When it comes to the MMA GOAT, Yahoo’s Ariel Helwani says Jon Jones cannot be mentioned due to his use of performance-enhancing drugs and how he handled the end of his UFC run.
Ariel Helwani Slams Jon Jones, Takes Him Out Of GOAT Conversation
I'm tired of beating around the bush. I don't want to hear the GOAT talk when it comes to Jon. I'm sorry.
You cannot be the GOAT if you have multiple PED infractions on your record.
You cannot be the GOAT if you didn't want to do what others did for you. Time-honored tradition,… pic.twitter.com/DB0TCmU2ij
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 23, 2025
Jones surprised the MMA world on Saturday night by announcing his retirement from the UFC.
Jones was the current UFC Heavyweight Champion and was rumored to be fighting interim champion Tom Aspinall this year. Ultimately, Jones opted for retirement instead of fighting Aspinall.
Helwani has been adamant in his reporting that Jones, Aspinall, and UFC had an agreement for a championship fight. However, Jones changed his mind and backed out of the fight.
With Jones’ time in the UFC complete, the GOAT conversation about who the greatest MMA fighter is of all time has reignited. Jones holds a career record of 28-1, with the lone loss coming via disqualification for illegal elbows in 2009.
Jones also has a no contest on his resume in 2017 after defeating Daniel Cormier for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Jones’ knockout victory was overturned due to a positive test for a Turinabol metabolite. The UFC also stripped Jones of the title.
These PED violations are one of the reasons why Helwani refuses to put Jones as his MMA GOAT.
“I don’t want to hear the GOAT talk,” Helwani said on The Ariel Helwani Show. “I’m sorry. I’m tired of beating around the bush here. You cannot be the GOAT if you have multiple PED infractions on your record. You can’t.”
Jon Jones Didn’t Fight Tom Aspinall When He Could Have
Besides the PEDs, Helwani won’t have Jones in his GOAT argument because he refused to fight Aspinall.
“You cannot be the GOAT if you didn’t want to do what others did for you. Time-honored tradition, you fight the top contenders,” Helwani said. “Not only was Tom Aspinall the top contender, he was the interim champion for almost two years. You didn’t want to fight him.”
While Jones is one of the best light heavyweights ever, he’s only fought twice at heavyweight. Jones beat Ciryl Gane and Stipe Miocic in his two heavyweight fights.
Aspinall would have been Jones’ biggest test in the division. Helwani even believes it would’ve been one of Jones’ biggest fights ever.
“The Tom-John fight would have been the biggest fight of Jon Jones’ career since DC2 in 2017, eight years ago,” Helwani said. “So this idea that [Aspinall] doesn’t excite you, that he hasn’t done enough is hogwash. Look at his resume, look at Jon Jones’ resume. Not even close. As far as heavyweight, not even close, not even close.
“Tom is a natural real heavyweight who has fought them all. And done it the right way and has had the shortest time in the octagon. And what did I tell you guys from the beginning? … He [Jones] was in and then he was out. They got him the money and then they didn’t. Meaning he was in, and then he said he didn’t want to fight anymore.”
Aspinall is now the UFC Heavyweight Champion and will likely fight his next opponent this fall.
