Jon Jones is widely considered the greatest of all time in MMA, but he viewed former UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria as potentially the best candidate to eventually take that mythical spot from him.
Heading into his most recent fight at the UFC White House card, Topuria was already a two-division champion, undefeated and held wins over several future UFC Hall of Famers. But Justin Gaethje ultimately put on a stellar performance to stop Topuria in the fourth round as he claimed the belt and ended his run.
“Ilia Topuria [excites me],” Jones said when speaking to Prince Sreet Pizza. “Before that White House card, I looked at him as [invincible]. As bad as I want other fighters to come and beat my records and become the next greatest, there’s another side of me that wants to hold onto that for my kid’s sake and my family’s honor.
“Honestly, I thought Ilia would be the first threat to be considered the greatest of all time and then we saw what happened to him.”
While the loss was shocking and definitely served as setback in Topuria’s career, Jones still praised him for what he’s been able to do thus far in the UFC.
“But when it comes to entertainment, his boxing and his power and his confidence and everything about him,” Jones said. “I like the way he carries himself outside the ring. He comes from a successful family and he’s a guy who doesn’t have to fight, he doesn’t need the money but he does it out of love and those are the reasons that made me a big Ilia fan.”
Jones added he expects Topuria to bounce back and thanks to sharing the same manager, he’s heard that the now-former UFC champion is definitely doing everything to return to his winning ways.
“He’s doing all the right things,” Jones said. “His recovery, all of it, he’s a guy who deserves to win.”