Jon Jones’ one and only UFC defeat remains one of the most fiercely debated subjects in MMA.
But former UFC flyweight champion and MMA legend Demetrious Johnson believes there’s only one correct side of the argument.
Jones, 37, is the current UFC heavyweight and hasn’t lost in professional MMA in over 15 years since 2009.
His only defeat came to wrestling specialist Matt Hamill in The Ultimate Fighter 10 heavyweight finale in December of that year.
Jones dominated Hamill in what was just his third UFC appearance, controlling his American counterpart and hammering him with ground-and-pound in the first round.
However, the future two-division UFC champion was soon disqualified after landing a series of illegal ’12-6′ elbows.
The controversial defeat remains a highly debated subject to date as those kind of elbow strikes are now legal in the UFC, but Johnson certainly knows where he stands on the matter.
“The longer you fight in mixed martial arts or boxing, whatever it may be, you’re eventually going to lose,” the 38-year-old told the Jaxxon Podcast.
One of the podcast’s co-hosts, former UFC champion Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, who fought Jones in 2011, disagreed.
“Well, he did lose,” ‘Mighty Mouse’ hit back. “He lost to Matt Hamill, he f***ing lost, he broke the rules!”
“Whether you win by second or five miles, winning is winning,” Johnson explained.
“Has Jon Jones ever got finished? No he has not. But he did get disqualified which led to a loss.
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“And so he has lost before, he’s got a loss.”
Johnson’s comments sparked major debate between fans, with many agreeing with the ex-UFC champion.
One took to X and said: “Mighty Mouse spitting facts here.”
While another added: “He’s not wrong.”
A third commented: “I saw that fight, Jon was dominating but suddenly he did an illegal 12-6 elbow. Rules are rules. He lost.”
However, several others disagreed with Johnson’s view on Jones’ DQ defeat.
One responded: “Totally disagree and I’m a Jon Jones hater.”
A second said: “What a horrible take he got disqualified for doing something that’s legal now? Come on.”
And a third added: “Disqualification over a rule that has technically always been legal in the game isn’t a loss.”
A 12-6 elbow is an MMA strike where a fighter lifts their elbow as high as possible from a 12 o’clock position and drives it straight down into six o’clock with maximum force.
It was originally put in place to protect fighters from taking those types of shots to the back of the head or spine, but in modern MMA there are now separate rules in place for that.
The 12-6 elbow has been legal since UFC Edmonton in November, which has prompted fans to say Jones’ defeat should be overturned.
UFC CEO Dana White also previously admitted he tried to get Jones’ defeat overturned but had no luck convincing the Nevada Athletic Commission to change his fighter’s record.
“I fought hard to get that one taken off his record but I haven’t been able to get it done,” White revealed.
“It’s horrible. It’s a referee that I said a million times should not even be in the Octagon [refereeing]. But what are you going to do?”
