Michael Chandler refuses to add Jon Jones to his list of greatest fighters for this reason

Michael Chandler refuses to add Jon Jones to his list of greatest fighters for this reason

(Left) Jones and (right) Chandler

Jon Jones doesn’t deserve to be in the GOAT conversation according to Michael Chandler. His reasoning for that decision is simple, the multiple instances of Jones testing positive for banned substances, more commonly known as performance enhancers.

Chandler, who entered the UFC in 2020, has since made a huge splash thanks to his exciting fighting style. Despite being 2-2 in the UFC, he’s a fan favorite for always delivering high-paced, thrilling fights. At a podcast appearance with Patrick Bet-David, Chandler talked about his rankings of the UFC GOAT.

“This one’s hard, because I’m very conflicted on Jon Jones, because of the failed drug tests, I feel like once you’ve failed a drug test, you pull yourself out of the GOAT talk, “ said Chandler as he still credited Jones for being the most dominant fighter in the history of the company, albeit with an asterisk next to his name.

“I would put over him [Jones] would be Georges St-Pierre, because of the way he carried himself, he did have some losses”, said Chandler as he was reminded again that despite the failed tests, Jones is still undefeated.

He then named Khabib Nurmagomedov as his number 2 spot, followed by Anderson Silva at number 3, ironically Silva also had tested positive for Performance Enhancers, something he blamed on tainted Viagra pills.

Chandler is not alone in his view of Jones’s legacy, as ex-UFC superstar Nate Diaz also shared the same view on the former Light Heavyweight Champion.

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How Many times has Jon Jones tested positive for PEDs?

Jon Jones x Michael Chandler
Jones TKO victory over Cormier was overruled to a no-contest as he result of his positive test

Jones has tested positive for banned substances on 3 separate occasions. Apart from this, he tested positive for cocaine metabolites prior to his first clash against Daniel Cormier at UFC 182. However, cocaine not being on the list of banned substances allowed the bout to proceed.

Before his second fight against Cormier at UFC 200, Jones tested positive for the banned substance, Clomifene and Letrozole. This led to Jones being cut out from UFC 200, to be replaced by Anderson Silva. He would, later on, exonerate himself after investigations found out that the substance entered his body via tainted products.

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His most grave steroid test came up again after his rematch against Cormier when he tested positive for Turinabol, in both before and after fight samples. This led to his KO victory over Cormier being ruled as a no-contest with Jones being stripped of the title.

This same test would come back to haunt him before his rematch against Alexander Gustafson when he tested positive for trace amounts of the same drug. However after the event was moved from Nevada to Los Angeles, the California State Athletic Commission allowed Jones to compete as they put forth the infamous “pulsing effect” theory

Also Read: Jon Jones’ plan of moving up to heavyweight was a decade-long dream