Mike Tyson And Francis Ngannou Name Jon Jones As Their MMA ‘GOAT’
It seems Mike Tyson and Francis Ngannou share a similar opinion on who the greatest MMA fighter ever is. The two personalities recently sat down to discuss all things related to combat sports and named Jon Jones as their personal MMA ‘GOAT.’
Jones is widely considered to be the greatest mixed martial artist of all time by many MMA enthusiasts. After defeating Mauricio Rua to win the light heavyweight title at UFC 128 in March 2011, ‘Bones’ became the youngest champion in promotional history. He was 23 years old at the time.
He soon solidified his status as the most dominant UFC champion with a record-breaking 11 title defenses. His championship run included victories over world-class opponents like Daniel Cormier, Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort, and Glover Teixeira.
Jon Jones was lauded by almost every major MMA entity for his dominant fighting style, technical abilities, and adaptability. With his exceptional wrestling skills and unique striking, Jones was an unsolvable enigma for his opponents. Outside the octagon, ‘Bones’ is widely known to be a cultural icon, thanks to his larger-than-life persona and propensity for finding trouble.
In a recent episode of GOAT Talk for Complex, Francis Ngannou and Mike Tyson revealed who they thought was the greatest MMA fighter of all time. While ‘Iron Mike’ claimed he saw many other fighters like Khabib Nurmagomedov as bonafide legends, Jones stood apart. Tyson cited Jones’ perseverance in the face of hardships as his reason for picking him as the ‘GOAT.’
Meanwhile, Francis Ngannou claimed that until his fight against ‘Bones’ doesn’t materialize, Jones would be his ‘GOAT’ as well. ‘The Predator’s opinion was especially surprising to fans, considering the ugly history between him and Jones.
Jones was initially expected to fight Ngannou in December 2022, however, that bout fell through after negotiations went sour. Francis Ngannou later quit the UFC in January 2023 due to a falling out with the UFC executives. ‘The Predator’ is now booked to face Tyson Fury in the boxing ring on October 28 in Saudi Arabia.
