Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Jones revealed how his heavyweight colleagues view Khamzat Chimaev.
Jon Jones and Khamzat Chimaev are two of the most indomitable forces that ever enter the UFC atrocation. Since Jones announced his shocking retirement in June, Chimaev and many other top names have benefited from his absence in the pound-for-pound ranks.
Chimaev has the opportunity to win a UFC world championship this weekend at UFC 319. Chimaev and UFC Middleweight Champion Dric Du Plessis Kop A Stacked Card in Chicago.
Although Chimaev said earlier that he had defeated Jones in a potential fight, the two mutual admiration of their performance in the cage shares.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Jon Jones on Khamzat Chimaev: “Heavyweights fear him!”
Chimaev praised Jones in an interview from 2022 in the Triple C & Schmo Show.
“Jon Jones, of course, nobody is like him. He beats the monsters. I have done all my training with Alexander Gustafsson; I know how good he is. And if Jon Jones could stop that guy, it is scary,” Chimaev said.
'[Daniel Cormier]He is busy, struggling and boxing well, and he has a mentality to put the hunters under pressure. And Jones also stopped that guy. If he stays in the game, he must be the pound-for-pound number one. “
Jones responded to Chimaev's comments during a recent interview with Red Corner MMA.
“That is a huge compliment from Khamzat, I am a big fan of Khamzat,” said Jones.
Jon Jones responds to khamzat @kchimaev and calls him the scariest MMA hunter. “It tells me a lot about his character, his humility, to be able to compliment someone in such a huge way. So I am very grateful and honored,” @jonnybones told Red Corner MMA. pic.twitter.com/f6rs0lbfbh
– Red Corner MMA (@redcorner_Mma) 10 August 2025
“I don't think he has a reason to be too toot or even humble, he doesn't have to be. I mean, heavy weights fear him, and the fact that he has so much respect for me really means a lot. It says a lot about his character, his humility, to compliment someone in such a huge way.
“So I am very grateful and honored.”
Chimaev introduces UFC 319 unbeaten in his MMA career with recent victories over Robert Whittaker, Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman. He is preferred to beat du Plessis on UFC 319 next weekend.
With regard to the next step for Jones, his retirement can be short -lived after he had reintroduced the UFC drug test pool.
Jon Jones focuses on 2026 MMA Return despite Dana White's UFC Witte Huis Snub
After US President Donald Trump and UFC CEO Dana White Plans confirmed for the promotion to organize an event in the White House next summer, Jones and Conor McGregor threw their names in the conversation to head the card. But White quickly fired that Jones headed the event because of the doubtful past of the former heavyweight champion outside the cage.
Despite White's comments, Jones stays back in the training while he is preparing for a possible return to the Octagon in July. A matchup between Jones and Tom Aspinall could possibly come out if Aspinall is the victory in its upcoming UFC 321 title fight.
In the meantime, the UFC heavyweight division is moving forward in the absence of Jones. In the coming months we were able to learn more about whether Jones will get his wish to head in the American capital.