Jon Jones
UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones intends to be the Floyd Mayweather Jr. of mixed martial arts. Jon Jones looks prior to a Light Heavyweight titlebout against Alexander Gustafsson of Sweden during the UFC 232 event inside The Forum on December 29, 2018 in Inglewood, California. Jones defeated Gustafsson by KO. Getty Images/Sean M. Haffey

KEY POINTS

  • Jon Jones posted and then deleted a retirement message to Khabib Nurmagomedov
  • Jones had publicly slammed Nurmagomedov’s status as No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the past
  • Jones argued that he recorded more title defenses than Nurmagomedov in the UFC

Five months after it was first announced, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement has finally been acknowledged by UFC president Dana White.

Nurmagomedov stunned the world back in October 2020 when he suddenly announced his retirement from mixed martial arts (MMA) competition following his successful title defense against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254.

It was Nurmagomedov’s third-straight successful championship defense.

Since then, his future with the UFC remained uncertain as people had different takes and opinions as to whether or not he would return to fighting.

It didn’t help that the UFC had not declared the 155-pound title vacant.

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On March 19th, White took to social media to announce that Nurmagomedov had officially called it a career.

Following the announcement, a UFC lightweight championship match between Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler was booked for UFC 262 in May.

Khabib retired with an unblemished 29-0 professional record and ended his career at the top as the UFC lightweight champion and the promotion’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter.

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje
In this handout image provided by UFC, (L-R) Khabib Nurmagomedov of Russia celebrates his victory over Justin Gaethje in their lightweight title bout during the UFC 254 event Getty Images | Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC

His legacy is undeniable. While many will vouch for him as the sport’s greatest of all time, there are a handful of others who understandably believe otherwise.

One of those people is Jon Jones, who wasted little time in sharing exactly how he felt about Nurmagomedov’s retirement in a now-deleted Instagram post.

Thankfully, Twitter user Jason Williams (@jasoneg33) was able to save some receipts, so to speak.

Briefly explained, the post symbolizes Nurmagomedov celebrating his accolades even though they pale in comparison to other champions such as Jones, Georges St-Pierre, Demetrious Johnson, Anderson Silva, Jose Aldo and Stipe Miocic.

Jones added a caption that read “Nothing wrong with going out on top, enjoy retirement champ,” which was obviously a dig at Nurmagomedov and his claim as being the best of all time.

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This isn’t the first time that Jones has set his sights on the Russian and his legacy. In the days after Nurmagomedov’s retirement, discussions about his place among MMA’s best ensued--with some even putting "The Eagle" at the very top ahead of guys like Jones, St-Pierre and Silva.

Obviously, Jones took offense to this and went on a Twitter tirade, downplaying Nurmagomedov’s accomplishments and comparing them to his.

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