Islam Makhachev and Jon Jones seem to be going at each other with all cylinders firing. Recently, the Dagestani broke Anderson Silva’s record for the longest winning streak in UFC history by picking up his 17th straight victory at UFC 330.
That accomplishment had plenty of people calling Makhachev the greatest to ever do it, especially when you add his 29-1 record, championships in two weight classes, and the most title wins and defenses at 155 pounds.
That clearly didn’t sit well with Jones, who trolled Makhachev by posting an image that placed him at the top of the list with 16 UFC title-fight victories. Rather than overall winning streaks, Jones believes championship-fight wins are the more important metric. Makhachev, meanwhile, sits 12th on that list with seven title-fight victories.
Islam Makhachev says he does NOT count Jon Jones winstreak because he popped for PEDs:
“I’m not denying that Jon Jones is one of the greatest athletes in history. But he was caught doping twice, and I think that’s why his streak isn’t considered valid.
Because he went into a… pic.twitter.com/D7WqbwmffM
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 13, 2026
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Makhachev fired back by pointing to Jones’ complicated history with drug testing and PED allegations. He also argued that Jones’ potential 20-fight winning streak between 2009 and 2024 doesn’t exist because his streak was reset following two separate failed tests.
For context, the first incident came when Jones tested positive for Clomiphene and Letrozole, forcing him out of the UFC 200 card. The second came after he tested positive for Turinabol, which resulted in his UFC 214 victory over Daniel Cormier being overturned.
The bitter back-and-forth continued as Jones took another shot at Makhachev. He dismissed the idea that his previous drug-test issues were intentional and also trolled the Russian for being finished by Adriano Martins at UFC 192, something Jones never experienced during his UFC career.
He wrote, “Let’s start this week by dispelling rumors that have been spread by people chasing me: If you believe USADA for finding a picogram in my system, then you must believe USADA when they say ‘It was not found to be PERFORMANCE ENHANCING or INTENTIONAL.’ You can’t have it both ways.”
This was in reference to Jones’ UFC 232 drug-test situation ahead of his rematch with Alexander Gustafsson. Just one day before the event, around 33 picograms of the M3 metabolite of oral Turinabol were detected in Jones’ system. USADA ultimately determined that the finding was consistent with a “pulsing effect” from the same UFC 214 violation, for which Jones’ win over Cormier had already been overturned.
Jones wasn’t done there. He added, “Last I checked, my hand got raised every time I was in the octagon since any of you can remember. Your own coach said I was ‘a gift from God.’ Let’s not forget you’ve been KO’d, flatlined, went night night.”
Let’s start this week by dispeling rumors that have been spread by people chasing me:
1. If you believe USADA for finding a pico gram in my system, then you must believe USADA when they say “It was not found to be PERFORMANCE ENHANCING or INTENTIONAL”. You can’t have it both…— Jonny Meat (@JonnyBones) September 14, 2026
Jones then wrapped up his latest rant with a shot at both Makhachev and Cormier. He concluded with, “DC, I kicked you in the head LOL, keep telling yourself it was steroids. Whatever you need to tell yourselves to sleep better at night, go for it. Keep chasing; it’s lonely at the top. Islam, hopefully I’ll see you up here one day.”
It’s safe to say Makhachev wasn’t going to let the disrespect toward Cormier and his only MMA loss slide. He later responded by taking another shot at Jones’ history with the rules.
Makhachev posted, “Jon, I’m not trying to diminish your achievements in any way. But your whole life seems to be tied to breaking the rules one way or another, and somehow, you’re never the one to be blamed.”
Jon, I’m not trying to diminish your achievements in any way. But your whole life seems to be tied to breaking the rules one way or another, and somehow, you’re never the one to be blamed.
— Makhachev Islam (@MAKHACHEVMMA) September 15, 2026
The funny thing is that Jones has often pointed to the UFC 232 situation, where USADA determined the picogram finding wasn’t evidence of a new performance-enhancing drug violation. However, that was separate from the earlier Clomiphene and Letrozole case that forced him out of UFC 200, and the incident where he infamously hid under the cage to avoid drug testers.
Jones and Makhachev have both won championships in two divisions, although their paths to those accomplishments have been very different. Makhachev currently holds the welterweight title after beating Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 and Ian Garry at UFC 330.
Jones, meanwhile, walked away from MMA after finishing Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in 2024. He officially retired in June 2025 following months of ducking a unification fight with Tom Aspinall.
Kshitiz Kumar Singh is a UFC Writer at NY Fights with over three years of experience in sports journalism and content creation. Known for his sharp storytelling and passion for combat sports, he has written in-depth features on stars like Brock Lesnar, Randy Couture, and Ilia Topuria. Before joining NY Fights, Kshitiz worked as a UFC Editor at EssentiallySports while currently serving as a WWE Editor at FirstSportz. His admiration for legends like Georges St-Pierre continues to inspire his detailed and engaging MMA coverage. Whether he’s covering the Octagon or the squared circle, Kshitiz is committed to delivering accurate, high-quality content. Outside the world of sports, he’s a dedicated cinephile, often found practicing monologues from his favorite Al Pacino films, combining his love for cinema with storytelling.
