Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Rashad Evans believes Jon Jones Is the MMA GOAT, Says Deniers Are Haters

Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Jon Jones, with a stellar 28-1 MMA record and 22-1 in the UFC, retired without facing the former interim and the current heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall in a title unification fight, which has ignited fierce debates on various social media platforms. Many consider Jones the greatest MMA fighters ever and rightfully so, citing his dominance across light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions for across two decades. His career in the UFC is marked by creative striking, submissions, and fight IQ, and a record 15 UFC title fight wins.

However, critics, including Ariel Helwani, question his GOAT status due to multiple failed drug tests for banned substances like turinabol in 2017 casting a shadow over his achievements. Others, including former rival Daniel Cormier, has also called Jones out for avoiding a potential mega fight with Tom Aspinall, arguing it tarnishes his legacy. This divide between those who revere Jones’ in-cage brilliance and those who highlight his controversies, has continued to fuel a lot of discussions about his place in MMA history. While some may believe that Jones is the GOAT, others feel that he is far from it.

“You cannot be the GOAT, if you have multiple PED infractions on your record”

– Ariel Helwani on Jon Jones GOAT status pic.twitter.com/L4WUD4FRvc
— Dovy🔌 (@DovySimuMMA) June 24, 2025

Rashad Evans Defends Jones as the GOAT

Rashad Evans, a former UFC light heavyweight champion and Jones’ ex-teammate turned rival, firmly believes that Jones is the MMA GOAT. Speaking on MMA on Sirius XM, Evans dismissed critics as haters, emphasizing on Jones’ legacy in the UFC. Despite their personal history, where Jones decisively beat Evans at UFC 145, Evans praised Jones’ prime, talking about his creative fighting style, his execution, and mental toughness despite personal struggles that Jones has been through.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by MMA Junkie (@mmajunkie)

He argued that newer fans who is unfamiliar with Jones’ prime focus too much on the recent drama like the Aspinall snub. Evans insisted that Jones’ accomplishments, including winning two-division titles, will stand in the very end, regardless of any drug test controversies that Jones went through. He also noted that Jones’ unique mental edge and physical gifts and talent, set him apart from the rest of the fighters. While Evans acknowledged their rivalry, but he made sure to give credit where it is due, stating Jones’ risk-taking and fighting intelligence in the cage keeps him unmatched.

For Evans, we could make out that denying Jones’ greatness requires ignoring his impact on the sport. And if other former UFC greats like Khabib Nurmagomedov claimed that Jones was the best to ever do it, there has to be a lot of validity on his GOAT status. Whether or not a fan may agree with this is up to them, but what you cannot deny is Jones is one of, if not, the best fighters to walk this planet.

Jon Jones

Rashad Evans

UFC

Eric Divakaran

nba

nfl

mma

I cover the National Football League and things cannot get better than that. I always dreamed to play football or basketball professionally since I’m built like a Running Back. But now that I can’t, since I’m technically in the “Unc” age, I thought why not pick a career in sports industry? So here I am, doing what I love, and hoping that the Commanders win the Super Bowl. I give love to players when it’s due, but can be critical about their performances at the same time. Enough about me, now let my articles do all the talking.