Ilia Topuria Names His Undisputed GOAT of MMA: 'For Me, He's Number One'

Ilia Topuria is the UFC featherweight champion. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @iliatopuria

Ilia Topuria has been taking advantage of the hype surrounding his name. The UFC featherweight champion (up to 65,7 kg) has been one of the fighters most sought after by fans and for having won the belt against Alexander Volkanovsky and the defended before Max Holloway, there are those who say that he deserved the title of fighter of 2024 instead of the light heavyweight champion (up to 93 kg.), Alex Poatán. But when it comes to the undisputed greatest of all time, 'El Matador' believes one man stands above the rest.

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The conversation about who really is the greatest MMA fighter of all time is a never-ending debate that often sees names like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva as part of the conversation. But for Ilia Topuria, there is a fighter with unparalleled success inside the octagon: Jon Jones.

'Bones' is by far the most dominant champion in UFC history. As a light heavyweight, he successfully defended his title 11 times across two separate title reigns. Along the way, he picked up victories over the likes of Quinton 'Rampage'Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad evans, Victor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Alexander Gustafson e Glover Teixeira. Jon Jones further expanded his legacy in March 2023 with a dominant first-round submission victory over Cyryl Gane to win the vacant UFC heavyweight title. He also brutalized Stipe Miocic in his first title defense at UFC 309, in November last year.

These would be the reasons why 'El Matador' believes that 'Bones' is above other notable fighters like Khabib and his protégé in the lightweight division (up to 70,3kg.), Islam makhachev.

“The first has to be Jon Jones. You have to give this man credit. When I see people comparing him to Dagestani guys like Khabib [Nurmagomedov] and Islam makhachev — all respect to the champions, but how many fights does Khabib have in the UFC? 14, 15 fights? Jon Jones has 15 title defenses. For me, he is number one,” Topuria said in an interview with Full Send Podcast when asked about his top three GOATs.

Ilia Topuria believe that Jon Jones is the undisputed GOAT of MMA. Photo: Reproduction/UFC India

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The next step for Jones is a title unification fight with the current interim heavyweight champion, Tom aspinall. When, where and even if this fight will take place remains to be seen, but UFC President Dana White remains confident that they can get a deal between the two fighters for a showdown in 2025.

In the UFC's weight-for-pound rankings, Ilia Topuria is in fourth place, behind the champions Islam makhachev (1º), Jon Jones (2th) and Alex Poatán (3º).