Demetrious Johnson Chimes In On The GOAT Debate
Demetrious Johnson has given his thoughts on the current debate about who is the greatest MMA fighter of all-time.
‘Mighty Mouse’ has a strong case himself as a long term UFC champion who made 11 successful defence of his 125lb belt before moving on to ONE Championship where he is their current grand prix champion. UFC middleweight titleholder Israel Adesanya recently threw his weight behind Johnson as the MMA GOAT debate rages on.
In an interview with MMA Junkie, Johnson revealed his personal opinion is that Jon Jones is the greatest fighter ever.
“Jon Jones has gotta be No. 1 for me,” Johnson said. “His title reign, I’ve seen him train before, how he’s beaten so many great light heavyweights before. And then after that it starts to get cloudy, I’m not gonna lie. I think there are athletes that are on their way, like if Khabib would keep on fighting and do five or six or seven or eight more fights, then I’ll definitely throw him in.
Johnson believes longevity should be a key component when assessing greatness.
“For me, I like to see longevity. I like to see dominance. Longevity is a big thing,” Johnson said. “When you look at Jon Jones, I think he’s 15 world title fights? That’s a lot of work of staying motivated, staying on top to keep on winning. I think Izzy is on his way. If he goes up to light heavyweight and beats the champion there, and he goes up to fight Jon Jones, he’s definitely on his way.”
“Is it a popularity contest? What exactly puts you in that discussion of greatest of all time? For me, it’s longevity, how many championships have you done, a little bit of everything. For me, that’s why I put Gegard in there because when I watch him, I’m like, look at his hands, look at his grappling, look at his submissions. He can do it all.
“Jon Jones, look at his grappling, look at his hands, look at his submissions, look at how long he’s been a champion.”
Do you agree with Demetrious Johnson? Is Jon Jones the GOAT?
