Jon Anik believes Jon Jones has already surpassed the achievements of boxing legend Floyd Mayweather.
‘Money’ retired with a perfect 50-0 record after winning boxing world titles in five different weight classes and beating the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Canelo Alvarez and Oscar De La Hoya.
Many fans regard Floyd Mayweather as the greatest fighter of all time, but the UFC’s play-by-play commentator believes Jon Jones has already ‘pushed himself beyond’ boxing’s pay-per-view king.
‘Bones’ has just one blemish on his 28-1 (1NC) MMA record. In 2009, he suffered a highly controversial disqualification loss against Matt Hamill when he landed an illegal elbow while battering his opponent.
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The current UFC heavyweight dominated at light heavyweight for a decade before moving up a division and beating Ciryl Gane and Stipe Miocic, who he knocked out at UFC 309 in November.
A unification bout with interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall appears to be next, but Anik insists whatever way that fight goes, Jones’ legacy is secure.
Even though he won’t finish his career with a perfect record like boxing greats Joe Calzaghe and Floyd Mayweather, the fan-favorite UFC commentator believes Jones has surpassed them by testing himself more.
“I think, with respect to Joe Calzaghe and Floyd Mayweather, that Jon Jones has already pushed himself beyond those guys,” Anik told MMA Junkie.
“Even if people want to denigrate the Stipe win because it happened at 42 years of age, I don’t think there really is anything left for Jon Jones to accomplish. But there is financial gain to be had.”
Jon Anik: Jon Jones deserves big payday for Tom Aspinall fight
Jones has been open and honest about his aversion to fighting Aspinall.
The 37-year-old would prefer to fight light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, but Dana White ruled out that matchup immediately after UFC 309.
Aspinall recently told Bloody Elbow that talks with the UFC are progressing well behind the scenes and it’s now ‘very likely’ that he will face Jones in 2025.
For Anik, the fight hinges on how much the UFC is willing to pay the man widely regarded as the greatest in MMA history.
He added: “What he wants like that $30-40-50 million dollar payday, which he so deserves at this time because in heavyweight MMA, anything can happen.
“And certainly, in light heavyweight MMA anything can happen, but the consequences are so great when it comes to four-ounce gloves that these guys chuck.”