Jon Jones vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov: Who would win in an imaginary fight and why?

UFC history is littered with potential dream matches that we never got to see, from Brock Lesnar vs. Fedor Emelianenko to Anderson Silva vs. Georges St. Pierre. But while the UFC has been able to give us dream matches between the likes of Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo and Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva, what would happen if Dana White suddenly developed the power to make all of his fighters the same size?

It would open the door for a simply ridiculous amount of dream matches that even the craziest UFC fans have probably never thought of. And one such dream match, if it were possible, might pit two men who recently gave up UFC titles against one another.

I’m talking, of course, about a hypothetical fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Jon Jones.

Who is better, Jon Jones or Khabib Nurmagomedov?

Jon Jones has used his overall skills to reach the very top of the UFC, but could he win a hypothetical match with Khabib Nurmagomedov?

So, if you could make both fighters the same size, who would win in this imaginary dream match between Jon Jones and Khabib Nurmagomedov, two of the most dominant UFC champions of all time? It’s a truly fascinating question.

Jon Jones’ UFC success has been built around a number of rather unique skills that ‘Bones’ possesses. Firstly, while he’s not a concussive striker – he’s only got a couple of standing KO’s on his record – Jones is still very dangerous standing.

A creative striker willing to throw low-percentage shots, Jones is widely credited with popularising the ‘oblique kick’ to the knee that we see plenty of UFC stars use today. But of course, ‘Bones’ has another weapon in terms of his stand-up too – his ridiculously long reach, which gives him an advantage over essentially everyone he faces.

Jon Jones is also a genuinely fantastic grappler. His wrestling means that he’s almost impossible to take down and even trickier to keep down, and he’s beaten far more credentialed wrestlers like Daniel Cormier and Vladimir Matyushenko with his own takedowns.

And when he’s on top of an opponent, he’s ruthless with his ground-and-pound – particularly elbows – and is also more than capable of snatching a submission, as he did against Vitor Belfort, Rampage Jackson and Ryan Bader.

Does Jones have any weaknesses? Well, not that we’ve really seen of in the UFC. He can take a shot, he can stop takedowns, and his cardio has held up over numerous five-round wars.

Khabib Nurmagomedov though is a different fighter to anyone Jones has faced, entirely. Like Jones victims such as Bader, Matyushenko and Cormier, ‘The Eagle’ is primarily a wrestler. But to describe Khabib Nurmagomedov as a wrestler is like describing a shark as a kind of fish.

Nobody in the UFC has a shot quite like Khabib Nurmagomedov, who usually sets his takedowns up with a rush of striking. And once he gets hold of an opponent – any opponent – they’re usually heading down to the ground. Even fighters with excellent takedown defense such as Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier have not even come close to stopping the Russian from taking them down.

On the ground meanwhile, Khabib is equally unique. He tends to use his legs to control the lower body of his opponent, keeping them grounded to allow him free rein to land unanswered punches until the opponent either can’t take any more or gives up a submission.

In terms of weaknesses, many observers have pointed out that Khabib doesn’t necessarily have the most technical striking, and can be hit, although it’s trickier than they tend to make out due to the Dagestani’s ridiculous speed.

Others meanwhile have claimed that over five rounds, Khabib might slow down – but we honestly haven’t seen that happen yet.

So in this hypothetical match between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Jon Jones, who might have the advantage? Personally, if they were equal in size, I’d probably favour Khabib.

Why? Because while Jones has always been able to stop the takedowns of his opponents and been able to abuse them using his reach, I’m not sure that he’d be quick enough to stop Khabib’s shot – even with a reach advantage.

And while nobody’s ever been able to keep Jones grounded before, he’s also never fought someone who can control an opponent from the top – while also doing damage – like Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Of course, this is all hypothetical, and unfortunately, Dana White doesn’t possess the godlike powers needed to make fighters like Khabib and Jones the same size. It’s pretty clear, of course, that both men are amongst the greatest fighters in UFC history. But is either man the greatest?

Is Khabib Nurmagomedov the GOAT?

Khabib Nurmagomedov has beaten UFC legends such as Conor McGregor during his career

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s claim to being the GOAT largely stems from his undefeated, 29-0 record, with 13 of those wins coming in the UFC. Very few fighters manage to go an entire career unbeaten, and even fellow greats like Fedor Emelianenko, Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva suffered losses during their time.

More to the point, nobody really came close to beating Nurmagomedov, not even at the highest level of the UFC. Some fans might point to a close decision win over Gleison Tibau in 2012, but even that fight didn’t really see Khabib take much damage per say.

Khabib’s detractors might claim that the Dagestani didn’t fully clean out the UFC Lightweight division, or that he didn’t fight a murderers’ row of opponents. The first is true, but then how was Khabib Nurmagomedov ever going to clean out probably the deepest division in MMA?

The second, though, is completely false. Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated four UFC titleholders during his UFC career – Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor and Rafael Dos Anjos, finishing three of them.

And that’s not to mention his wins over dangerous opponents such as Al Iaquinta, Michael Johnson and Edson Barboza.

Overall? He’s definitely a contender.

Is Jon Jones the GOAT?

Jon Jones was pushed to his limits by Alexander Gustafsson

Like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Jon Jones’ claim to being the GOAT largely comes from a ridiculous record. Discounting a No Contest – more on that later – Jones is 26-1 in MMA, with 20 of those wins coming in the UFC. And his lone loss, of course, came by disqualification in what was largely considered a botched refereeing decision.

Like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Jones has been able to mostly dominate his foes, and he’s also beaten a ludicrous amount of top-level opponents – from legends like Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua and Rampage Jackson to modern-day superstars like Alexander Gustafsson and Daniel Cormier.

Jones hasn’t looked quite as invulnerable as Khabib Nurmagomedov, though. Gustafsson could easily have been awarded the decision from the judges in his first fight with Jones, as could Thiago Santos and Dominick Reyes. And Vitor Belfort also came close to submitting him with an armbar in their 2012 clash.

Overall though, there are two strikes against Jones when it comes to being the GOAT. Firstly, there’s an argument that the UFC Light-Heavyweight division hasn’t always been the strongest in the promotion – and certainly has never been as strong as the Lightweight division.

Secondly – and more convincingly – there’s an argument that Jones should be removed from any conversation around who the GOAT is simply due to the fact that he’s failed so many drug tests. ‘Bones’ has tested positive for PEDs on three occasions, and has been banned for large stretches by USADA for this, despite protesting his innocence.

By comparison, Khabib Nurmagomedov has never failed a drug test, nor has he even been linked with PED use.

In conclusion....

Can Jon Jones or Khabib Nurmagomedov be considered better than Georges St. Pierre?

It’s probably hard to argue against the idea that Khabib Nurmagomedov should be considered closer to being the GOAT than Jon Jones. However, both men are undoubtedly in the conversation, depending on how you look at Jones’ history with PEDs.

But can either man really touch Georges St. Pierre, who won UFC titles in two different weight classes, and retired on the back of an unbeaten run stretching for more than a decade? ‘GSP’ cleaned out a division as equally deep as Lightweight, looked almost as invulnerable as Khabib Nurmagomedov at his best, and dominated as many legendary fighters as Jon Jones.

It’s a question that will continue to rage on, probably for as long as people are fans of MMA.