Jon Jones continues to lead the UFC’s GOAT charge in the eyes of many, but things could have played out differently.
Few debates have been as polarizing as the discussion over who holds the crown as the greatest of all time in the UFC and MMA as a whole.
From Jones and Demetrious Johnson to Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva, a host of names are often thrown around behind passionate arguments.
One former two-division champion is firmly behind the current heavyweight king’s claim to the throne, but he does admit that one fellow legend could have contended if he had just one more fight.
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Henry Cejudo says Georges St-Pierre needed to defend the middleweight title to rival Jon Jones in GOAT debate
The topic of who the greatest of all time is arose during an episode of Jake Shields’ Fight Back podcast alongside former flyweight and bantamweight UFC champion Henry Cejudo.
Having felt St-Pierre’s talents at UFC 129, where the Canadian broke the record for the most consecutive welterweight title defenses, Shields is seemingly backing ‘Rush’.
Cejudo was quick to disagree, outlining that St-Pierre needed to defend the middleweight belt — which he claimed in what turned out to be his final fight — to rise to Jones’ level.
“F—ing GSP. I don’t agree with you [that he’s the GOAT]. He ain’t the greatest of all time,” Cejudo said.
“I think there was — I think if he would have even defended his middleweight title when he came back, that would have really cemented him,” Cejudo added. “Jon Jones would be like, ‘Hey, dude!'”
Georges St-Pierre doesn’t see Jon Jones as the greatest of all time
Interestingly, even though he wouldn’t self-proclaim himself as the leading candidate, St-Pierre still doesn’t see Jones as the GOAT.
In fact, while listing some of the potential contenders during a Q&A staged prior to the recent UFC 315 pay-per-view in Canada, ‘GSP’ didn’t even put ‘Bones’ among seven names.
“Well, there’s a lot of guys that can be there. First, Jon Jones, Demetrious Johnson, Anderson Silva, Khabib [Nurmagomedov].
“Also, [Conor] McGregor could be there because he brought the sport to a different level. Prime Jose Aldo, prime Fedor Emelianenko, there’s a lot of guys that could be there.”
St-Pierre went on to reveal that his top spot goes to Royce Gracie, who is considered to be one of the most influential figures in MMA history.
“Royce Gracie, for me, is my number one.”
What’s certain is that the debate will remain incredibly subjective, and perhaps St-Pierre will get more backers as Jones continues to get flak for allegedly ‘ducking’ Tom Aspinall.