Jon Jones credits Conor McGregor with making MMA the success it is today: ‘I love what he did for the sport’

UFC heavyweight world champion Jon Jones has a ton of respect for Irish megastar Conor McGregor.

For more than a decade, mixed martial arts has been dominated by two names; Jon Jones and Conor McGregor. ‘Bones’ has been smashing the competition since his debut at UFC 87 more than 15 years ago. During his run, Jones has captured both the light heavyweight and heavyweight world titles, establishing himself as perhaps the greatest fighter in the history of the sport.

In the midst of Jon Jones’ dominance emerged an Irish fighter destined for stardom. Conor McGregor took the UFC by storm, working his way up to become a two-division world champion, holding the featherweight and lightweight titles simultaneously. During that time, McGregor’s special brand of trash-talk and fight promoting made him the biggest name in the business. To this day, McGregor is still responsible for eight of the UFC’s 10 highest-selling pay-per-views in the company’s 30-year history.

During a recent episode of the OverDogs podcast, Jon Jones heaped praise on Conor McGregor, suggesting the Irishman helped push the sport forward unlike anyone before him.

“I’d love to see McGregor come back. He will always get my PPV. I love what he did for the sport,” Jones said. “I love the businessman that he is, the mindset, the marketability. I mean he fast-forwarded this whole game up at least 10 years. And he’s always going to have my support.”

Conor McGregor is an Icon Amongst Men

After capturing the lightweight title against Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205, McGregor traded in his four-ounce gloves for a pair of eight-ounce ones, stepping into the squared circle for a scrap with legendary pugilist Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather. McGregor came up short, suffering a 10th-round TKO, but that was to be expected considering he was taking on one of the greatest boxers in the history of the sport.

McGregor recently wrapped up his tenure on season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter and is slated to square off with opposing coach ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler in his long-awaited return. When and where that fight happens is still the subject of much debate, but the Irishman has repeatedly insisted that the fight will go down despite rampant skepticism amongst fans.