Failed drug tests don’t stop Chael Sonnen from calling Jon Jones the best.
The previous UFC heavyweight and lightweight heavyweight champion is widely seen because the leading candidate for GOAT status due to his record-breaking profession contained in the Octagon.
No fighter has competed in or won more title fights within the promotion, essentially the most recent of which got here when Jones beat Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 to defend the heavyweight title for the primary time in late 2024.
But while his long list of achievements led to ‘Bones’ taking first place in a Bloody Elbow fan vote to find out MMA’s GOAT, some consider past drug test failures should disqualify Jones from the conversation.
Despite their history, Sonnen isn’t considered one of them.
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Chael Sonnen insists Jon Jones’ failed drug tests don’t take away his GOAT status
The talk over the Rochester native’s position within the GOAT debate was recently brought back to the surface by Khabib Nurmagomedov’s coach, Javier Mendez.
The American Kickboxing Academy trainer named Nurmagomedov the best over Jones resulting from the American’s failed drug tests.
Sonnen lost to Jon Jones at UFC 159 and has never shied away from a possibility to get at his former bitter rival since then.
But he was as an alternative defending ‘Bones’ in response to Mendez’s comments, downplaying the drug indiscretions and backing his claim to the final word crown.
“I don’t know that Jon ever took anything that the remainder of them didn’t take,” Sonnen said in a video on his YouTube channel. “But he got caught for it.
“I’m going to must go together with no…Jon Jones failing a PED test makes him not the cleanest fighter of all time, (but) it doesn’t disqualify him from being the best fighter of all time,” he added.
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Jon Jones plans to cement his GOAT status with one final UFC fight
Despite all that he has achieved contained in the Octagon, Jones may not be done adding fights to his résumé just yet.
Despite announcing his retirement when vacating the heavyweight throne last summer, it didn’t take long for the 38-year-old to make a return declaration.
Jones desires to make a UFC comeback on the White House and has been pleading with Dana White to alter his stance on a possible clash with light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
The UFC president has held firm to date, however the likes of Conor McGregor and Joe Rogan have called for White to make a U-turn and book the fight for Washington D.C. on June 14.