Jon Jones’ Legacy Should Remain Intact, Says Matt Brown

On MMAFighting.com‘s “The Fighter vs. The Writer,” Matt Brown discussed whether or not Jon Jones’ legacy should be impacted by his decision outside of the Octagon.

“We’re going to remember him as the greatest ever still,” Brown said. “All that sh*t, that’s what I guess the nitpickers and the hardcore people, that’s what they’re going to be talking about. Look, he fights in a cage for our entertainment and he did it at the highest level that’s ever been witnessed on this planet. I don’t respect the other sh*t he did, I don’t think anyone does. Like no one’s like ‘that was cool, whatever, forget about it.’ But do we really care?

“There’s a million people out there doing terrible sh*t all the time. He did that terrible sh*t and continued to beat the best in the world’s asses. So I’m not justifying what he did or anything but I speak the name Jon Jones out of my mouth because of his fighting. That’s all I care to talk about with him. I’m only talking about myself, other people may have different opinions but I’m not going to change what I remember about him based on that sh*t. All I remember is what I’ve seen on TV. That’s all I care about. What is that other sh*t, it’s basically irrelevant. In my opinion, he should be remembered for what he did inside the cage and this sh*t outside, is a completely separate, irrelevant thing.”

Jones recently announced his retirement, but he’s already back in the testing pool. “Bones” said he made the decision in an effort to keep all of his options on the table. UFC CEO Dana White told reporters that Jones initially agreed to fight Tom Aspinall in a title unification bout but changed his mind. As a result of Jones’ retirement, Aspinall is now the recognized undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion.