If UFC 309 really is the last we see of Jon Jones, what legacy will he leave behind?

Is there any legacy in MMA more complicated than the one Jon Jones will (eventually) leave behind?

Note that I ask this on the Monday before his first scheduled defense of the UFC heavyweight title. I ask it a little less than a week before his UFC 309 main event fight against longtime former champ Stipe Miocic, at a time when Jones himself seems to have legacy on his mind.

“As at this point in my career, every decision is rooted in purpose,” Jones wrote on social media late last week. “My journey isn’t dictated by hype or outside opinions — it’s about crafting a legacy that speaks for itself, one step at a time. I’m here to do what’s right for my career and my legacy, with a vision that’s clear and unshakable. Focused, driven, and in complete control of myself. The story continues, and it’s unfolding exactly as I’ve envisioned.”

In other words, Jones is sick of people telling him that he should fight UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. That’s what that statement up there is really about. It’s a defense of the decisions that have led him here, as well as the decisions still to come, all of which might just lead him into retirement on a path that conveniently avoids the big lad from Manchester.

Jones isn’t worried about whether we like that or not, is what he’s telling us. He’s only worried about legacy. But then, what is legacy if it’s not the things people say about you after you’re gone? And if one of the things they say is that you picked your spots late in your career and then packed it in without facing the biggest, baddest challenges out there, wouldn’t that count as a mark against you?

It might be different if Jones’ current legacy was a simple and straightforward thing. He’s obviously the greatest light heavyweight this sport has ever known. Even his detractors have to admit that he’s probably in the top three all-time from any division. He’s also been an absolute trainwreck outside of the cage, even by MMA standards, which is really saying something.

It’s ironic that a guy who is his own worst enemy is also so relentlessly image-conscious. It’s not enough for Jones to be a great fighter. He needs us all to recognize and proclaim it. That’s how we ended up with this Miocic fight at Madison Square Garden this Saturday.

Jones could have chosen any opponent he wanted for his first heavyweight title defense. He wanted Miocic because he wants that pelt on the wall with all the others. Here lies Stipe, the most successful heavyweight champ in UFC history. And Jonny “Bones” beat him too.

That’s the thinking here, anyway. That’s why Jones picked a 42-year-old former champ who hasn’t won a fight since 2020. It’s Miocic’s name that he wants. He’s trying to craft a masterpiece of a career, so it doesn’t matter if he gets to some of these guys a few years too late. What matters is that they show up on his record in the end.

Will it work the way Jones hopes it will? Maybe. To an extent. If he were to beat Miocic on Saturday and call it a career, he’d leave behind a body of work that includes wins over all the best light heavyweights of his era and technically the best heavyweight of a previous era. That ain’t bad. He’d also leave us with the impression that he was trying to pick the safest and least risky path to retirement, though who knows how long people would remember him for that rather than for all the other stuff — both good and bad.

One of the things that makes Jones’ legacy a tricky one is this sense that he could have done more. If he hadn’t sacrificed chunks of his career to suspensions and arrests and contract battles, what could he have become? And if Jones the person hadn’t made it so frustratingly difficult to cheer for Jones the fighter, what heights of superstardom might he have hit?

With Jones eyeing the exit now, it feels like we may never know. He has a phenomenal résumé, definitely among the best. It also feels like he was always trying to get us to see him a certain way and it never quite entirely worked.

The good news is it’s not over yet. No matter what Jones may say now about not wanting to fight Aspinall, the man’s ego cannot suffer challenges for long. He might say he’s done after this one. He might even think he means it. But when your whole adult life has been about being the best in the world, stepping out of the spotlight and letting someone else have it could be the toughest challenge left.