Khabib Nurmagomedov thinks that Jon Jones was at his best a while ago. Jones said in June that he was retiring from competition, but he is now saying that he might be able to fight on a planned UFC White House card in July 2026. The news was met with mixed reactions, with some fans unhappy with the way he left the sport. Jones had been linked to a possible fight with Tom Aspinall for more than a year. The plan was for Jones to fight to unify his undisputed heavyweight belt with Aspinall's interim title. In 2024, both men successfully defended their belts, but they never fought each other. Nurmagomedov called Jones "the best fighter in UFC history," but he thinks Jones made the correct choice to stop fighting. Nurmagomedov commented in Russian, "I mean, he's, like, 38 now" (Hustle Show has the interview and English translation). "But no, he hasn't been here in a while. Let's be real. How many times has he fought in the last five years? One? One or two every five years. He hasn't fought in a long, and even his past two light heavyweight fights—against Thiago Santos and Dominick Reyes—were contentious. You know, his peak was clearly behind him. After that, he battled Ciryl Gane. I believe they just gave him the cash. That's all. Everyone has their best time, and his was long ago. "So, whether or not he should have fought Aspinall, that question will probably always be out there. But that's only one question. Another time is when Aspinall's career is over and Jon Jones's career is over. Only then will people know how good they are. After that, we'll be able to fully compare. It will be very hard for Aspinall to reach Jones' level, which is his legacy. Very hard. Jones has one of the strongest résumés in the history of combat sports. He has never really lost a fight and was the best light heavyweight in the world from 2011 until 2020. In 2023, he became heavyweight champion after beating Gane in a dominant submission match. He subsequently defended the title successfully against future Hall of Fame inductee Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, which was Jones' last fight to date. Critics of Jones point to his bad behavior that cut short his title runs. For example, he was in a hit-and-run in 2015 that cost him his UFC belt, and he was suspended for failing drug tests in 2016 and 2018. The latter suspension kept him from regaining the light heavyweight title after knocking out Daniel Cormier at UFC 214 (the result of that fight was later changed to a no-contest). Nurmagomedov feels that Jones' legacy is hard to understand. Nurmagomedov added, "It's really hard to compare anyone to Jon Jones." "And I don't understand why people acted the way they did. I never had any doubts about him as a fighter. He went on to say, "No, in the UFC, accomplishments and legacy are two different things." "I believe that many individuals mix together those two ideas. No one in the UFC right now can match Jon Jones's accomplishments. And it will be quite challenging for anyone in the near future. So what does legacy mean? It's when youngsters look at you and feel like they want to be like you. That's what it means to leave a legacy. When they try to copy you. When a kid watches you and says, "I want to be like him," there will always be questions about [Jones's] behavior, character, and so on. But that's not what we're talking about right now. We're talking about how amazing of a fighter he is. He is the best fighter. "As a person, in terms of inspiration and character, I think there will always be questions about personal qualities." But I don't want to ask those questions because I don't want to say he's nice or terrible. He became a terrific athlete. And as someone who has battled in the UFC, I think he is the best. There will always be doubts about doping, no matter what. And yeah, they caught him. What, like three times? It's true. He is a terrific fighter, though. For Nurmagomedov, who has been training with and is good friends with Cormier, Jones' biggest competitor, it has always been hard to judge his fellow GOAT candidate. But Nurmagomedov claims both he and Cormier have always respected what "Bones" has done in the octagon. Nurmagomedov stated, "As for personal relationships, my friend often fought with him, and there was always friction, so I couldn't get close to [Jones]. "And I never did, and I never planned to because I always took Cormier's side." But when Cormier and I talked about pure talents, I know that Cormier thinks very highly of Jon Jones' fighting ability.