ESPN has recognized Jon Jones as one of the greatest athletes of the 2000s.
With 2024 marking the 25th year of the 21st century, ESPN.com this week unveiled its list of the Top 100 Athletes of the 21st Century, with Jones landing at No. 66.
Jones, who last year was named MMA Junkie’s No. 2 greatest UFC fighter of all time in celebration of the promotion’s 30th anniversary, is a two-division champion who previously ruled the light heavyweight division for several years and currently holds the heavyweight title. The only loss on his record came by disqualification against Mark Hamill because of illegal 12-6 elbows landed in a fight Jones was dominating.
Jones’ career achievements haven’t been without controversy as he’s failed three drug tests in connection with title fights. One was for cocaine, while the other two were violations of the UFC’s anti-doping policy under the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, resulting in lengthy suspensions each time. In Jones’ 2017 case stemming from UFC 214, an independent arbitrator determined that Jones “was not intentionally cheating.”
ESPN concluded the release of its full list Thursday, with Michael Phelps (swimming), Serena Williams (tennis), Lionel Messi (soccer), Lebron James (basketball), and Tom Brady (football) comprising the top five.
Jones ranked just ahead of such big names as James Harden (basketball, 67), Phil Mickelson (golf, 68), Manny Pacquiao (boxing, 71) and Mookie Betts (baseball, 73). He was also ahead of the only other mixed martial artist on the list, UFC Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre, who came in at 76.
ESPN said its list accounted “only for athletic accomplishments since January 1, 2000. ESPN.com utilized a panel of experts and ESPN’s renowned Stats & Information Group to rank the top 100 athletes across all sports. More than 75,000 votes were cast by ESPN’s reporters, analysts, producers, editors, and experts around the globe to whittle the initial list of 400 athletes to 100.”
