Johnny Walker Says Jon Jones Got Saved by the Celebration That Wrecked Him

Johnny Walker thinks Jon Jones owes a thank you note to the worst celebration of his career.

In comments Ariel Helwani posted on X Monday, Walker said the injury he suffered celebrating a win robbed him of a shot at the greatest light heavyweight of all time:

“Jon Jones was saved by my celebration because I got hurt, and it took away my strengths, my movement, my hype.

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I hurt myself, needed surgery, and it took a long time to come back.

I knew if I didn’t hurt myself, kept training and kept doing everything, I could beat him.”

That’s a big claim, and it can’t be proven. Jones and Walker never fought, and nothing in the comments Helwani shared suggests Jones has answered it.

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The timing makes sense, though. Walker is coming off the loudest night he’s had in a while. At UFC Vegas 124 on Saturday, he knocked out Waldo Cortes Acosta in Round 3 of a heavyweight fight that had fan accounts losing their minds. Spinnin Backfist called it the most heavyweight finish of all time. The MMA Guru wrote that “I never thought I’d see Walker eat clean powerful shots and not get chinned,” which, if you’ve watched Walker over the years, is about the highest compliment his chin has ever received.

The Brazilian is now 24-10 and sits No. 12 at heavyweight in the Knockout Daily rankings. He trains out of Xtreme Couture.

Jones is a tougher sell for anybody’s hypothetical. He went 28-1 with the lone loss coming by a disputed disqualification against Matt Hamill, and he was never stopped or outscored. He held the light heavyweight title from 2011 to 2015 and again from 2018 to 2020, then took the heavyweight belt from Ciryl Gane in 2023 and kept it until retiring in 2025. His last fight came on Nov. 16, 2024, and he still holds the No. 1 spot on our heavyweight board.

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Walker didn’t name a next opponent in the comments Helwani shared. With Jones retired, the fight Walker is talking about lives only in his head. The fight he can actually get is somewhere above No. 12 at heavyweight, and he just handed the matchmakers a Round 3 knockout to sell it with.