikes were deemed illegal. And his No Contest against Daniel Cormier was a knockout overturned because of a failed drug test. And under USADA, that failed drug test wouldn’t hold water by today’s standards.
This is Jon Jones in a new weight class after dominating light heavyweight for over 12 years. While some may question the resumes of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Anderson Silva, Jones has one of the best fighting portfolios of all-time. His 14 title fight victories are the most in UFC history and have come against fighters who were all considered at the top of their game. Maurico “Shogun” Rua, Lyota Machida, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Glover Teixeira, Alexander Gustafsson and Daniel Cormier are all quality opponents and “Bones” has defeated them all in ways that they were never defeated.
MORE: Jon Jones timeline: From last fight in 2020 to headlining UFC 285
One can argue that they were never the same again after losing to “Bones.”
If it wasn’t for his antics outside of the Octagon and a failed drug test that wouldn’t hold water by today’s USADA standards, Jones would have easily smashed the record for longest tenure as a UFC champion. The current record is held by Anderson Silva with 2,457 days as middleweight champion. Had Jones not had his issues, his light heavyweight title reign from March 19, 2011 to August 17, 2020 (when he officially vacated the title) would have been an astounding 3,440 days.
Untouchable.
“I feel like I really don’t have anything to prove,” Jones said at the final press conference before Saturday’s showdown. “But I want to be someone that people look up to in the future and see that you can just keep going and success is not a coincidence. It’s earned day in and day out.”
The 35-year-old that still holds the record as the youngest UFC champion when he defeated Shogun Rua at the age of 23 tries to stay out of the GOAT conversation. However, he’s often questioned the dominance of his peers on social media. It’s not that he’s insecure of his status but he is aware that the longer he’s away, the more people will inject the latest surging fighter into the conversation. Whether that be Israel Adesanya or Alexander Volkanovski, Jones tends to swat away suggestions that he has competition on top of the mountain.
He has a right to be defensive because nobody has sustained a veil of invincibility for as long as Jones. But there’s a part of him that knows his extended hiatus means that there could be newer fans who didn’t get a chance to see Jon at his best in real-time. Instead, some caught a glimpse of Jones somewhere around the Dominick Reyes and Anthony Smith fights where Jones wasn’t at his most dominant.
This is his chance to prove them wrong and put a definitive end to the conversation.
“If there is any debate out there (Jon Jones beating Ciryl Gane) would definitely be the end of it,” UFC president Dana White said about Jones’ G.O.A.T. status. “When you look at Jon’s career he should be undefeated. He should be 27-0 right now. The (Mark Hamill) fight should have been a stoppage and not a DQ. That one drives me crazy. If you look at the people he went through to get that title, it’s very impressive and undeniable that he’s the greatest of all time.”
Like most, White believes Jones has done enough to be considered the G.O.A.T. However, an argument can still be made against him. Whether it is his inactivity or his underwhelming last few performances, there are still those who aren't quite believers.
At UFC 285, Jones has the chance to make history and put an end to the debate once and for all.
And the UFC can finally say that they have their undeniable G.O.A.T.
