Conor McGregor's coach, John Kavanagh, recently shared his picks for an MMA Mount Rushmore. Intriguingly, Jon Jones was conspicuously absent from his list.
The reigning UFC heavyweight champion's name is a natural inclusion in any conversation about the greatest MMA fighter of all time (GOAT), and his achievements would appear to certainly validate that status. "Bones" boasts a career marked by extraordinary accomplishments and historic milestones.
At just 23, Jones made history by defeating then-light heavyweight champion Mauricio Rua in the third round at UFC 128 in March 2011, securing his place as the youngest UFC champion ever. From that moment, he never looked back, embarking on a remarkable journey that culminated in an unprecedented 13 successful title defenses.
In recent times, no one has been more vocally supportive of Jones' status as the GOAT and the top pound-for-pound fighter than UFC CEO Dana White. White has been notably immersed in extensive discussions, staunchly defending the 37-year-old New Yorker’s legacy.
However, Kavanagh's all-time MMA elite list boasts an array of unexpected names, and it overlooks Jones despite his legendary career...
Kavanagh Reveals Five Picks for MMA Mount Rushmore With No Jones
During a recent discussion with Lucky Block, Kavanagh was prompted to name the greatest MMA fighters of all time. The renowned coach listed five names, deviating from the traditional four-person Mount Rushmore.
Naturally, Kavanagh included "The Notorious" as his first pick, highlighting the remarkable achievements of his student and the profound impact he's had on the sport.
Unsurprisingly, I’m going to name Conor first because he became the first simultaneous two-weight world champion. That’s no small feat, but also what he did for the game in general, his general introduction of MMA to a whole world who would have never seen it, really. He’s the first and maybe the only one to truly cross over into, let’s say, normal life, and obviously, now he’s in movies as well. A lot of people to be thankful that if you’re involved in the MMA industry, you probably had a few guys walk into your gym because of Conor’s influence.
Kavanagh then listed Russian MMA icon Fedor Emelianenko among his favorites, followed by UFC Hall of Famer BJ Penn, recognizing his McGregor-esque achievements.
For his fourth pick, he named another legend, former longtime UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
Number two, I’ll say Fedor Emelianenko. He’s one of my favorite fighters of all time. Incredible Russian fighter. I’m going to say, BJ Penn, another two-weight world champion. Incredible skill set. At four, I have to go for Anderson Silva. I think some record number of title defenses and just so skillful, you watch him back in the day when he was fighting someone who’s a kind of a friend of mine, Forrest Griffin. Forrest is so tough, so durable, so good, and Anderson made the poor guy look like he’d never trained. He has amazing skills.
The SBG Ireland founder placed the first women’s UFC bantamweight champion, Ronda Rousey, as his fifth pick, celebrating her as a trailblazer who revolutionized women’s MMA.
At five I will say Ronda Rousey and not just for her amazing victories in the UFC, but the fact that she really introduced women’s MMA to the world. Dana was pretty headstrong all those years, saying he would never have women in MMA. And I think he took one look at her and said, let’s get women in MMA. So, there we go. That’s my five.
Kavanagh’s omission of "Bones" from his MMA Mount Rushmore is indeed surprising, but he's not alone in leaving out the former light heavyweight champion.
Recently, UFC middleweight veteran Sam Alvey has also excluded Jones from his list of top fighters, further stirring curiosity about Jones' place in the pantheon of MMA greatness.