The Moments That Matter - How We Define Greatness

By: Joe Unger

On Saturday, February eighth, Jon Jones narrowly edged Dominick Reyes out in as razor close win. The reaction, as with any close fight afterwards, was incendiary. Many felt Reyes won, and shouts of robbery poured in all over social media (For what it’s worth-I had it Reyes 3-2, but it could’ve gone either way, and certainly not a robbery). Amongst the chatter online, I saw a tweet that really got me thinking. It was something along the lines of “Jones doesn’t deserve to call himself the GOAT. Too many close wins he should have lost-Reyes, Santos, Gustaffson. A true GOAT would win definitively every time.”

Jon Jones after his Feb 8th victory

Which got me thinking; how should we define greatness? Is it definitive wins? Let’s hope not, because every champion and fighter has their share of flukey and controversial wins.

Who can forget George St. Pierre’s win over Johnny Hendricks (I had it GSP 3-2, but see the argument for Hendricks)? How about Demetrious Johnson getting a majority draw against Ian McCall in the inaugural UFC Flyweight tournament? (Johnson definitely lost) Or Johnson finally losing his title in a rematch against Henry Cejudo? (Johnson definitely won) Or how about Khabib Nurmagomedov’s questionable win against Gleison Tibau?

If it’s just wins and losses that matter, do we ignore what Anderson Silva did at Middleweight, destroying competition in ways we’ve never quite seen, and likely never will again, considering the third act of his career which was tarnished with losses and failed drug tests? Or do we turn away Fedor Emelianko’s claim as the heavyweight GOAT, because once he fell, the Last Emperor fell hard, and could never reach an agreement with the UFC? Do we dismiss Cris Cyborg, who finally got caught against Amanda Nunes, after running the tables on everyone for over a decade?

So, I propose, we quantify greatness a different way- in moments. Sports are about legacy. In 30 years, we won’t remember the details of most of Jones wins, just the highlights. The big moments that stood out. Just like no one will really talk about Anderson Silva’s decision over Thales Leites, or Demetrious Johnson’s Kimura of Chris Caraiso. You know what we do remember though? Silva throwing up a hail mary triangle on Chael Sonnen, and actually hitting it at the last second. Demetrious Johnson hitting the coolest armbar in MMA history against Ray Borg.

Quick-how many fighters can you name from Khabib Nurmagomedov’s UFC resume? How many of those were finishes? Unless you are a dedicated hardcore Khabib fan, probably not all of them. Khabib could go on to win another 20 fights, but you know what I’d wager he’ll be most known for? His feud and destruction of Conor McGregor, and the leap onto Dillon Danis after the fight, setting off a giant brawl. We’ll be talking about that long after Khabib is done fighting, because that was a moment.

What fights were before and after Anderson Silva entered the matrix against Forrest Griffin? It doesn’t matter, because that was the moment right there. Remember Jon Jones return and decision over Ovince St. Preux? Probably not, but you sure remember him kicking Daniel Cormier’s head off to reclaim the 205 belt, only to fail a drug test the next day. We will probably remember Jose Aldo’s crushing upset loss to Conor McGregor more than any of his 25 dominant wins over an 11 year career prior to that.

The point being-wins and losses matter, but they don’t matter the most. They don’t tell the story. Moments are what matter. Big wins, crushing losses, headlines made, transcending the sport of MMA. MMA is still not fully mainstream, and if you asked most people on the street in America, they couldn’t tell you who the lightweight champ is. They certainly couldn’t spell Nurmagomedov. But if you mention that Russian guy who choked out McGregor, they can tell you. They were with us that night, tuned in. Holly Holm is etched in MMA’s history, not for her wins or record, but because for one night, she had Ronda Rousey’s number. She threw the kick heard round the world.

Sure, you need wins, because they help make moments. But history will see your wins as just a number. Moments are what we write about. Jon Jones has solidified himself in MMA history. But it’s not so much his wins that got him there. It’s the aura and the controversies that plagued his career. It’s the finishes over former champs. It’s rivalries with Rashad Evans and Daniel Cormier, and being pushed to his very limits by worthy challengers like Reyes, and Gustaffson.

As a fighter, of course the goal is to win, but if you want to be remembered, you need to make moments. You need an emphatic win over a worthy challenger. You need a rival, and maybe a little controversy. You need headline grabbing stories, because that’s how people will remember your name. Without them, you’re just another statistic. But with big moments, that’s where your legend is made.

Follow @UngerJos and @_MMA_News_Now_ on Twitter for more great MMA content!