UFC 239: Jon Jones is the greatest MMA fighter of all-time and there’s no need for a drug-related asterisk
The only man that has ever beaten Jon Jones is himself, in and outside of the octagon
Jon Jones will always divide opinion in MMA. 'Drug cheats' have to live with the eternal stain of the 'performance enhancement' stigma after every success. And it's not a stigma, it's a reality.
Certain supplements and certain products will give a fighter an advantage over their opponent. Do fighters know they are taking them? Did they take enough care to ensure they're not taking them? It's not always black and white, but for most fans, once that test comes back positive, it doesn't matter.
Jones has had plenty of mistakes outside of the octagon that detracts from his wonderful ability inside of it.
'Bones' has been banned from the UFC for failing drugs tests three times. It should have been four times when he tested positive for benzoylecgonine, which is the primary metabolite for cocaine. The only reason he escaped was that the World Anti-Doping Agency does not ban athletes for this out-of-competition.
He has denied he knowingly took any substances every time and in 2016 when he tested positive for clomiphene, an anti-estrogenic substance, and letrozole, an aromatase inhibitor, it was clear these were sexual enhancement drugs.
Despite that fact, he was still banned for a year from the UFC. Then, in 2017, Jones lost his UFC light heavyweight title for a third time after testing positive for the steroid Turinabol.
Furthermore, in 2015, Jones ran a red light and crashed his rental car into two other vehicles, before reportedly fleeing the scene of the crash on foot. In one of the other vehicles, he left a pregnant woman with a fractured arm.
Cops also found a pipe with some marijuana inside his car and once he handed himself in, the UFC stripped him of the title and suspended him indefinitely.
If you've read this far, it goes without saying that Jones has been his own worst enemy at times. It's not like he has taken steroids outright, but cocaine and 'dick pills' as Jones calls them haven't served him well in his MMA career either.
Jones, 31, is 25-1-1 in his career. His one loss was a disqualification for using downward elbows on Mark Hammil in late 2009 - a result UFC president Dana White is working on being overturned - and the KO win against Daniel Cornier in 2017 was overturned and called a no contest after the failed Turinabol drug test.
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The irony is, the only man that has ever been able to stop Jon Jones thus far is - Jon Jones.
On top of all of that, many have questioned his integrity in the octagon. He was often criticised for poking opponents in the eye when finding his range, his use of elbows and, as Anthony Smith can attest to, striking downed opponents.
With all of those blemishes in mind, now let's look at the phenomenon in the cage.
Jones was and still is the youngest ever UFC champion at 23. The New York-born fighter has won a record 14 UFC fights on the bounce and, along with Georges St Pierre, he now holds the record for most successful title matches at 13.
Jones is, quite literally, the perfect fighter. He has fantastic size and range at 205lbs that can dictate any contest. He is lightning fast, nimble and with great takedown defence and offence, for that matter.
His muay thai is excellent - those spinning elbows are a thing of beauty - and he is an expert at creating distance with his opponents and wearing them down with a variety of moves, including electric teep kicks, that sets them up just how he wants them.
There is no weak area for Jon Jones. You can't possibly say 'but what if he fought a grappler' like we did with Conor McGregor before Khabib Nurmagomedov or, 'what if Jorge Masvidal strikes Ben Askren before he can grab him' which we all saw emphatically at UFC 239 - Jones has dealt with every possibility and comfortably.
Just check the list: Alexander Gustafsson (twice), Daniel Cormier (twice), Anthony Smith, Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort, Rashad Evans, Glover Teixeira, Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson, Ryan Bader - who is currently the heavyweight and light heavyweight champion in Bellator - Jones has beaten them all. Convincingly.
After injuring his knee during his victory of Thiago Santos at UFC 239 last Saturday, 'Bones' had to just get the job done. Jones has had nine decision victories in his glorious MMA/UFC career and eight of them have been unanimous.
It wasn't until the Santos fight that a judge had ever given a fight in favour of one of Jones' opponents. That was his first-ever split decision. Do you know how mental that is? At the very highest level?
The technical prowess of Jones, his execution in high-pressure, big fight situations and adaptability to any kind of opponent makes him an all-time great. The only thing preventing people from accepting that reality is his chequered past. Nothing else.
Now he is talking about facing the winner of Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title and becoming a two-weight champion in the process. If that happens and Jones stays on the right path he seems to have finally found, there can be no doubt anymore.
Jones could not lose for the rest of his career and in the eyes of some, that wouldn't be enough to earn GOAT status. For context, Conor McGregor is the biggest box office sensation the sport has ever seen. The man headlined five of the UFC's six highest-grossing pay-per-views ever.
Ronda Rousey transcended the sport. She gave women on all different platforms more power than ever. Dana White said it himself, Rousey was the first true superstar the UFC ever had.
But, Jones is the greatest fighter to ever enter the octagon. In the purest terms, it's that simple.