Jon Jones is undoubtedly one of the greatest UFC fighters of all time but even his record inside the Octagon isn’t spotless.
‘Bones’ is seeking to cement his GOAT status with a win over legend Stipe Miocic in a heavyweight title at UFC 309 this weekend.
The American enters the legacy bout with a 27-1 record and one no-contest in 29 career fights, but that defeat has almost been unanimously scrubbed from leading figures in the industry.
MMA expert Adam Catterall referred to Jones as an ‘undefeated fighter’ this week, while UFC president Dana White refused to acknowledge a loss for his prized asset. Here’s why…
Who has Jones lost to?
The 37-year-old’s only UFC defeat came to Matt Hamill in The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale in 2009.
In what was just his third Octagon appearance, Jones dominated ‘The Hammer’ after dislocating the latter’s shoulder on a takedown.
‘Bones’ then hammered his US compatriot with ground-and-pound but suffered a first-round disqualification loss.
Jones landed several illegal ’12-6′ elbows on Hamill’s face and referee Steve Mazzagatti ruled the downward strikes were worthy of a DQ.
Mazzagatti, who hasn’t refereed an MMA fight since 2015, has been dubbed ‘the worst ref in the history of any fight business’ by UFC boss White.
Future two-time Light Heavyweight champion Jones appealed the result but was unsuccessful.
He has since embarked on a 19-fight win streak, the last of which being a first-round submission victory over Ciryl Gane in March 2023.
The only exception came in his 2017 rematch with Daniel Cormier, after a failed drug test from Jones caused the bout to be ruled a no contest, even though he had knocked ‘DC’ out.
What is a 12-6 elbow?
An MMA strike where a fighter lifts their elbow as high as possible from a 12 o’clock position and drives it straight down full force into six o’clock.
Previously banned move to protect competitors from taking those types of shots to the back of the head or spine.
Why does the UFC consider him undefeated?
The 12-6 rule was highly controversial inside UFC, due in part, to the subjective level at which it was enforced.
During the UFC’s early years, the legality of a downward elbow was placed in the hands of whoever was refereeing the bout.
Mazzagatti, who initially took a point from Jones for his strikes, then called the fight off when Hamill couldn’t continue.
“He definitely didn’t lose this fight, and I definitely didn’t win, but I guess the rules are there for a reason,” Hamill said at the time.
“It is what it is. I went into this fight feeling like my record was actually 9-1, so with this so-called win, I will now consider my record 9-2.”
According to UFC CEO White, it was an outcome that ‘shouldn’t have happened’.
“It shouldn’t have happened that way. He shouldn’t have a loss, so it’s unfortunate,” White told media at the time.
“It was a downward elbow, you take a point,” White added. “Hamill couldn’t continue because his shoulder was messed up. It had nothing to do with the elbow.”
“Why the fight was stopped had nothing to do with the elbow,” White said.
“If he had been gashed open and the fight couldn’t continue, or broke his nose and couldn’t continue – anything to do with the face or anything to do with an illegal strike – then I’d get it. But it didn’t. He couldn’t continue because of his shoulder. That should have never had been the call.”
White led the appeals to overturn Jones’ defeat, which gained further momentum when the ban on the 12-6 elbow was lifted.
In July, the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) voted unanimously to lift than ‘12-6 elbow’ ban, which had been in place since the MMA Unified Rules were created in 2000.
It means that if Jones vs Hamill went down today, ‘Bones’ would not have received the DQ – which is how those in charge see it anyway…
