Former UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones revealed how his heavyweight colleagues view Khamzat Chimaev.
Jon Jones and Khamzat Chimaev are two of the most indomitable forces to ever enter the UFC Octagon. Since Jones announced his shocking retirement in June, Chimaev and many other top names are taking advantage of his absence in the pound-for-pound rankings.
Chimaev has the opportunity to win a UFC world championship this weekend at UFC 319. Chimaev and UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis headline a stacked card in Chicago.
Despite Chimaev previously saying that he’d beat Jones in a potential fight, the two share mutual admiration of their accomplishments in the cage.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLCJon Jones on Khamzat Chimaev: ‘Heavyweights fear him!’
Chimaev praised Jones in a 2022 interview on The Triple C & Schmo Show.
“Jon Jones, of course, nobody is like him. He beats the monsters. I did all my training with Alexander Gustafsson; I know how good he is. And if Jon Jones could stop that guy, it’s scary,” Chimaev said.
“[Daniel Cormier], he has pressure, good wrestling and boxing, and he has a mentality of just pressure the fighters. And Jones stopped that guy as well. If he stays in the game, he has to be the pound-for-pound number one.”
Jones responded to Chimaev’s comments during a recent interview with Red Corner MMA.
“That’s a huge compliment coming from Khamzat, I’m a big fan of Khamzat,” Jones said.
Jon Jones reacts to Khamzat @KChimaev calling him the scariest MMA fighter. “It tells me a lot about his character, his humility, to be able to compliment someone in such a huge way. So I’m very grateful and honoured,” @JonnyBones told Red Corner MMA. pic.twitter.com/f6rs0LBfBh
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) August 10, 2025
“I don’t think he has any reason to toot my horn or even be humble, he doesn’t have to be. I mean, heavyweights 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’m very grateful and honored.”
Chimaev enters UFC 319 unbeaten in his MMA career with recent wins over Robert Whittaker, Gilbert Burns, and Kamaru Usman. He’s widely favored to defeat Du Plessis at UFC 319 next weekend.
As for what’s next for Jones, his retirement could be short-lived after he re-entered the UFC’s drug testing pool.
Jon Jones targets 2026 MMA return despite Dana White’s UFC White House snub
After U.S. President Donald Trump and UFC CEO Dana White confirmed plans for the promotion to host an event at The White House next summer, Jones and Conor McGregor threw their names into the conversation to headline the card. But White quickly dismissed having Jones headline the event due to the former heavyweight champ’s questionable past outside of the cage.
Despite White’s comments, Jones remains back in training as he prepares for a potential return to the Octagon next July. A matchup between Jones and Tom Aspinall could potentially come to fruition if Aspinall is victorious in his upcoming UFC 321 title fight.
In the meantime, the UFC heavyweight division is moving forward in Jones’s absence. In the coming months, we could learn more about whether or not Jones will get his wish to headline at the U.S. capital.