DC’s Coach Says Jon Jones’ Doping Should Disqualify Him From GOAT Talk, Cites Lance Armstrong
Javier Mendez, the legendary coach of both Daniel Cormier and Khabib Nurmagomedov, has a problem with Dana White’s insistence that Jon Jones is the GOAT of mixed martial arts.
On more than one occasion, the UFC CEO has engaged in a fiery back-and-forth with the MMA media over his belief that ‘Bones’ is the greatest fighter of all time and thus, should be sitting atop the pound-for-pound rankings. However, respected journalists like Kevin Iole and John Morgan suggest that Jones’ lack of activity should exempt him from the P4P list.
During a recent episode of his own podcast, Mendez seemingly sided with Iole and Morgan, but for a decidedly different reason.
“Dana is still insisting that Jon Jones is pound-for-pound #1,” Mendez said. “He has his valid points, but my valid point is I just want to say one thing: Lance Armstrong. Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France how many times, and basically, he got all those titles taken away from him because of one thing—doping. And even though it was many years later that they caught him, he lost all the Tour de France titles.
“Well, it’s been a fact, it’s been proven, Jon Jones has been caught doping. So, I’m sorry, I think that disqualifies him just based on that alone” (h/t MMA News).
Jon Jones was flagged for use of an anabolic steroid in 2017
Following his third-round TKO victory over Cormier at UFC 214, it was revealed that Jones had tested positive for turinabol, an anabolic steroid typically used by athletes and bodybuilders to increase muscle mass and enhance their athletic performance.
As a result, the win for Jones was overturned to a no-contest and he was slapped with a 15-month suspension by the California State Athletic Commission.
Jones returned 17 months later to reclaim the light heavyweight title. He would go on to defend it three more times against Anthony Smith, Thiago Santos, and Dominick Reyes before vacating the belt and announcing his move to heavyweight.
Fast forward another three years, ‘Bones’ finally made his heavyweight debut, defeating Ciryl Gane to claim the vacated title with a quick two-minute submission of ‘Bon Gamin’ at UFC 285.
Jones is yet to defend the title but is slated to square off with former two-time titleholder Stipe Miocic this November when the UFC returns to Madison Square Garden.
