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Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones dominate the conversation surrounding MMA's greatest-ever fighter like no one else. At one point, Anderson Silva and Fedor Emelianenko were frequent fixtures in the debate, but as time passed and the sport progressed, things changed.
At the moment, there is a massive push from the UFC to have Jones recognized as the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, and he's often described as the GOAT with a kind of finality that isn't reserved for anyone else. After all, it's impossible to question how unbelievably successful he's been.
Unfortunately, there are asterisks next to Jones' accomplishments. The same cannot be said for St-Pierre, who is the true GOAT of the sport.
Georges St-Pierre's accomplishments vs. Jon Jones' feats
Both Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones have dominated MMA in a manner replicated by few. 'GSP' has a record of 26-2, while 'Bones' is 27-1. However, it should be noted that Jones' only loss was a controversial disqualification for using illegal 12-6 elbows against Matt Hamill, who he was demolishing.
Meanwhile, St-Pierre's losses were legitimate. So, in a sense, Jones is undefeated, as no one has ever beaten him inside the octagon. Instead, Jones is guilty of beating himself. However, while St-Pierre doesn't have the mystique of being undefeated, he has avenged every loss he's ever suffered.
Moreover, he did so dominantly. But who did they face? St-Pierre has beaten seven UFC champions, two of whom were interim champions. Jones, by comparison, has beaten eight UFC champions, with only one of them being an interim champion.
Check out Georges St-Pierre submitting Matt Hughes:
Furthermore, Jones also has more UFC title fight wins at 15 to 'GSP's' 13. So why should the Canadian be favored over Jones? First, 'GSP' has beaten more all-time greats than Jones has. To cement himself as the greatest welterweight in the world, the Canadian defeated the division's previous GOAT in Matt Hughes.
He didn't do so once either. St-Pierre beat Hughes twice, finishing him both times. More notably, 'GSP' also twice beat the legendary B.J. Penn, who has been variously described as the greatest fighter of all time by the likes of UFC CEO Dana White and a fellow all-time great in Anderson Silva.
'Bones' has never faced anyone of such caliber and status besides Daniel Cormier. Now, with UFC 309 fast-approaching, he will face Stipe Miocic, the greatest heavyweight in UFC history. Unfortunately, it's a 42-year old Miocic, who hasn't fought in over three years and is coming off a brutal knockout loss.
Check out Jon Jones' outworking Daniel Cormier:
Additionally, Jones is guilty of fighting undersized competition far too frequently. Although they've competed in heavier weight classes, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Thiago Santos, and Anthony Smith have all been middleweights.
That Jones was always too big for light heavyweight until the current generation of 205-pounders finally caught up with him in size is deserving of scrutiny given how many undersized foes he's fought. St-Pierre, however, never had such a significant size advantage over his opponents.
Lastly, the manner in which they won their titles in a second division is very telling. While the first-round submission 'Bones' authored against Ciryl Gane was impressive, the Frenchman was not the reigning heavyweight champion, nor has he ever been.
Conversely, when 'GSP' captured middleweight gold, he did so by finishing the division's actual champion, Michael Bisping, who had even defended the belt by then. But what truly separates St-Pierre and Jones is something entirely different.
Georges St-Pierre's legacy has no asterisks
Georges St-Pierre has campaigned for a cleaner sport for years. He still advocates for stronger anti-doping measures given how rampant cheating is in MMA. Thus, it is only sensible that he has never tested positive for a single banned substance in his 28 fights as a professional.
St-Pierre has never deliberately broken the rules, has never been found guilty of using illegal techniques, and his run as a fighter has been spotless besides a greasing allegation made by B.J. Penn following their rematch. Jon Jones, however, has something of a tainted legacy.
"They're not with USADA anymore, but I think they hire another organization to do the tests now. But I do believe that if you want to avoid corruption, it needs to be a separate entity that do the test than the organization itself."
Check out Georges St-Pierre talk about anti-doping measures (39:14):
After UFC 182, Jones was revealed to have tested positive for cocaine metabolites. That though has little to do with anything. What is of interest is that Jones also exhibited shockingly low testosterone levels, which are usually indicative of masking agents to conceal steroid use.
It is then highly suspicious that Jones was subsequently removed from his UFC 200 bout with Daniel Cormier after testing positive for clomifene and letrozole. For reference, clomifene is often used as a testosterone booster and performance-enhancing drug.
Letrozole, however, is used to reduce gynecomastia, which is the abnormal growth of male breast tissue, usually manifested as a side-effect of a hormonal imbalance due to steroid use. While Jones was later cleared of any intentional wrongdoing, it would not be his last brush with PEDs.
After TKO'ing Cormier at UFC 214, Jones was found to have tested positive for turinabol, a classic anabolic steroid. For this, Jones was initially facing a four-year sentence from USADA, but had his sentence reduced after lending his assistance in identifying other fighters guilty of PED usage.
Sometime later at UFC 232, there was also controversy after pulsing from residual turinabol metabolites were detected in Jones' system. These are controversies and blemishes that have never been a part of St-Pierre's career, and they bring into question Jones' performances as a fighter.
There have also been rumors about Jones hiding under the cage at Jackson-Wink MMA to avoid USADA drug-testers. It brings into question how many fights he may have won due to assistance from PEDs, which is a massive blow to his case as the MMA GOAT.
His very integrity as a fighter is called into question due to his history with PEDs. After all, if the same standard is upheld when evaluating T.J. Dillashaw's career, the same should be true for 'Bones.' He has tested positive, St-Pierre never has.
