Coach disputes Jon Jones’ status at GOAT following UFC 285 win: ‘You can’t fail drug tests and be the greatest’

Tristar MMA head coach, Firas Zahabi has disputed the consensus call of Jon Jones as the greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time off the back of his UFC 285 heavyweight title victory earlier this month – pointing to the Endicott native’s prior failed drug tests.

Jones, a former two-time light heavyweight champion to boot, headlined UFC 285 last weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada – clinching the vacant heavyweight title with a dominant, first round guillotine choke submission win over former interim gold holder, Ciryl Gane. 

Locking his hands round the waist of Gane in the early goings of their main event clash, Jon Jones dragged the Frenchman to the ground – before scooting his way to the Octagon fence.

Fighting hands for some time, Jon Jones locked up a guillotine choke on Gane – forcing a rather timely tap on the MMA Factory Paris staple, minting himself as the heavyweight champion.

And off the back of his victory, Jones has been touted as both too much for former undisputed titleholder, Francis Ngannou – and former two-time titleholder, Stipe Miocic by Zahabi – with the latter expected to return fight Jones at UFC 290 in July. 

“Jon (Jones) with one ab, beat Ciryl Gane – easy,” Firas Zahabi said on his YouTube channel. “And if they restarted that fight, I would pick Jon. If they restarted that fight 10 times, I would pick Jon. I think he’s levels above [everyone else].”

“And if he fights (Francis) Ngannou – call me crazy if you like, but he’s going to beat Ngannou,” Firas Zahabi explained. “Not that he’s going to fight Ngannou – I don’t think that fight’s going to happen. But he beats Ngannou. And if he fights (Stipe) Miocic, I’m telling you guys now – I haven’t done a pre-fight analysis [yet] – he’ll beat Miocic. He’ll beat him.” 

Firas Zahabi disputes Jon Jones’ status as the GOAT

However, Jones, who had tested positive for a turinabol metabolite following an eventual official ‘No Contest’ against Daniel Cormier in 2017, has been ruled out of the GOAT debate by Zahabi – who claims he should have been slapped with a lifetime suspension from MMA.

“Jon Jones calls himself the GOAT,” Firas Zahabi said on his YouTube channel. “I hate to say it, he’s not the GOAT. You can’t fail drug tests and be the GOAT. If you guys ask me, can i put my vote in the hat? If you get caught on a banned substance – okay not weed or like they have some weird things on there – if you get caught with a hormone, I cthink you should be banned for life. It’s irreversible by the way, the University of Toronto they have a study on hormones and PEDs, and the effects are irreversible.”