American Kickboxing Academy head coach Javier Mendez said that, by his standards, he can’t rate Jones as MMA’s greatest of all time, due to his various indiscretions – both sporting and otherwise – during his career.
And, as he gave his assessment, he likened Jones’ position to that of former cycling great Lance Armstrong, whose legacy was tainted by his use of performance-enhancing substances during his career.
“He’s gonna be remembered by some as the greatest of all time, not by me because I remember what you do outside [the cage], how you played the game,” Mendez told Genting Casino – who offer the best Live Casinos.
“He has been caught cheating, so how can you consider him the greatest? If Lance Armstrong is not the greatest cyclist of all time because he was caught doping, then how can Jon Jones be considered the greatest of all time?
“To me, it’s what you do outside, not just what you do inside, and already he’s in trouble again.
“In boxing, I consider Muhammad Ali the greatest of all time. In the ring, I consider Floyd Mayweather the greatest of all time, but [because of the way he carried himself] outside of boxing, Muhammad Ali, to me, is the greatest boxer of all time.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mendez said that he views one of his former students as the best to ever compete in MMA, as he gave that honour to former undisputed UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“I consider Khabib the greatest of all time because of what he did outside too, and what he’s continuing to do outside, what he stands for, what he represents,” he said.
Despite Jones’ retirement and recent legal issues, Mendez said a return to MMA might not be out of the question for Jones.
“[A comeback] is possible with him. He’s still a great, great fighter,” he said.
“I slightly give him the edge over Francis and Tom had he fought those guys, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if Jones would have been 0-2 either with those guys.”
