Who has Jon Jones lost to and why does the UFC consider him undefeated? ‘Bones’ MMA record ahead of Stipe Miocic fight

Jon Jones is arguably one of the greatest UFC fighters of all time, but even his record inside the Octagon isn’t spotless.

‘Bones’ looks to cement his GOAT status with a victory over legend Stipe Miocic in a heavyweight title showdown at UFC 309 tonight.

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The American enters the legacy fight with a record of 27-1 and one no-contest in 29 career fights, but that defeat has been almost unanimously scrubbed off by leading figures in the industry.

MMA expert Adam Catterall referred to Jones as an ‘unbeaten fighter’ this week, while UFC president Dana White refused to acknowledge a loss to his prized asset. Here’s why…

Who has Jones lost to?

The 37-year-old’s only UFC loss came to Matt Hamill at 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 American compatriot with ground-and-pound, but suffered a disqualification loss in the first round.

Jones landed several illegal ’12-6′ elbows on Hamill’s face and referee Steve Mazzagatti deemed the downward strike worthy of a DQ.

Mazzagatti, who has not refereed an MMA fight since 2015, has been called ‘the worst referee in the history of any fight company’ 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 winning streak, the last of which was 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 by Jones saw the fight ruled a no even though he had knocked out ‘DC’.

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Why does the UFC consider him undefeated?

The 12-6 rule was highly controversial in the UFC, in part due to the subjective level at which it was enforced.

In the UFC’s early years, the legality of a downward elbow was placed in the hands of whoever refereed the fight.

Mazzagatti, who initially took a point from Jones for his strikes, then called off the bout when Hamill was unable to continue.

“He certainly didn’t lose this fight and I certainly didn’t win, but I think 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’m now going to consider my record 9-2.”

According to UFC CEO White, it was a result that ‘shouldn’t have happened’.

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“It shouldn’t have happened that way. He shouldn’t have a loss, so it’s unfortunate,” White told the media at the time.

“It was a downward elbow, you take a point,” White added. “Hamill couldn’t go on 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 masted and the fight couldn’t go on, or broke his nose and couldn’t go on — something to do with the face or something to do with an illegal strike — I’d get it. But it did. ‘t .He couldn’t continue because of his shoulder It should never have 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 overturn the “12-6 elbow” ban that had been in place since the MMA Unified Rules were created in 2000.

That means if Jones vs Hamill went down today, ‘Bones’ wouldn’t have received the DQ – which is how those in charge see it anyway…

A banned UFC move that cost Jon Jones a loss on his record debut at the Edmonton event