LAS VEGAS – When the day comes for Jon Jones to retire, he will leave the sport with a laundry list of accolades. He’s a surefire UFC Hall of Famer, a multi-time UFC titleholder and perhaps the greatest MMA fighter of all-time.
One career label that won’t be attached to him (at least for now), however, is that of an undefeated fighter. Jones (24-1 MMA, 18-1 UFC), who puts his light heavyweight belt on the line against Thiago Santos (21-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 239 headliner, currently has just a singular blemish in the loss column on his record.
The lone defeat came in infamously controversial fashion, when Jones was disqualified for illegal 12-6 elbows against Matt Hamill at The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale in December 2009. The nature of the DQ has been discussed for years, with points ranging from Steve Mazzagatti’s questionable refereeing in the fight to the validity of the rule that led to Jones’ loss.
Last week, UFC president Dana White stated in an interview on ESPN Radio’s “The Sedano Show” that the UFC is exploring the possibility of reversing the result via the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
“It was the weakest commission ever in the history of Nevada, and the referee that reffed that fight shouldn’t have even been in there, and he disqualified Jon, which shouldn’t have happened, either,” White said. “So hopefully we can get that overturned.”
Jones expressed his thoughts on the situation during Thursday’s UFC 239 media day and the pluses and minuses of what it would mean for his sole loss to be overturned.
“Look at the history books, man,” Jones said. “It doesn’t lie. If you look at my record, those numbers don’t lie. Honestly, I do see the good in it. I think it’d be great for the organization to market an undefeated champion.”
If Jones’ record were to become flawless, he said he believes it would add a level of added pressure to win that doesn’t currently exist.
“Personally, it takes a lot of stress off me to not be this undefeated champion,” Jones said. “But I do see the good in it. Floyd Mayweather. Boxing has Floyd Mayweather. He means a lot to the sport of boxing. I see how my legacy means a lot to the sport, and if Dana wants me to be undefeated, I don’t think too many people would argue with him.”
Time will tell whether the NSAC will agree to overturn the Hamill vs. Jones result, but “Bones” currently has more important things to do deal with, such as his defense against Santos at T-Mobile Arena. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.
To hear more from Jones, check out the video above.
For more on UFC 239, check out the UFC schedule.
