Jon Jones’ Legacy Goals? “Being The Baddest Dude With The Biggest Balls”

Jon Jones may not put much stock in the greatest of all-time debate in MMA but he sure knows how he wants to be remmebred.

At Thursday’s UFC 232 conference call, Jones said he hopes fans will remember him as a “bad motherf*cker” when they look back on his career

“Bones” doesn’t care much for the GOAT debate that seems to change day-to-day in MMA. Jones thinks that’s more about of a popularity contest than an accurate assessment of talent.

Jones On The GOAT Debate

“No, I don’t think being considered the best. I don’t think one fight makes you. One fight doesn’t make my career,” he said courtesy of MMA Fighting. “It’s the journey, it’s not about one fight,” replied Jones when asked his thoughts on the being considered the greatest fighter of all-time.

“I feel like there will always be a debate about who is the best, whoever is the best is whoever is hot at the current moment. I feel like MMA fans are very quick to forget a lot of peoples’ accomplishments.”

However, Jones did give his opionin on the matter and feels fighters like Anderson Silva and Jose Aldo have been overlooked as of late when it comes to the great GOAT debate.

“For example, Anderson Silva is not even considered to be in the conversation anymore as the GOAT. Which is a shame because he’s done so much for our sport. Jose Aldo, these guys have been kicking ass for years, they’ve done so much for our sport and then one defeat, and now they’re not the best anymore,” he said.

“I understand that the conversation will always just be an opinion. And I’ve just got to focus on the things that I can control, which is preparing myself the best that I can for each fight and making sure my hand is raised at the end of the day.”

Jones hopes to make less mistakes going forward and ultimetly hopes to change public perception.

What The Future Holds

“Of course I care about losing fans, everybody wants to be a liked person,” he admitted.

“What I’ve got to do now that I’m back is make less mistakes and show signs of growth, and I feel like I’ve grown tremendously. Having the sport taken away from me has shown me what it means to me. I’m not in the business of taking fighters lightly anymore and getting all crazy right before the fight like I used to. I feel like I’ve matured a lot. And it all means a lot more to me now. Yeah, just making less mistakes, everything at the end of the day is forgivable; most things are forgivable.”

American fans, in particular love a good comeback story and Jones beleives the fans would get behind his in a hearbeat.

A Comeback Story

“I feel like in America, people love the comeback story,” he said. “I feel like they love to build athletes up, people lap celebrities up and a lot of people really enjoy watching people fall, but a lot of people really enjoy watching people climb up after bullshit. I’m aware of that and my goal is to just climb back up. To get it right once and for all and show people a great comeback story.”

When asked what he hoped his legacy would be, Jones insisted that he would want to be remembered as a “bad motherf*cker.”

Jones Legacy

“What is my legacy? What would I want it to be? Let’s see here. Just being a bad motherf*cker at the end of the day. Just a bad dude, man. Am I perfect? No. Am I a Christian who swears? Yes. Do I love God? Yes. Do I love my family? Yes. Am I bad motherf*cker in that ring? Yes,” Jones said.

“That’s it, man. One thing I’m realizing is, being the champion, you don’t have to wear a suit everyday, you don’t have to be politically correct and have all the kids look up to you and say that you’re such an angel. Who said that’s what a champion has to be?”

When describing what a champion should be he cited his first fight with Gustafsson and his fight with Vitor Belfort.

“A champion is guy that goes out there after being cut in the first round of the fight, gets taken down for the first time ever and fights with one eye shut half the fight. A champion is a guy who gets armbarred and friggin’ finishes Vitor Belfort. Finishes the fight with one arm. Dude, that’s a champion to me, just a bad motherf*cker. That’s what I want my legacy to be. Call me a good person or a bad person, call me a hypocrite. Call me what you want. I know I’m a bad dude and that’s what a champion is to me: The baddest dude with the biggest heart and the biggest balls — that’s me.”