Jon Jones dismissed Islam Makhachev from the GOAT conversation and revealed that Ilia Topuria was the first fighter he viewed as a real threat to his own GOAT status ⚠️ “Honestly I thought that Ilia would be the first threat to being considered the greatest of all time. And then we saw what happened to him.” [ via @princestreetpizza ]
Jon Jones has weighed in on the GOAT debate, dismissing Islam Makhachev from the conversation and naming Ilia Topuria as the first fighter he saw as a genuine threat to his own claim as the greatest of all time. The comments circulated on October 21.
"Honestly I thought that Ilia would be the first threat to being considered the greatest of all time," Jones said. "And then we saw what happened to him." The remark appears to refer to Topuria's knockout loss to Justin Gaethje, which came in the fourth round of a title fight at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14, 2026. That defeat is the only blemish on Topuria's 17-1 record and his most recent recorded fight.
The fighters
Jones, 39, holds a 28-1 record and is known for his 84-inch reach, a 213 cm span that sits well beyond either of the other fighters in this story. His most recent recorded fight was a third-round TKO of Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 on November 16, 2024. He lands 4.38 significant strikes per minute at 58 percent accuracy and averages 1.89 takedowns per 15 minutes.
Topuria, 29, is a Spanish lightweight who still holds the number one divisional ranking and the number one pound-for-pound ranking. Before the Gaethje loss he stopped Charles Oliveira in the first round at UFC 317 in June 2025 and Max Holloway in the third at UFC 308 in October 2024. He lands 4.81 significant strikes per minute, though his accuracy sits at 48 percent.
Makhachev, 34, is the reigning welterweight champion at 29-1. His most recent recorded fight was a unanimous decision over Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330 on August 15, 2026, his third straight title-fight win in our records. The Russian averages 3.22 takedowns per 15 minutes, the highest rate of the three, with a modest 2.27 significant strikes per minute.
Why it matters
- Jones tied his assessment of Topuria to a single result, suggesting one knockout loss was enough to end the Spaniard's GOAT trajectory in his eyes.
- Jones also left Makhachev out of the discussion, despite the champion's recent run of title wins.
- The numbers show three different profiles: Jones and Topuria are volume strikers, separated by 0.43 significant strikes per minute, while Makhachev wins through grappling.
